Posted on 05/20/2024 4:58:34 PM PDT by DallasBiff
This was written by the husband and wife songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. Mann had just signed a record deal and recorded this song himself, but his version was pulled when The Animals released the song. Mann and Weil were very productive in the mid-'60s, as they made the transition from writing fluffy pop songs like "Blame It On The Bossa Nova" to songs with more of a message, which appealed to rock bands like The Animals. The Animals producer Mickie Most heard this song and had the band record it. He was looking for American material as he was trying to break the band in the States, and had a call out to the New York City songwriters in the Brill Building and 1650 Broadway looking for songs.
(Excerpt) Read more at songfacts.com ...
I agree.
That's kinda cool. It reminds me as lead singer in a band I had called, "The Decades". The intro really set the mood for the melody. Used to really enjoy the chorus where Burden raised the pitch.
dittos
““Sky Pilot” is a patriotic song from an era when patriotism wasn’t cool.”
Sky pilot was an anti-war anthem. Many radio stations refused to play it as it was considered unpatriotic.
It had sympathy for the troops. I guess that’s all I heard.
This was an era when they were called “baby killer” when they got back.
Apart from Eric Burdon, Chas Chandler’s opening bass lines were a distinctive element in their sound. They caught your attention. Several of their biggest hits featured this: It’s My Life, We Gotta Get Out of This Place, and Bring It On Home To Me come to mind, in addition to I’m Mad Again from their first LP. Also, Chas was a great backup singer who looked good on stage. Alan Price did great, bluesy organ work (e.g., on The Right Time from their first LP), and Hilton Valentine’s arpeggio intro to House of the Rising Sun was imitated by tens of thousands of aspiring guitarists.
““Sky Pilot” was a patriotic song? “
Banned by the military!
The History Behind the Song
Eric Burdon, the lead singer of The Animals, wrote “Sky Pilot” after a visit to a military hospital in California in 1967. He saw firsthand the physical and emotional toll of war on young soldiers, and he felt compelled to express his opposition to the Vietnam War.
You’re the fiftieth person who has corrected me.
It had sympathy for the troops. I guess that’s all I heard.
This was an era when they were called “baby killers” when they got back home.
I guess I am just a “glass is half full” kind of guy.
There’s no doubt it was an anti-war song, focusing on the alleged hypocrisy of the military chaplains.
“It had sympathy for the troops. I guess that’s all I heard.”
He is telling the they are suckers about to die.
He smiles at the young soldiers tells them it’s all right
He knows of their fear in the forthcoming fight
Soon there’ll be blood and many will die
Mothers and fathers back home they will cry.
We should keep in mind that songs like “Sky Pilot” and “Monterrey” were done by Eric Burdon & The Animals, basically a completely different lineup and style from the original Animals.
I didn’t realize I was responding to the steaming sack of Obama.
My mistake.
“It had sympathy for the troops. I guess that’s all I heard.”
The writer visited a military hospital. I had a stint at Trippler 54 years ago. After I got out of isolation I was assigned to escort the more unfortunate war victims to their appointments.
It was a sad Era.
“I didn’t realize I was responding to the steaming sack of Obama.
My mistake.”
Interesting. You had no problem with my post till you noticed.
Perhaps if you would quit untrue posts I would not have reason to correct you.
I didn’t dissect it like a Law Review. It was a song on the radio that I caught half the words of. I enjoyed the “SKY PILOT” refrain. It sounded heroic to me, as a fifteen year-old.
Get a life.
“Get a life.”
Does that mean I can no longer live rent-free in your head?
You're the stalker.
Chas Chandler came up with a great bass riff on that one.
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