Posted on 03/17/2026 5:47:17 AM PDT by 11th_VA
Exactly 60 years ago today, on March 11, 1966, a song that was widely embraced at the time was the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. While ‘The Ballad of the Green Berets’ by Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler was a huge success, the track would ultimately earn a reputation as one of the most divisive No. 1 songs in U.S. chart history.
Released in January 1966, SSgt. Barry Sadler’s ‘The Ballad of the Green Berets’ quickly caught on with many listeners. After the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 5, 1966, it reached No. 1 on March 5 and held that position for five weeks. That means that 60 years ago today, on March 11, 1966, the track was dominating the charts.
In addition to reigning supreme over the charts in March 1966, the song would enjoy a staggering amount of sales success for much longer than that. After all, it spent a total of 13 weeks on the charts in total, and History.com reported that ‘The Ballad of the Green Berets’ became “Billboard magazine’s #1 single for all of 1966.“
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Are you Jack Nicholson? Lol
Now that right there could be true. 🤔😂👍
There wasn’t any controversy over this song in 1966.
YouTube Shorts is filled with imaginary “history” to get clicks and this could be an example.
Me either.
Even back in the 60s the lefties tried to make patriotism questionable.
My dad did a tour of Korea and 2 in Vietnam...he told me a story once about returning from Nam he had a stop over in San Francisco and he and a buddy walked around Haight-Ashbury in uniform where the anti war hippies hung out.
When I asked him if the hippies tried to harass them,
his reply was: “yeah, they tried”...but that’s ALL they did was try.
YouTube Shorts is filled with imaginary “history” to get clicks and this could be an example.
The first clue that it’s AI slop is when it says “In the year one thousand nine hundred and sixty-six.”
The B-side was “Letter from Vietnam,” according to Wikipedia...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKRzC7HUnDI
Interview with Barry Sadler followed by his performance of the song. (9 min)
But liberals?
Not so much.
My ROTC instructor my sophomore year was in the opening scene of the movie. He was a Captain, the Team Leader. He was quiet, but was a real bad ass.
And this bit of propaganda comes from a “mens” journal. Sounds more like Cosmo.
I don’t remember any controversy over it. Everyone liked it.
Controversial?
Somehow, I didn’t think it was similar to the B side of ‘They’re Coming to Take Me Away” where they just played the A side song backwards!!:)
Yep. To this day it still makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up when I hear it.
The sergeants reference is a nod to the Beatles’ Sgt. Peppers album, referring like most of the rest of the song, to musical footnotes.
See post #55.
I think the B Side was:
“Postmark: Vietnam”
(If I recall correctly. I had the 45.)
I remember a FReeper years ago commenting that he lived near a rowdy college group that would blast music at all hours of the night and day.
He said he fought back by repeatedly blasting “The Ballad of the Green Berets” starting at 6 AM directly at them.
Then there was “The Ballad of the Yellow Beret” by the Beach Bums (with Bob Seger), also from 1966:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R63l5IwX7yQ
One of the first records that I bought.
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