Vietnam War Music

Nancy Sinatra, on tour in Vietnam:



And the song that inspired multiple Vietnamese cover versions:

Duane Eddy, from his 1967 LP, which I recently found for $3:

Live performance of "C'era un ragazzo che come me amava i Beatles e i Rolling Stones" by Gianni Morandi:



The lyrics talk about "a boy like me who liked the Beatles and the Rolling Stones". He got a letter from the USA and now he's in Vietnam, having had to give up his guitar for another instrument that only plays one note.

Here's the original single, from 1966, arranged by Ennio Morricone:

Here's a gruesome oddity, and it makes anything Country Joe McDonald recorded look pretty tame: "Napalm Sticks To Kids" by the First of the Ninth Chorus, "an impromptu group formed by troopers of the 1st of the 9th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division tape obtained in 1970 at Phuc Vinh, South Viet Nam."



One of the guys in this group, Sergeant Mike Elliot, recorded this song with a group called the Covered Wagon Musicians, in 1972. The members of the group were all serving Stateside at Mountain Home Air Force base at the time:

The sound of war: some free jazz from 1968:



I saw Peter Brötzmann live at the Ljubljana Jazz Festival early this century and he was mind-blowing.

Peter, Paul & Mary, singing "Puff The Magic Dragon":

"Wars or Hands of Time" by the Master's Apprentices, Adelaide, 1967:

A new release, available on Bandcamp (where you can listen to it too):

https://sublime-frequencies.bandcamp.com/album/magical-nights-saigon-surf-twist-soul-1964-1966

This one makes me want to do the Twist across the living room...

Background story about how her daughter discovered her mum was a rock & roll star in Saigon in the 60s:

https://saigoneer.com/saigon-music-art/20780-what-to-do-when-you-discover-that-your-mom-was-a-superstar-singer-in-1960s-saigon?fbclid=IwAR2oYzoNao5nZDBxbob9CVOa_gB4PyGe48hx0KX12VPoeWdL7g8-dDkhv3A

Congratulations, from Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood's first album, "Nancy & Lee" (1968):

Video pastiche of 60s Saigon, complete with war references:



The music is a cover of "Saigon Oi", done by Carol Kim back in the 60s.

Normie Rowe, doing his version of "Shaking All Over":



In 1969, Normie Rowe did a tour of duty in Vietnam, where he drove an M113 in A Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, Royal Australian Armoured Corps:



Since the war, he has been prominent working in support of Vietnam veterans.

Bio: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C289469?image=2

I think they call this a copycat song:

Jerry Furtado - Drive On:



(also covered by Johnny Cash)

I've neglected to check in on this thread. Geez OTB, you've got quite the treasure trove going here!

Thanks - I always play sixties stuff when I'm doing Nam games. The perfect backdrop for any game....

Me too, but I have neglected the foreign language side of the tunes, will now incorporate some. That article about Phoung Tam was amazing! Great tunes there too.

I played her CD recently during a game and my wargaming buddy was going "Is this rock in Vietnamese?!?!"

A Kenny classic (video from 1969):



Some interesting comments on that Youtube page:

"The first time I heard this song was on Armed forces Radio Vietnam. We had had just arrived at some dusty tiny  fire support base in the middle of nowhere .  And I  heard the song and was struck by the power of its story.  Fifty years and  a little more have passed by since then.  and I am still moved by it. Rest in peace Kenny Rodgers" - Allan Rappaport

"When this song was released in 1969 I was a Navy Hospital Corpsman stationed at the Chelsea Naval Hospital in Boston, Mass. I was assigned to work on Ward 'F' which was the Neurosurgery ward having an average daily census of anywhere between 50-to-60 patients, the overwhelming majority of which were wounded warriors returning home from Viet Nam. These brave men had suffered a wide range of injuries to their brains, their spinal columns and their extremities. A large number of these individuals sustained paralyzing injuries from either the neck down, the waist down and on occasion even one half of their bodies were paralyzed. Oh sure, we had our automobile injuries and diving accidents resulting in the same form of paralysis, but as mentioned, the majority of the wounded were returning Viet Nam vets. Needless to say, this song was not popular with these men. It was banned from being played or listened to by the patients or staff alike by our Chief of Neurosurgery, Dr. Nickolaus P. Kitrinos, Captain USN Medical Corps. If the song started playing on the radio (which most guys had at their bedsides) it was my job to ensure that the radio was turned off or the volume lowered so as it could not be heard by anyone. After a suitable amount of time had passed, the radios were permitted to be turned on again. Keep in mind that this was a large, open ward with no private rooms. I went on to serve two tours of duty with the Marines after leaving Ward F, but I will always remember the guys and the times we shared with each other." - Carl Loud

"Every time I hear this song, which I have a love/hate feeling for, I am dragged back to my Basic Training in the Army. My fiancé took her love to town when I was at quite a low time in my life. We broke up as soon as I got back, and I then I  met the girl I needed to be with. We’ve been married 50 years this month. I thank God every day for that breakup." - Richard Hansen

And some covers of Ruby:

TV show performance by Bobby Bare (that suit!   ) :



Red Sovine (he totally nails it):



Waylon Jennings (that voice   ):



Rank Strangers (a 60s Swedish group):



Nat Stuckey (great backing band on this):



Solo acoustic version by Ed Bruce:



Jerry Reed rocks out:



Leonard Nimoy (not bad...   :

Though I like the vibe of the slower more melancholy versions of this song, I really like that Jerry Reed version, puts some power into it.

Yes, Jerry Reed was a surprise. I'm going to have to listen to more of his music.

Something different:

The Rudies - Train To Vietnam:



Girlie & Laurel Aitken (featuring Rico, who later played with the Specials) - Stop The War In Vietnam:

The Rudies was.. "interesting". The Aitken was much better, and I do love The Specials!

Sergeant Peppers Radio Program and Orient Express, AFVN Radio broadcast, 1969:



With cautionary Marijuana Health Warning and Chieu Hoi ad.

Youtube channel with more AFVN radio broadcasts:

https://www.youtube.com/@ao-radio4624/videos

The long version of Surfer Joe, by the Surfaris, 1963:



Surfer Joe gets his blonde hair cut off when he joins the Marines and ends up doing KP at Camp Pendleton for sneaking off to surf...