Music of Vietnam Vets

Saturday March 3, my family attended a talk at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame delivered by Wisconsin Professor Craig Werner: "'Chain of Fools': A Vietnam Veteran's Top 20."

Craig Werner will discuss the story of music and the Vietnam experience. His talk draws from his current project, a book entitled We Gotta Get Out of This Place: Music, Memory and the Vietnam War, co-authored with Doug Bradley. The book tells the story of music and the Vietnam experience through the music-based memories of scores of veterans.

The authors have been working on the project for some time, as demonstrated by this Chicago Tribute story from 2006:

They've even come up with a top 10 list of songs that resonate with Vietnam vets, led by "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," by the Animals; "Chain of Fools," by Aretha Franklin; and "Fortunate Son," by Credence Clearwater Revival.

The list has expanded and the ordering has changed a bit -- plus, "Leavin' on a Jet Plane" is now near the top if I recall correctly.

Werner and Bradley interviewed 200 veterans and are compiling their words into an oral history.

Update: my spouse had a copy of the handout, which included a list of the top 20 and "Honorable Mentions."


Visit this blog's homepage.

For 140 character IR and foreign policy talk, follow me on twitter.

Or for basketball, baseball, movies or other stuff, follow this personal twitter account.