ellauri140.html on line 220: The Ballad of the Green Berets ist ein 1966 veröffentlichtes Lied geschrieben von Robin Moore, gesungen von Barry Sadler über die Green Berets, eine Spezialeinheit der US-amerikanischen Armee. In den USA erreichte das Lied den ersten Platz der Billboard Hot 100 Charts sowie den ersten Platz in den Popcharts und den zweiten Platz in den Countrycharts. Es war die meistverkaufte Single des Jahres 1966 in den USA.
ellauri140.html on line 224: "The Ballad of the Green Berets" is a patriotic song in the ballad style about the United States Army Special Forces. It is one of the few popular songs of the Vietnam War years to cast the military in a positive light and in 1966 became a major hit, reaching No. 1 for five weeks on the Hot 100 and four weeks on Cashbox. It was also a crossover smash, reaching No. 1 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart and No. 2 on Billboard's Country survey. The original Hot 100 end-of-the-year chart for 1966 showed "California Dreamin'" by The Mamas and the Papas at #1 and "Ballad of the Green Berets" at #10. Later, in a revised end-of-the-year chart for 1966, "Berets" was at #1 and "Dreamin'" was at #10 (see Billboard's #1 single for the year 1966). The two songs tied for #1 on the Cashbox end-of-the-year survey for 1966.
ellauri140.html on line 226: The song was written by then Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler, beginning when he was training to be a Special Forces medic. The author Robin Moore, who wrote the book, The Green Berets, helped Sadler write the lyrics and get a recording contract with RCA Records. The demo of the song was produced in a rudimentary recording studio at Fort Bragg, with the help of Gerry Gitell and LTG William P. Yarborough.
ellauri140.html on line 230: Sadler recorded the song and eleven other tunes in New York in December 1965. The song and album, "Ballads of the Green Berets," were released in January 1966. He performed the song on television on January 30, 1966 on The Ed Sullivan Show, and on other TV shows including Hollywood Palace and The Jimmy Dean Show.
ellauri140.html on line 232: Barry Sadler was a twenty-five year old active duty Green Beret medic in 1966 when he first performed “Ballad of the Green Berets” on The Ed Sullivan Show. The song soon reached number one in the charts and eventually sold eight million copies. Sadler’s performance and the song’s popularity celebrated The Green Berets as the ultimate example of American military prowess, bravery and commitment. It fed into a specific postwar representation of modernity that was soon to be challenged by the escalation of the war in Vietnam.
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