Next Stop Is Vietnam
The War On Record 1961-2008
A collection of recordings documenting, in song, the story of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
Bonus audio: Country Joe McDonald
It’s been more than 35 years since the war in Viet Nam finally came to an end with the fall of Saigon in 1975. The German reissue label Bear Family has just released a whopping 13 disc box set featuring hundreds on recordings inspired by the war from well-known protest singers like Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger to right wing supporters like Sgt. Barry Sadler and Pat Boone to a stockpile of previously unheard music recorded by some of the soldiers who fought the war.
It’s a truly impressive package augmented by archival radio broadcasts, political speeches, photos and essays. One of the primary forces behind the project was Country Joe McDonald, who, along with his band The Fish, led the Woodstock Nation to a version of Joe’s Fixin’ To Die Rag in 1969.
McDonald, a military vet himself, has personally collected many of the tracks recorded by fellow servicemen. But, as Marty Duda discovered, even Country Joe McDonald was surprised by the scope of this box set.
11:06 pm Friday 18 February 2011
Next Stop Is Vietnam (1/4)
Next Stop Is Vietnam: The War On Record 1961-2008 is a collection of recordings documenting, in song, the story of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam. It was produced by Dr. Hugo Keesing, a psychologist and music historian, who spent parts of 1970 and 1971 teaching US troops in Vietnam. The first of four programmes drawn from this seminal collection opens with two of the best-known anti-war songs, both written before America’s involvement in Vietnam had become a widespread public issue. What follows is a selection of songs, both for and against the war, that chart the course of its escalation. (RNZ/Bear Family)
11:06 pm Friday 25 February 2011
NB: Due to the Christchurch earthquake and Radio New Zealand National’s function as a civil defence lifeline utility, the broadcast of this programme was cancelled.
Next Stop Is Vietnam (2/4)
Next Stop Is Vietnam: The War On Record 1961-2008 is a collection of recordings documenting in song the Vietnam war. The second of four programmes, drawn from this collection, follows the rise of the protest movement in the United States, spurred by the introduction of the draft, and culminating in the shooting by members of the National Guard of four protesting students at Kent State University in Ohio. (RNZ/Bear Family)
11:06 pm Friday 4 March 2011
NB: Due to the Christchurch earthquake and Radio New Zealand National’s function as a civil defence lifeline utility, the broadcast of this programme was cancelled.
Next Stop Is Vietnam (3/4)
Next Stop Is Vietnam: The War On Record 1961-2008 is an anthology of recordings that document, in song, the Vietnam war. Among the collection are a number of performances of original songs by servicemen recorded during tours of duty. The third of four programmes drawn from this collection starts with a selection of these songs, and closes with one from Johnny Cash plus a couple of popular tunes of the period, not written specifically about Vietnam but which - for reasons that should become apparent – held special significance for soldiers in the field. (RNZ/Bear Family)
11:06 pm Friday 11 March 2011
Next Stop Is Vietnam (4/4)
In the final of four programmes, compiled from the CD collection Next Stop Is Vietnam: The War On Record 1961-2008, we hear songs that reflect on the after-effects of war. The first eight tracks are by various artists ranging from such well-known figures as John Prine and Bruce Springsteen to obscure performers like Bubba Lee Jones and Bob Aden. The second eight are all post-war recordings by veterans who served in Vietnam. (RNZ/Bear Family)
Information
Content and images courtesy of Bear Family.
About this programme:
A collection of recordings documenting, in song, the story of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam. They range from a folk ballad released just before U.S. troops landed to a 2008 song about the aftereffects that veterans still suffer. Hugo Keesing put the collection together. It's a project he's worked on since the early 1970s, when he taught psychology courses to U.S. troops a few hundred miles up the coast from Saigon.