Song #144 - "Eve Of Destruction - Barry McGuire

Recorded - July 12-15, 1965

Released - August, 1965

#1 for week of September 25, 1965. 

     For much of the 1950's and early 1960's, folk music had taken a much more apolitical leaning. This applies to folk groups such as The Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul & Mary. Then, by 1963, both of those two groups became actively involved in the civil rights movement and, along with The Weavers, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan, led the way for a more topical folk renaissance. In 1965, political/protest folk peaked with the release of Barry McGuire's controversial #1 hit, "Eve Of Destruction". 

     Barry McGuire started off his music career in 1961. One year later, he joined the folk group "The New Christy's Minstrels", and sang lead on their biggest hit, "Green Green" in 1963. His signature gruff singing voice no doubt helped the song stand out. After leaving the group in 1965, he recorded, "Eve Of Destruction" written by respected folk singer/songwriter P.F. Sloan. 

     Featuring Los Angeles session musicians The Wrecking Crew on backup, and an angry lead vocal done in one take, "Eve Of Destruction" contains some of the most poignant lyrics ever written. Few singers and musicians were courageous enough to sing about all of the world's conflicts, and the Vietnam War, which was still in its early years. The song managed to hit #1 on the pop charts, and oh what controversy it caused!

     The song was banned from several radio stations, many of whom refused to even play the song. It also sparked a reaction from the more conservative and/or anti-communist musicians with a number of response records being recorded. The most well known of these, "The Ballad Of The Green Berets", even hit #1. 

     In my opinion, many of these response records come across as more reactionary than patriotic, and almost all of them have a highly condescending tone. Plus, they all seem to forget one very important point made in the lyrics: "You're old enough to kill, but not for voting". 

     Obviously, due to the voting age being reduced from 21 to 18 in 1971, and especially due to many of the conflicts in the song having long since passed, "Eve Of Destruction" is very much a product of its time period. However, Barry McGuire tends to update the lyrics with current events, whenever he has performed it live over the last few decades. Thus, the song always has relatable current events in its lyrics. 

Final Verdict - While some may be put off by both Barry's extremely gruff singing voice and the lyrical content, I see the song as an honest statement of anger at just how destructive this world can be sometimes. It may be a bit dated in its current form, but I certainly consider it to be one of the most important songs of 1965. 

            Coming Up Next - "Hang On Sloopy" by The McCoys. 

Until Next Time - I'm Dr. Rock, and I certainly hope we're not on the eve of destruction -