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.“
…
Back when National Review was a print magazine, and Bill Buckley ran it, and it was worth reading ...
They ran a “Liberalese to normal English” translation one month. It included (roughly) that definition of “controversial”. I don’t remember any of the other words they translated, but there were a bunch of them.
It was the opposite of controversial. Perhaps a bit of a throwback to a music genre popular in earlier times.. like MacArthur’s Park or Dominica by the Singing Nun or any of the other “odd” hits that were not in keeping with current popular styles.
I always thought songs like that were unifying rather than divisive. It showed people with diverse musical tastes and backgrounds could share the stage together and enjoy each other.
In a similar vein, I often think back to those times and consider that the rock bands I was in, the sports I played, and in the service - there was more than likely a few black guys in the band or on the team - or that you served with - or who were stars that you admired…. we really had gotten past the racism back in the 1960s and 1970s..
Then along comes Obama (a uniter not a divider) and look how we are now.
Those days were supposed to be so racially divided but that’s not the way I remember it was in my circles.
I really think the agitators on college campuses and the anti-American fake news did a number on us - convincing everyone there was all this racism.. so sad.
I find it odd that the Wiki article doesn’t mention that at the time of the shooting, Sadler was working in Guatemala training anti-communist contra fighters and had received death threats.
I think the garrison cap is made for the rain to run down both sides of it, to keep your hair from getting wet???
The Green Boonies would be kinda different!
I heard about his death when it happened and I think a lot of us assume that it probably wasn’t a robbery.
Sadler also created the “Casca: the eternal mercenary” novel series, that was continued by other authors after his death.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casca_(series)
It seems amazing that Dominique, a French-language ballad about a thirteenth-century Spanish crusader, evangelist and diplomat sailed past all the popular songs about dancing, surfing, hot rods and romantic love all the way to the top of the Billboard Hot Hundred and then sat there for a month in the final weeks of 1963.
Two of The Singing Nuns left the church, moved in together and ultimately committed suicide together.
bookmark.
didn’t know Sadler was AF. from comments, looks like he was serving in Japan the same time as my dad. good to know.
“Sgt. Peppers?”
#############
Nope.
Think of the context of American Pie.
“The day the music died.”
All the other lyrics of the song refer to the “death” of rock and roll.
Sadler’s song, while admirably patriotic, was hardly “rock and roll”.
“The players tried to take the field
The marching band (military) refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died”
Sgt Pepper’s was a good thing for rock and roll.
I wrote a high school English paper on American Pie. Got an A+.
Thanks for the correction. I didn’t get in until ‘85 - and they dropped buck sergeant around ‘90. What were E-1, E-2 amd E-3 called in your day? They were Airman Basic, Airman and A1C, then Senior Airman/Sergeant as E-4.
Here is a clip from an episode of TV show Cheers that used this song.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hCQhtc_KIdU
Then let it be restricted to units that need advertising space, and let the rest of us have functional headgear. Something not used in finer cafeterias everywhere.
Does yours have a silver dollar behind the glider patch? Comes in handy as a slap jack.
Functional for what walking through airports?
The side cap is distinctive, it tells the branch and tops the uniform and best of all, it isn’t a hat that a GI has to figure out what to do with when it is removed throughout the day, you don’t have to find a place to set it or hang it.
The hat is very popular and I think all the branches use it, the military has used it since WWI.
No silver dollar but I wished I still had the hat, it reminded me of the WWII guys.
No, he’s wearing Airman First Class stripes. At that time an E-2 was Airman Third Class, E-3 was Airman Second Class, and E-4 was Airman First Class. Air Force changed the rank designations in the late ‘60s.
Why does one wear a hat at all? To keep the sun out of your eyes, or the weather off your head, like when you're outside, doing military stuff, or whatnot.
I'm glad the garrison cap worked for you, but I hated their look and uselessness. Diversity is our strength.
I’m a retired USAF officer, the son of a retired USAF officer, and I was today years old when I learned there used to be Airmen Third Class and Airmen Second Class! Thanks for the history lesson!
Colonel, USAF JAGC (Ret)
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