Patriotic
military song that inexplicably wound up being the #1 selling song of 1966,
in spite of the public backlash against the Vietnam War.It was co-penned by Robin Moore,
who had written a book called The
Green Berets.The book was
later used as the basis for the 1968 John Wayne movie of the same name, and
the song was re-recorded for use as the main theme.Sadler wrote this song while
recovering from a serious leg injury suffered during battle.He played it for his comrades and
one day an ABC-TV crew showed up and filmed him.It was an instant success, luring the advances of record
execs.Sadler re-recorded it
with a male chorus and fifteen-string orchestra in an all-day and night
session that ended around 11 p.m. on 18th December 1965.The song skyrocketed to #1 on the
Billboard pop chart and stayed there for five weeks, ending the year as the
#1 song of 1966.Its accompanying
album, Ballads of the Green Berets,
also went #1.It even scored a
respectable #28 on the U.K. chart.The song and album have sold over nine million copies.It has also become the fodder for a
bevy of parodists, most notably The Beach Bums, of which Bob Seger was a
part, called "The Ballad of the Yellow Beret", a view of the war
through the eyes of a draft dodger.Sadler was not amused and sent them a letter telling them to cease
and desist.It remains popular
to this today, especially among the U.S. Army Special Forces, for whom it
has become an anthem, and is also a staple of the Fightin' Texas Aggie
Band.
