Patti R. Albaugh's Blog

Music from the Vietnam War Era

OPERATION “YELLOWSTONE” VIETNAM: Following a hard day, a few members of Company “A,” 3rd Battalion, 22nd Infantry (Mechanized), 25th Infantry Division, gather around a guitar player and sing a few songs., 01/18/1968
National Archives Identifier: 530617

Music of the 60s became a vehicle for an increasingly restless youth who needed a voice to protest an unpopular war. Those who did serve found music to be a reflection of their experience and an expression of their frustrations and the horrors they witnessed.

Patriotic songs also emerged during the sixties including The Ballad of the Green Beret, which shot to the top of the charts in 1966.

I have included songs and video that reflect the patriotism and the moral dilemma of war. War is not just about conflict between countries. War is also conflict between reason and emotion. When is war justified? How do we remind ourselves to honor those who have served?

Many of the links in this post are from youtube.com, and comments on these web sites do not reflect my opinions. Freedom of speech, yes, but I wish people would be a little more civil on public forums. And please, forgive me for the youtube ads!

Songs of Reflection and Protest

War What Is It Good For? Temptations Original release by Motown in 1969.

War What Is It Good For? Edwin Starr 1970. Listen to the difference in energy. This is the version that became a epic protest song.

The Times They are a-Changing Bob Dylan 1964. Thought to capture the spirit of the social and political upheaval of the 1960s.

We Gotta Get Out of This Place The Animals 1965. This was a song that reflected the feelings of people in any situation they wanted to leave be it high school, a hometown, or war. It was very popular with US Armed Forces stationed in Vietnam and has been used in many movies.

Fortunate Son Creedence Clearwater Revival 1969. An anti-war counterculture song that describes how the elite were able to evade the war. Said to be inspired by the wedding of Julie Nixon and David Eisenhower (Wikipedia).

Stop Children What’s That Sound? Buffalo Springfield 1967. This song became a well-known anti-war protest song, but it was written in response to efforts by business owners on Sunset Strip, who wanted to encourage strict curfews.

The Eve of Destruction Barry McGuire 1965.

Bad Moon Rising  Creedence Clearwater Revival A 1965 broadcast of a very early  protest song challenging the Vietnam war.

I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Country Joe McDonald 1967. Sung at Woodstock to an enthusiastic crowd. The signature chorus is “And it’s one, two, three, what are we fighting for? Don’t ask me I don’t give a damn, next stop is Vietnam.”

Turn! Turn! Turn! The Byrds 1965. The lyrics are practically verbatim from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.

Goodnight Saigon Billy Joel 1983. About the bond of Marines who trained on Parris Island and go on to fight together.

Songs and Videos for the Patriot in All of Us

The Ballad of the Green Beret Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler In 1966 this song shot to the top of the music charts and was #1 on the music charts for six weeks. He co-wrote this song with Robin Moore while Sadler was recuperating from a leg wound suffered as a medic in the Vietnam War. Sadler’s ballad extolled the extreme training, courage and sacrifice of an elite group of men who gave all to their country.

Johnny Cash sings the Battle Hymn of the Republic

Robin Williams as the American Flag Williams’ humor and a bit of history too!

God Bless the U.S.A. Lee Greenwood This is the video that is shown at US naturalization ceremonies. I’ve attended several naturalization ceremonies in Tucson, and when this video is shown, there is not a dry eye in the house!

What is your favorite song from the Vietnam War era? Please share in the comment box below.

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Tagged: 22nd Infantry, anti-war protests, Ballad of the Green Beret, Barry McGuire, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Company "A" 3rd Battalion, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Goodnight Saigon, Lee Greenwood, Operation Yellowstone, patriotic songs, protest songs, Robin Williams, The Byrds, USMC, Vietnam veterans, Vietnam War, War What Is It Good For

Introducing the Characters in Margaret’s War

Make Peace, Not War and Bomb Hanoi are friends’ bumper stickers that reflect the conflict in Margaret Benson.  Margaret’s War, scheduled to be published late 2014, is 17,145 words strong! The main characters beg to be introduced (as only a story’s characters would).

Margaret Benson (Landings), is a forty year old widow living in the small town of Liberty, Ohio. She lost her husband Adam in the Vietnam War, and she’s haunted by the question of whether Adam’s sacrifice was noble or unnecessary. She still has not opened the box of Adam’s personal effects from the Marine Corps. What is she afraid she will find?

The Box sits unopened in Margaret’s closet. When does Margaret get the courage to take it down, pull off the tape, and peer inside?

Adam Benson, the all American devoted husband and ex-cop, volunteered to re-up in the Marine Corps after having served in Korea. He is killed under suspicious circumstances, and his personal belongings are clues to Adam’s love and personal integrity.

Ruth Middleton, the tiny-waisted and big-bosomed realtor with ulterior motives, tries to persuade Margaret to join the Daughters of the American Revolution and support the war effort.

But wait! Irene Sotheby is a bead-bedecked peacenik who tries to get Margaret involved in the anti-war movement. Her connection to Ruth Middleton is a shocker.

Corporal Benjamin Friend shows up on Margaret’s doorstep and claims to have served with Adam.

Captain Salls is the police chief of Liberty, Ohio. He seems more interested in Margaret than in the robbery that took place in Margaret’s house.

Tagged: anti-war protests, DAR, Daughters of the American Revolution, small town America, USMC, Vietnam veterans, Vietnam War, women's fiction

Uncovering the Vietnam War

Photo from vietnamwarmemorial.com

The sequel to The Ups and Downs of Miss Margaret Landings is Margaret’s War, the story of a Vietnam War widow who becomes involved with the anti-war movement only to discover that there are numerous sides to any conflict. Margaret continues her search for personal happiness and finds that love, war, and past mistakes force her to face the truth about herself and others.

In preparing to write Margaret’s War, I have been reading books and watching movies related to the Vietnam War. My research has not provoked in me either a hawkish attitude or a dovish posture.  I have to admit that reading about the Vietnam conflict has made me more thoughtful about wars and the people who fight in them. The words and images of others have given me insight into realities and misunderstandings of a war fought by brave soldiers who slogged through rice paddies with leeches on their backs (and other places) in a foreign land where they could barely discern who was friend or who was foe. The more I learn, and listen, the more I encounter the reality of the human condition…the human need to survive, to have a purpose, and to measure up.  I have undue respect for the people who served our country even when they were doubting their purpose. I share this growing list to invite your comments and recommendations on the most useful resources to understand the reasons for, and the experiences of, the Vietnam War. I give my own star rankings and have included links to books available on Amazon. Of course, feel free to go to your local independent bookstore too!

Books

Achilles in Vietnam by Jonathan Shay – Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character *****

Antiwarriors by Melvin Small – The Vietnam War and the Battle for America’s Hearts and Minds *****

A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo – A Classic Vietnam Memoir*****

Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam by Bernard Edelman (Ed.)*****

Distant Shore: A Memoir by Alvin Simpson

Grief Denied by Pauline Laurent – A Vietnam Widow’s Story ****

Lonely Girls with Burning Eyes by Marian Faye Novak – A Wife Recalls Her Husband’s Journey Home from Vietnam ****

Matterhorn by Karl Malantes – A Novel of the Vietnam War *****

Movies

Apocalypse Now

Born on the 4th of July

Full Metal Jacket

Good Morning, Vietnam

Platoon

We Were Soldiers

Tagged: 1960s, A Rumor of War, Achilles in Vietnam, anti-war protests, Antiwarriors, Dear America: Letters from Vietnam, Grief, Grief Denied, Lonely Girls with Burning Eyes, military memoir, Philip Caputo, Platoon, Vietnam, Vietnam soldiers, Vietnam veterans, Vietnam War, Vietnam War widow, war, We Were Soldiers

Doo Wop Test

Tell us how you did in the comment section!

Doo Wop Test

Hey, Boomers, think you know your 50s music? This test was sent to me but I couldn’t find a source for it. It’s all over the Internet. There’s another quiz you might like about singing groups at http://www.gotoquiz.com/the_doowop_quiz

(Clipart from clkr.com)

 

 

1. When did ”Little Suzie” finally wake up?

(a) The movie’s over, it’s 2 o’clock

(b) The movie’s over, it’s 3 o’clock

(c) The movie’s over, it’s 4 o’clock

2. ”Rock Around

The Clock” was used in what movie?

(a) Rebel Without A Cause

(b) Blackboard Jungle

(c) The Wild Ones

3. What’s missing from a Rock & Roll standpoint? Earth _____

(a) Angel

(b) Mother

(c) Worm

4. ”I found my thrill . . .” where?

(a) Kansas City

(b) Heartbreak Hotel

(c) Blueberry Hill

5. ”Please turn on your magic beam, _____ _____ bring me a dream,”:

(a) Mr. Sandman

(b) Earth Angel

(c) Dream Lover

6. For which label did Elvis Presley first record?

(a) Atlantic

(b) RCA

(c) Sun

7. He asked, ”Why’s everybody always pickin’ on me?” Who was he?

(a) Bad, Bad Leroy Brown

(b) Charlie Brown

(c) Buster Brown

8. In Bobby Darin’s ”Mack The Knife,” the one with the knife, was named:

(a) Mac Heath

(b) Mac Cloud

(c) McNamara

9. Name the song with ”A-wop bop a-loo bop a-lop bam boom.”

(a) Good Golly, Miss Molly

(b) Be-Bop-A-Lula

(c) Tutti Fruitti

10. Who is generally given credit for originating the term ”Rock And Roll”?

(a) Dick Clark

(b) Wolfman Jack

(c) Alan Freed

11. In 1957, he left the music business to become a preacher:

(a) Little Richard

(b) Frankie Lymon

(c) Tony Orlando

12. Paul Anka’s ”Puppy Love” is written to what star?

(a) Brenda Lee

(b) Connie Francis

(c) Annette Funicello

13. The Everly Brothers were…..

(a) Pete and Dick

(b) Don and Phil

(c) Bob and Bill

14. The Big Bopper’s real name was:

(a) Jiles P. Richardson

(b) Roy Harold Scherer Jr.

(c) Marion Michael Morrison

15. In 1959, Berry Gordy, Jr., started a small record company called…

(a) Decca

(b) Cameo

(c) Motown

16. Edd Brynes had a hit with ”Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb”. What TV show was he on?

(a) 77 Sunset Strip

(b) Hawaiian Eye

(c) Surfside Six

17. In 1960 Bobby Darin married:

(a) Carol Lynley

(b) Sandra Dee

(c) Natalie Wood

18. They were a one hit wonder with ”Book Of Love”:

(a) The Penguins

(b) The Monotones

(c) The Moonglows

19. The Everly Brothers sang a song called ”Till I ______ You.”

(a) Loved

(b) Kissed

(c) Met

20. Chuck Berry sang ”Oh, ___________, why can’t you be true?”

(a) Suzie Q

(b) Peggy Sue

(c) Maybelline

21. ”Wooly _______”

(a) Mammouth

(b) Bully

(c) Pully

22. ”I’m like a one-eyed cat . . . ..”

(a) can’t go into town no more

(b) sleepin’ on a cold hard floor

(c) peepin’ in a seafood store

23. ”Sometimes I wonder what I’m gonna do . . . . ..”

(a) cause there ain’t no answer for a life without booze

(b) cause there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues

(c) cause my car’s gassed up and I’m ready to cruise

24. ”They often call me Speedo, but my real name is ……”

(a) Mr. Earl

(b) Jackie Pearl

(c) Milton Berle

25. ”Be Bop A Lula ….”

(a) she’s got the rabies

(b) she’s my baby.

(c) she loves me, maybe

26. ”Fine Love, Fine Kissing …..”

(a) right here

(b) fifty cents

(c) just for you

27. ”He wore black denim trousers and …..”

(a) a pink carnation

(b) pink leotards

(c) motorcycle boots

28. ”I got a gal named……….”

(a) Jenny Zamboni

(b) Gerri Mahoney

(c) Boney Maroney

Answers:

* * * * * * * * * * * *

1 (c) The movie’s over, it’s 4 o’clock

2. (b) Blackboard Jungle

3. (a) Angel

4. (c) Blueberry Hill

5. (a) Mr. Sandman

6. (c) Sun

7. (b) Charlie Brown

8. (a) Mac Heath

9. (c) Tutti Fruitti

10. (c) Alan Freed

11. (a) Little Richard

12. (c) Annette Funicello

13. (b) Don and Phil

14. (a) Jiles P. Richardson

15. (c) Motown

16. (a) 77 Sunset Strip

17. (b) Sandra Dee

18. (b) The Monotones

19. (b) Kissed

20. (c) Maybelline

21. (b) Bully

22. (c) peepin’ in a sea food store

23. (b) cause there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues

24. (a) Mr. Earl

25. (b) she’s my baby

26. (a) right here

27. (c) motorcycle boots

28. (c) Boney Maroney

Tagged: Boomers, Chuck Berry, doo wop, doo wop quiz, doo wop test, Elvis Presley, Little Suzie, rock 'n roll

A Successful Book Launch!

Food, lots of food!

Book launches can be simple like a card table set up in a bookstore or they can be a lavish affair in a city hotel. My book launch for The Ups and Downs of Miss Margaret Landings was somewhere in the middle. I’m still on a sugar hangover from eating the book cover cake and the Margaret Landings M&Ms.

What kind of an affair did I want? I decided to combine the sales opportunity of a book launch and the party opportunity to thank my friends for putting up with the incessant talk about my book for the last couple of years. Bottom line? A celebration! I had cake, sandwiches, personalized M&Ms with “Margaret Landings,” “Liberty, Ohio,” and “secrets.” I also had an open bar with drinks named for characters in the book.

Instead of doing a reading, I had actor friends who  volunteered to be in character during the party. They were a hit. They performed three scenes in the book that would pique interest in the story without giving away the plot. In the photo to the left are Skip Brauns, who played Howard, the mislead minister; Judi Brauns, who played Lena, the uptight men’s underwear sales lady; and Shawn Cryderman, who played Mrs. Gibbons, the town gossip. Tim Koch played a New York Times reporter, shown with Mona Monachi.  All the actors had name badges so people could remember the roles.

Of course we had to have Margaret, played by Karen Moore. Both John Graham, the department store manager, and Pete, the swarthy carpet salesman, were played by Michael Moore (no relation to Karen).

Although attendees were not required to dress for the 50s setting of the book, several friends got into the act. Charli Jackson dressed as a cigarette girl and offered the following to the partygoers: wax lips, candy cigarettes, cotton candy cones (remember those?!), and taffy. Bill Muto was the hard-working bartender, and Vivian Herman wore a dress she still had from the 50s!

What made this a successful book launch?

1. Great friends that wanted to celebrate with me.


2. Invitations


3. Entertainment

Spirited friend as emcee

Sign in table with guest book

Centerpieces as door prizes

Tagged: 50s, book launch, book publicity, debut novel, decorated cakes, first time novelist, M&Ms, Margaret Landings, Patti Albaugh, SaddleBrooke, the 1950s, The Ups and Downs of Miss Margaret Landings

’50s Products and People in The Ups and Downs of Miss Margaret Landings

I enjoyed researching (and remembering) what products and people to include in the story about Margaret. My purpose was to lend authenticity to the setting. Below are things that Margaret ate, encountered, or wore. I hope you add your own memories in the comment section.

Food

Image from
http://www.artofdrink.com/soda-fountain/drinks/cherry-phosphate/

Twinkies
Hostess Cupcakes
Swanson Pot Pies
Gin and Tonic
Rum and Coke
Rice Krispies
phosphates
molded Jello salad
Turkey melt

Books, magazines 

Marjorie Morningstar
The Good Wife’s Guide
Post
Life
Time (article on homosexuality)

Politics/Famous People

Joseph McCarthy (McCarthyism)
President Eisenhower
Adlai Stevenson
Bette Davis as Margo Channing in All About Eve
William Faulkner

Household Products

Lady head vase
Kitty Litter (read about the history of Kitty Litter)
Oil cloth

Oil cloth

Clothing

Patti Page sporting a “Bullet Bra” 1955

Lollipop Bras
Bullet (pointy) Bra ( see History of Brassieres)
 Shirtwaist Dresses 

What were your favorite foods and products of the 50s? Leave a reply in the comment section below.

Tagged: Bette Davis, bullet bras, Faulkner, Gin and Tonic, Hostess Cupcakes, Joseph McCarthy, Marjorie Morningstar, oil cloth, Patti Page, phosphates, Rice Krispies, Rum and Coke, Swanson Pot Pies, Twinkies, William Faulkner