Country Music Goes to War This page intentionally left blank Country Music Goes to War Edited by Charles K. Wolfe and James E. Akenson TIfE UNIVERSITY PRESS OF KENTUCKY Publication of this volume was made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Copyright © 2005 by The University Press of Kentucky Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth, serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University. All rights reserved. Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky 663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008 www.kentuckypress.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Country music goes to war / edited by Charles K. Wolfe and James E. Akenson p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) ISBN-lO: 0-8131-2308-9 (hardcover: alk. paper) l. Country mUSic-History and criticism. 2. Country music-Social aspects. 3. Music and war. 4. Political ballads and songs-History and criticism. 1. Wolfe, Charles K. II. Akenson,James Edward, 1943- ML3524 C695 2005 78l.642'1599-dc22 ISBN-13: 978-0-8131-2308-0 (hardcover: alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-8131-9204-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) This book is printed on acid-free recycled paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials. €9® Manufactured in the United States of America. ~"·"'I~ Member ofthe Association of ~~ _ American University Presses -----Contents ----- Introduction vii Charles K. Wolfe and james E. Akenson l. The Civil War in Country Music Tradition 1 Andrew K. Smith and james E. Akenson 2. "Bloody War": War Songs in Early Country Music 26 Charles K. Wolfe 3. "Theres a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere": The Story behind Its Success 33 Louis Hatchett and WK. McNeil 4. Gene Autry in World War II 43 Don Cusic 5. Peace in the Valley: The Development ofJohn Lair's Enterprises during WWII 58 Michael Ann Williams 6. Hayloft Patriotism: The National Barn Dance during World War II 81 Wayne W Daniel 7. 'Jesus Hits Like an Atom Bomb": Nuclear Warfare in Country Music, 1944-56 102 Charles K. Wolfe vi Contents 8. Purple Hearts, Heartbreak Ridge, and Korean Mud: Pain, Patriotism, and Faith in the 1950-53 "Police Action" 126 Ivan M. Tribe 9. "Dear Ivan": Country Music Perspectives on the Soviet Union and the Cold War 14 3 Kevin S. Fontenot 10. "True Patriot": Brian Letton Goes to War 152 Rae Wear 11. "Alternative" to What? 0 Brother, September 11, and the Politics of Country Music 164 Aaron A. Fox 12. Ulster Loyalism and Country Music, 1969-85 192 David A. Wilson 13. In Whose Name? Country Artists Speak Out on Gulf War II 208 Randy Rudder 14. Country Music: A Teaching Tool for Dealing with War 227 James E. Akenson List of Contributors 248 Introduction In her definitive anthology of country song lyrics, Sing Your Heart Out, Coun­ try Boy, Dorothy Horstman devotes one of her keystone chapters to the heading "War and Patriotism." She explains, "A country audience likes nothing better than a tragic song, and what better setting for it than a war? It has all the elements of drama-separation, loneliness, betrayal, danger, disfigurement, and death-and hillbilly songs about the experience have managed to cover them all." Although the popularity of war songs natu­ rally ebbs and flows depending on the political climate and the actual ex­ istence of military conflict, a surprising number of such songs have entered the standard country repertoire and are still sung on a regular basis-"The Soldier's Last Letter," "Silver Dew on the Blue Grass Tonight," "Each Night at Nine," "At Mail Call Today," and "God Bless the USA," to name a few. Similarly, more than a few of the old British and Scottish ballads (the "Child ballads") that provided some of the roots for country music are full of sto­ ries about war and battle. Events of the last ten years have brought to the nation a new sense of patriotism and a renewed interest in songs that reflect on these difficult times. New versions of patriotic standards such as "The Star-Spangled Ban­ ner" and "America the Beautiful" have been recorded by major modem stars like Aaron Tippin, Lyle Lovett, and Toby Keith. New songs by Keith, Darryl Worley, Charlie Daniels, and the Dixie Chicks have not only found homes on the airwaves, but often have become newsworthy items of their viii Introduction own. Tippin, for example, has said of his song "You've Got to Stand for Something," "I hope it will help our country hea1." Such a climate suggests that now is an appropriate time to explore the tradition of war-related country music and to assess the impact of such songs. Thus the fourteen essays presented here as the second volume in a new series of thematic anthologies about country music. The essays range from Civil War songs to the tragedy of 9/11 to the war with Iraq; they cover a geopolitical spectrum that ranges from Northern Ireland to Australia. The writers approach their subjects from a wide range of perspectives: history, English, folklore, education, political science, and popular culture. And precisely because of this diversity, Country Music Goes to War cannot be read as a full and complete history of the subject. We readily admit that country music addressing World War II and the cold war seems to attract more academic interest than songs of the Vietnam era (which is complex enough to merit a full-length book of its own), songs in Hollywood films, the impact of technology (like the Armed Forces Radio Network) on spread­ ing wartime music, or the use of country war songs in political campaigns. We would have preferred to have essays on these topics, but none were forthcoming (perhaps because some of the topics have received little aca­ demic study). All the diverse essays, however, address one common concern: What different functions do these songs play in different societies? Once the ques­ tion of function has been asked, numerous others arise: Do the songs in­ spire, motivate, rally, console, or simply cause the listener to reflect? How does the social and political function of a song shift over the years and within different settings? As a full-fledged commercial art form, is country music still able to project the sincerity and honesty that once marked the classic old ballads? We may not answer all of these questions, but we hope this first gathering of studies about this powerful genre will stimulate fur­ ther research and discussion. This marks the fifth anthology of country essays edited by Charles Wolfe and James Akenson, and the second thematic volume. We are hoping to explore in a future book the world of country music and the movies, and we invite interested parties to contact us, Dr. Wolfe at [email protected], or Dr. Akenson at [email protected]. Charles K. Wolfe and James E. Akenson 1 The Civil War in Country Music Tradition Andrew K. Smith and James E. Akenson Introduction Fig 1. Cannon on ridge of Louisi­ ana position at Vicksburg. (Photo by James E. Akenson.) Despite lasting only four years-from 1861 to 1865-the American Civil War continues to fascinate the public and scholars in the United States and around the world. In recent years, Ken Bums's Public Broadcasting Service documentary series generated intense interest. Annual reenactments at Civil War battlefields such as Shiloh and Chickamauga continue to attract thou­ sands of spectators, and popular magazines such as Civil War Times may be found in Wal-Mart, as well as in supermarkets and gas stations. The July 2003 Smithsonian magazine featured "Making Sense of Robert E. Lee," an article by Roy Blount Jr. Books such as Tony Horwitz's Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War (1998) and Jim Cullen's The Civil War in Popular Culture: A Reusable Past (1995) provide evidence of the 2 Andrew K. Smith and James E. Akenson general public's interest in all things Civil War. In addition, the remarkable number of Web sites devoted to the conflict, such as the American Civil War Homepage (Hoemann 2003), reflects a strong popular appetite, not to mention continued scholarly activity and controversy of a voluminous na­ ture. Even the daily news points out that the Civil War lives on. One need only look to newspapers to see controversies over the Confederate flag:S appearance in school dress (Smith 2003), on license plates (de la Cruz 2003), and in school presentations (Alligood 2003). Of all the historical events that live on in the public consciousness, the Civil War surely ranks as one of the prominent. William Faulkner believed that "The past isn't dead. It isn't even past." The country music tradition provides a case in point about the enduring legacy of the Civil War, for, as Conway Twitty sang, it is indeed "a bridge that just won't bum." During the 140-plus years since its conclusion, the Civil War has made, and continues to make, its way into country music in a remarkable number of ways. This essay focuses on Civil War-era material in the country music tradition, Civil War themes in individual songs, Civil War concept al­ bums, and Civil War references in songs not overtly about the conflict; also considered are visual references on album covers and CD booklets.