Category: History

Peter Paul & Mary: El Salvador

On today’s date of February 19 in 1981, the United States government released a report claiming an El Salvador insurgency came from aggression by communists. The report prompted the U.S. government under new President Ronald Reagan to begin to address the perceived threat. The U.S. then assisted the government of El Salvador against rebels by sending money and advisers to the country.

Through the 1980s, the U.S. government spent more and more money on El Salvador. Still, violence and instability continued in El Salvador, with many accusations of torture, kidnapping, and assassination on both sides.

Although Peter, Paul & Mary are best-known for the songs they recorded in the 1960s, they still made some excellent music later in their career. One of their late-career highlights is “El Salvador,” which they recorded in 1982 soon after the U.S. report and the escalations in that country.

In the song “El Salvador,” written by “Paul” — i.e., Noel Paul Stookey, the trio helped bring attention to the continuing atrocities in that country and the involvement of the U.S. government in the mess. Stookey and the other singers were surprised to sometimes hear booing when they sang the song, which later appeared on Songs of Conscience and Concern (1999). Here, Peter, Paul & Mary perform “El Salvador” at their 25th Anniversary Concert in 1986 — without any booing.

At the end of the song, the trio asked a question:

peter paul and mary songs of conscience and concern

They’ll continue training troops in the USA,
And watch the nuns that got away,
And teach the military bands to play South of the Border,
And kill the people to set them free;
Who put this price on their liberty?
Don’t you think it’s time to leave
El Salvador?

In 1992, the United Nations and Costa Rica President Oscar Arias helped negotiate a deal between the warring parties in El Salvador. Although a U.N. commission condemned the U.S.’s involvement in Salvadoran military atrocities, then U.S. President George H.W. Bush claimed that the peace was a result of the U.S.’s long fight against communism El Salvador.

But today even the U.S. Department of State website recognizes the problems: “During the 12-year civil war, human rights violations by both the government security forces and left-wing guerillas were rampant.”

Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Pluto Discovered

    pluto On today’s date of February 18 in 1930, Clyde Tombaugh — an Illinois-born man in his early 20’s working at Lowell Observatory in Arizona — discovered a moving object on photographic plates taken weeks earlier. The object turned out to be Pluto.

    A number of scientists had earlier theorized about the existence of the object, and Tombaugh was part of the observatory’s quest to find a mysterious Planet X they predicted existed. After further investigation confirmed Tombaugh’s discovery, news of it was released in March.

    The discovery created excitement around the world, and the object’s name came from a suggestion by an eleven-year-old girl in Oxford, England — Venetia Burney — who had suggested the name to her grandfather who had passed it on to various contacts.

    In recent years, scientists have changed the classification of Pluto because of its small size, so that the International Astronomical Union no longer classifies it as a “planet.” Instead, it is classified as a “dwarf planet.” For various reasons, including some that are sentimental, others have argued that Pluto should still be regarded as the ninth planet in our solar system.

    There is another famous Pluto, i.e., Pluto the pup from Walt Disney. Like the debate about whether Pluto is a planet, there is no consensus on how Pluto the dog got his name. The cartoon dog was created in 1930 around the same time as the “planet” was named, although people dispute whether the planet was named after the cartoon, or whether the cartoon was named after the planet, or whether it is just a coincidence they have the same name. Cartoonists there at the creation are not sure where they got the name.

    At least Pluto the dog does not have to worry about being downgraded from a cartoon. So let us celebrate the Pluto in the sky with the Pluto of our childhoods. Pluto is one of the more interesting Disney characters in that the cartoon character is portrayed as an animal. He does not talk, unlike the talking mice (i.e., Mickey and Minnie), talking ducks (Donald), or the talking dog Goofy. Enjoy.

    If you are more interested in the celestial object, check out this PBS documentary on the Pluto “dwarf planet”

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    Lincoln & Liberty Too!

    Abraham Lincoln Music Today we look back at a campaign song that used new lyrics set to an old tune to support Abraham Lincoln’s run for president in 1860. Jesse Hutchinson Jr., part of a group of family singers, wrote the lyrics to the 1860 campaign song “Lincoln and Liberty.” I like the lines reminding the listeners that the candidate from Illinois also grew up in Kentucky and Indiana: “We’ll go for the son of Kentucky,/ The hero of Hoosierdom through.” Hoosierdom?

    The music to “Lincoln and Liberty” comes from an old English drinking song going back at least to the 17th Century, “Rosin the Beau.” The tune had already been used in campaign songs for William Henry Harrison in 1840 and for Henry Clay in 1844. Before Lincoln’s campaign, the tune also had been used in an abolitionist song (“Come aid in the slave’s liberation / And roll on the Liberty Ball!”). So listeners’ familiarity with the tune might have helped the Lincoln version of the song become so popular.

    Here is a version of “Lincoln and Liberty” recorded more recently by Matthew Sabatella and the Rambling String Band (with free download) from Ballad of America Volume 3: Songs in the Life of Abraham Lincoln (2009):

    In this video, singer Ronnie Gilbert explains some of the background of the song, “Lincoln and Liberty” before singing the tune:

    On November 6, 1860, Lincoln won 40 percent of the popular vote, which was enough to easily beat the three other candidates, John C. Breckinridge (Southern Democrat), John Bell (Constitutional Union), and Stephen Douglas (Northern Democrat). The election was not the end for the music to “Lincoln and Liberty.” The tune continued to be used after Lincoln’s presidency, including a song for Ulysses S. Grant’s reelection in 1872.

    I doubt we will hear the tune during elections in the near future, but you never know. The use of an old song might help avoid the problems of presidential candidates angering rock stars. Still, I suspect that most of today’s musicians would be proud to have their music used to celebrate the former president born in February 1809.

    Bonus Lincoln Information: Check out this post for a discussion of Lincoln’s birth. There are a couple of Lincoln films in the works too, including one with Daniel Day Lewis and one featuring Lincoln and vampires.

    What do you think of “Lincoln and Liberty”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Audie Murphy: To Hell and Back to Film to TV to Song

    audie murphy to hell and back On a cold day on this date of January 26 in 1945 in France during a World War II battle, Audie Murphy earned the Medal of Honor when he engaged in a single-handed battle with Germans. His heroic actions would save many of his fellow soldiers, and it eventually garnered Murphy attention from Jimmy Cagney and Hollywood, helping launch a film career.

    Murphy’s Act of Heroism

    In the January 1945 battle, Murphy saw his unit reduced from 128 men to 19.  So, he ordered the remaining men to fall back while he fought the Germans by himself for a period.  He eventually climbed up on an abandoned tank and used its machine gun to enable his comrades to return and organize a counter-attack.

    The counter-attack won back the town of Holtzwihr, France for the Allies. When he later was asked why he took on an entire company of German infantry, Murphy explained “They were killing my friends.”

    Murphy was wounded in the fight, which ended his active duty. Through his military career, he won a large number of medals and decorations, making him known as “the most decorated combat soldier in World War II.”

    Audie Murphy in Hollywood

    After the decorations led to a profile in Life magazine, Hollywood came calling.  The attention eventually led to a film based on Murphy’s war service.

    The movie was called To Hell and Back (1955).  And it starred . . . Audie Murphy.

    Upon seeing a trailer for the exploits of a war hero with the war hero playing himself based on a co-written autobiography, one might conclude that Murphy had a big ego and thought of himself as a great hero. But Murphy originally did not want to play himself.

    The film is largely a tribute to Murphy’s fallen comrades.  The movie highlights the deaths of the fallen, including the dead soldiers haunting Murphy’s award ceremony.

    My favorite film with Murphy is Destry (1954), a remake of the also good Destry Rides Again (1939), which starred Jimmy Stewart. He also appeared in a number of television shows, including a Western, Whispering Smith (1961).

    Murphy’s War Experience

    Murphy was humble about his exploits and realistic about war, as shown by this 1963 radio interview.  In the interview, he explains that the highlight of the war for him was the day he heard the war was over.

    Murphy also became a hero when he helped veterans of the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam by breaking taboos to speak about his own post-war struggles.  He was open about his personal battles, including post-traumatic stress syndrome and addiction to sleeping pills.

    You may see how unassuming he is in this clip from the TV show What’s My Line?, recorded before To Hell and Back hit theaters.

    Murphy the Songwriter

    It was not until I started writing this post that I discovered that Murphy also co-wrote a number of country songs.  His songs were recorded by singers such as Dean Martin and Porter Wagoner.

    Below is one of Murphy’s biggest hits, “When the Wind Blows in Chicago,” sung here by Roy Clark.

    Murphy’s Death and Confusion About His Age

    Murphy died in a plane crash on May 28, 1971. His widow, Pam Murphy, continued to work for veterans until she died in 2010.

    Audie Murphy had been 21 when he risked his life and earned the Medal of Honor. When he died, he was only 45, although many sources like Wikipedia and even his tombstone in Arlington National Cemetery claim he was 46.

    The age confusion was created because this honorable and talented man did lie once. Several months after his mother died, with some help from his sister, the teenaged Murphy falsified his birth certificate.  He lied so he could serve his country when he was only seventeen.

    What is your favorite Audie Murphy film? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    The Death of Emmett Till

    Bob Dylan Whitmark Demos

    On January 24 in 1956, Look magazine published “The Shocking Story of Approved Killing in Mississippi” that featured a confession from two men claiming they had murdered the teenage Emmett L. Till on August 28, 1955.  The killing would inspire both Bob Dylan and the Civil Rights movement.

    The Murder

    Jurors had acquitted the two white men, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, of the 1955 kidnapping and murder of Till. But after the acquittal, in the magazine article, Bryant and Milam described the killing.

    After beating and shooting Till, they used barbed wire to tie a heavy cotton gin fan around his neck to weigh down his body when they threw him in the Tallahatchie River.

    Throughout the ordeal, the two men could not break the spirit of the teenager.  Till maintained that he was as good as them and that he had dated white women.

    Emmett Till

    Emmett TillTill was a 14-year-old African-American teenager from Chicago.  Prior to his death, he was visiting Mississippi relatives in 1955.

    In Money, Mississippi, he went to Bryant’s Grocery and Meat Market to buy some candy. Reportedly, while he was in the store, the teen either whistled at or requested a date from Carolyn Bryant, who ran the store with her husband Roy, who was out of town.

    As word spread around town about the incident, the husband Roy Bryant returned to town and contacted his half-brother J.W. Miliam. A few days after the encounter in the store between Till and Byrant’s wife, Miliam and Bryant abducted Till from his great-uncle’s home. Three days later Till’s body was found in the river.

    Response to the Murder

    Word of the horrible killing spread. Reportedly, 50,000 people attended the funeral, where Till’s mother had an open casket to show the world what was done to her son (warning: disturbing photo at link).

    Authorities arrested Miliam and Bryant, who were tried and acquitted by an all-white all-male jury. Many were outraged with the acquittal, and some credit the events with helping inspire the Civil Rights Movement.

    Miliam and Bryant later both died from cancer.  But as recently as 2005 the U.S. Justice Department was looking into the case about prosecuting others still living who helped with the crime.

    Bob Dylan’s “The Death of Emmett Till”

    The events also inspired a young Bob Dylan to write about the Till in the song “The Death of Emmett Till.” He performed the song on a radio program in 1962, explaining the tune came from a song by folk-musician Len Chandler.

    On the March 11, 1962 radio show, the host flattered the young Dylan’s skills.  But Dylan responded, “I just wrote that one about last week, I think.”

    Relatively consistent with Dylan’s comments, in Keys to the Rain: The Definitive Bob Dylan Encyclopedia, Oliver Trager reports that the 22-year-old Dylan wrote the song around February 1962.  That date means it is one of the first songs Dylan ever wrote. Trager also suggests that Emmett Till’s death may have affected Dylan because they were born only months apart.

    Although Dylan initially was proud of “The Death of Emmett Till,” he later seemed embarrassed by its literalness.  He claimed he was just trying to write about something topical. He even went further and said that it was a “bullshit song.”

    It’s true that the song does not rise to the poetic level of the more brilliant similarly themed song, “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll.” But “The Death of Emmett Till” was a good start for the young songwriter, and it helped highlight a great injustice.

    Through the years, listeners rarely got the chance to hear Dylan’s song.  “The Death of Emmett Till” never appeared on an official Bob Dylan release until in 2010 when it was on the CD The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964 (The Bootleg Series Vol. 9) (2010).

    The photo above of Till — whose nickname was Bobo — was taken by his mother on Christmas 1954, eight months before he was murdered.

    How does “The Death of Emmett Till” rank in the Dylan canon? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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