"to ride out and seek reinforcements. (This suggests mounted infantry and a lack of modern two-way radio communications.) In the end, the heartbroken woman throws away the official letter notifying her of Billy's ""heroic"" death. Paper Lace's version of ""Billy Don't Be a Hero"" reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart on 16 March 1974, and did likewise in Australia, where it spent eight weeks at the top spot. Thereafter, Bo Donaldson's and the Heywoods's version reached No. 1 in the U.S. on the ""Billboard"" Hot 100 on 15 June 1974, but was dubbed into French for Canada. The"
"Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods are an American pop music group, known mainly for their 1970s hit singles, ""Billy Don't Be A Hero"" and ""Who Do You Think You Are"". The band was formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1965 by their leader, Robert Walter ""Bo"" Donaldson. They were first discovered while touring with The Osmonds in the early 1970s and signed with Family Productions, releasing their first single in 1972, ""Special Someone,"" but their big break came after moving to ABC Records and working with the record producer Steve Barri in 1973. Although their first"
"which to this day remains unreleased. Ultimately the group left the label and joined Capitol Records, where they recorded songs by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, the writing/producing team behind the UK act The Sweet. Lead singer and trumpeter Mike Gibbons died on 2 April 2016. Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods are an American pop music group, known mainly for their 1970s hit singles, ""Billy Don't Be A Hero"" and ""Who Do You Think You Are"". The band was formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1965 by their leader, Robert Walter ""Bo"" Donaldson. They were first"
"""Dear Mom and Dad"". Into the 1970s, as the Vietnam War continued, hit ballads of youth and death included B. J. Thomas' ""Billy and Sue"" (1972) and Terry Jacks' No. 1 hit ""Seasons in the Sun"" (1974), their protagonists of indeterminate age, or slightly older than teens. A song that was thought to have referenced the Civil War was Paper Lace's 1974 hit ""Billy Don't Be a Hero,"" made a bigger hit in the U.S. by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods. Hard-rock acts recorded vehicular death scenarios such as ""D.O.A."" (Bloodrock, 1971), ""Detroit Rock City"" (Kiss, 1976) and ""Bat Out"
"single with ABC, ""Deeper and Deeper,"" failed to make a big impression on the charts, beginning in 1974, the band began a string of hit songs. Their first two (and largest two) hits were cover versions of British hit songs whose original versions had not been hits in the U.S.: ""Billy Don't Be A Hero"" (a cover of a #1 UK Paper Lace song that reached #1 for 2 weeks on the Hot 100 with the Heywoods's version) and ""Who Do You Think You Are"" (written by Clive Scott & Des Dyer of Jigsaw, which originally became a hit for"
"""High Fidelity"". The song is also featured in a Season 1 episode of ""That '70s Show"". ""The Night Chicago Died"" was Paper Lace's follow-up single to ""Billy Don't Be a Hero"", a #1 hit in the U.K. but virtually unheard in the U.S. where Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods' cover reached #1. Callander and Murray wrote both songs. The U.S. single received a Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America, signifying sales of at least one million copies. Though the song's story is set in the United States, Paper Lace were unable to perform the song live in"
"Phil Wright's Original 70s Paper Lace) the band initially questioned appearing. However, with the show having weekly viewing figures of 7 million, they concluded that going on the programme was a ""no brainer"", and the band won Opportunity Knocks for five consecutive weeks. Based on Opportunity Knocks' performances, songwriters (Mitch Murray and Peter Callander) offered the band ""Billy Don't Be a Hero"", with the possibility of more songs if it took off. Billy Don't Be a Hero would spend three weeks at Number 1 on the UK Singles Chart in March 1974, with a total of 14 weeks on the"
"chart. It was followed by another Murray/Callander composition, the story song ""The Night Chicago Died"" which reached Number 3 and spent 11 weeks on the charts. A third Murray/Callander-penned release, ""The Black-Eyed Boys"", took Paper Lace to number 11 in late 1974 and number 37 in Canada. With their subject matter assumed in America to be about the American Civil War, it was logical that ""Billy Don't Be a Hero"" should become a hit in the United States. However, Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods were the first to release the song in the United States, and Paper Lace had to"
"single of all time, confirmed by the Guinness Records. The early seventies also marked the deaths of rock legends Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, gospel great Mahalia Jackson and Cass Elliot of the Mamas and the Papas. The decade also saw the plane crash in 1977 in which three members of Lynyrd Skynyrd were killed. Elton John became the decade's biggest solo pop star, releasing diverse styles of music that ranged from ballads to arena rock; some his most popular songs included ""Crocodile Rock"", ""Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"", ""Bennie and the Jets"", ""Philadelphia Freedom"" and ""Don't Go Breaking My"
"I Don't Want to Be a Hero ""I Don't Want to be a Hero"" is a 1987 song by the British band Johnny Hates Jazz. It reached #11 in the UK top 40 in August 1987 spending 10 weeks on the chart. It is taken from their #1 album ""Turn Back the Clock"". The song was written by the band's lead singer and main songwriter, Clark Datchler. It has a strong anti-war sentiment and is written from the perspective of a soldier who is questioning their participation in what they consider an unjust war. The band's American record company were"
"Two Bonus tracks (2001 re-issue): I'm No Hero I'm No Hero is a 1980 album by Cliff Richard. It featured the singles ""Dreamin'"" and ""A Little in Love"", which were top 20 hits in both the UK and the US. Following the success of his 1979 single ""We Don't Talk Anymore"" which was written and arranged by Alan Tarney, the record company were keen to use his services again. For the follow-up album in 1980, he was employed as producer for the entire album. This gave ""I'm No Hero"" a cohesive sound but was criticised at the time for being"
"and Mina. Murray also wrote ""My Brother"" which became a children's favourite when recorded by Terry Scott. Later Murray and Callander formed their own record label, Bus Stop, through which they launched the career of Paper Lace. Their first two singles, released in 1974, were both written by Murray and Callander, ""Billy Don't Be a Hero"" (No. 1 UK, with a cover version by Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods reaching Number 1 in the US), and ""The Night Chicago Died"" (Number 1 US). Another song Murray was involved in was ""Sing Me"", a UK Top Ten hit for one-hit wonders,"
"I'm No Hero I'm No Hero is a 1980 album by Cliff Richard. It featured the singles ""Dreamin'"" and ""A Little in Love"", which were top 20 hits in both the UK and the US. Following the success of his 1979 single ""We Don't Talk Anymore"" which was written and arranged by Alan Tarney, the record company were keen to use his services again. For the follow-up album in 1980, he was employed as producer for the entire album. This gave ""I'm No Hero"" a cohesive sound but was criticised at the time for being too unadventurous. The songs on"
"Records (1973–1975). The CD contains all their charted singles and, in fact, includes 9 of the 11 songs featured on the 1974 LP ""Billy Don't Be a Hero"" (#97 on the Hot 200). The CD booklet includes liner notes written by Gordon Pogoda and the CD features such highlights as ""Who Do You Think You Are"", ""The House on Telegraph Hill"", and ""The Heartbreak Kid"". In 1975, the band was working on a second album of material for ABC including ""Our Last Song Together"", released as a single (and which made the pop charts), and ""Take Me Make Me Yours"","
"is known in the industry—a condescending term—as a one-hit wonder. But sometimes, just sometimes, once in a while, a one-hit wonder can make a more powerful impact than a recording star who's got 20 or 30 hits behind him. And Billy's hit song was called ""Red Hot,"" and it was red hot. It could blast you out of your skull and make you feel happy about it. Change your life. Billy Lee Riley Billy Lee Riley (October 5, 1933 – August 2, 2009) was an American rockabilly musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. His most memorable recordings include ""Rock With Me"
"Don't Worry, Be Happy ""Don't Worry, Be Happy"" is a popular worldwide hit song by musician Bobby McFerrin. Released in September 1988, it became the first ""a cappella"" song to reach number one on the ""Billboard"" Hot 100 chart, a position it held for two weeks. The Indian mystic and sage Meher Baba (1894–1969) often used the expression ""Don't worry, be happy"" when cabling his followers in the West. In the 1960s, the expression was printed up on inspirational cards and posters of the era. In 1988, McFerrin noticed a similar poster in the apartment of the jazz duo Tuck"
"Candlewick Green and reached #15 on the Hot 100 with the Heywoods's version). This was followed by their last top-40 hit, ""The Heartbreak Kid"" (#39 Hot 100), and their ominously titled last Hot 100 hit, ""Our Last Song Together"" (#95 on the Hot 100, the last song written by the Sedaka-Greenfield tandem before its breakup). ""Billy Don't Be A Hero"" sold over three and a half million copies, receiving a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in June 1974. Despite the song's popularity, many people disliked it, and it was voted #8 on ""Rolling Stone"" magazine's readers' poll of ""10 Worst"
"treatise on the subject ever produced."" Award winning documentarian Alan Swyer has directed a documentary on Billy Vera, also titled ""Harlem to Hollywood"" due out this year. Billy Vera Billy Vera (born William Patrick McCord; May 28, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author and music historian. He has been a singer and songwriter since the 1960s, his most successful record being ""At This Moment"", a US number 1 hit in 1987. He continues to perform with his group Billy Vera & The Beaters, and won a Grammy Award in 2013. Vera was born in Riverside, California, and is"
"#1 hit ""The Tears of a Clown"". Baby, Baby Don't Cry ""Baby, Baby Don't Cry"", released in December 1968, is a single recorded by The Miracles for Motown Records' Tamla label. The composition was written by Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson, Motown staff writers Al Cleveland and Terry Johnson, a former member of The Flamingos. Robinson, Johnson, and Miracles member Warren ""Pete"" Moore were the song's producers. ""Baby Baby Don't Cry"" was a top 10 pop hit for The Miracles, peaking at number eight on the ""Billboard"" Hot 100 in the United States, and at a Top 10 R&B hit"
"Billy Vera Billy Vera (born William Patrick McCord; May 28, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author and music historian. He has been a singer and songwriter since the 1960s, his most successful record being ""At This Moment"", a US number 1 hit in 1987. He continues to perform with his group Billy Vera & The Beaters, and won a Grammy Award in 2013. Vera was born in Riverside, California, and is the son of the radio and television announcer Bill McCord. His mother, singer Ann Ryan, was a member of the Ray Charles Singers backing Perry Como on"
"Al Lewis (lyricist) Al Lewis (April 18, 1901April 4, 1967) was an American lyricist, songwriter and music publisher. He is thought of mostly as a Tin Pan Alley era lyricist; however, he did write music on occasion as well. Professionally he was most active during the 1920s working into the 1950s. During this time, he most often collaborated with popular songwriters Al Sherman and Abner Silver. Among his most famous songs are ""Blueberry Hill"" and ""You Gotta Be a Football Hero"". Between 1931 and 1934, during the last days of Vaudeville, Lewis and several other hitmakers of the day performed"
"as a 7"". King Heroin ""King Heroin"" is an anti-drug song by James Brown, David Matthews, Manny Rosen and Charles Bobbit. Brown recorded this poem set to music at a studio in New York with session musicians in January 1972 and released it as a single in March. It was his fifth single for Polydor Records and reached number six on the U.S. Hot Soul Singles chart and number forty on the ""Billboard"" Hot 100 in the spring. The song was included on Brown's 1972 album ""There It Is"". The poem was originally written by Rosen, who worked at the"
"Billy Paul Paul Williams (December 1, 1934 – April 24, 2016), known professionally as Billy Paul, was a Grammy Award-winning American soul singer, known for his 1972 #1 single, ""Me and Mrs. Jones"", as well as the 1973 album and single ""War of the Gods"" which blends his more conventional pop, soul, and funk styles with electronic and psychedelic influences. He was one of the many artists associated with the Philadelphia soul sound created by Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Thom Bell. Paul was identified by his diverse vocal style which ranged from mellow and soulful to low and raspy."
"Don Covay Donald James Randolph (March 24, 1936 – January 31, 2015), better known by the stage name Don Covay, was an American R&B, rock and roll and soul singer and songwriter most active from the 1950s to the 1970s. His most successful recordings include ""Mercy, Mercy"" (1964), ""See-Saw"" (1965), and ""It's Better to Have (and Don't Need)"" (1974). He also wrote ""Pony Time"", a US number 1 hit for Chubby Checker, and ""Chain of Fools"", a Grammy-winning song for Aretha Franklin. He received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1994. Writing in the ""Washington Post"""
"Ned Miller Henry Ned Miller (April 12, 1925 – March 18, 2016) was an American country music singer-songwriter. Active as a recording artist from 1956 to 1970, he is known primarily for his hit single, ""From a Jack to a King"", a crossover hit in 1962 which reached Top 10 on the country music, adult contemporary, and ""Billboard"" Hot 100 charts. He had several more chart singles in his career, although none matched the success of ""From a Jack to a King"". He composed and recorded ""Invisible Tears"". Miller's start as a songwriter came when he was sixteen years old."
"Bobby Goldsboro Bobby Goldsboro (born January 18, 1941) is an American pop and country singer-songwriter. He had a string of pop and country hits in the 1960s and 1970s, including his signature No. 1 hit ""Honey"", which sold over one million copies in the United States. Goldsboro was born in Marianna, Florida. During his first year of life, his family moved north from Marianna to Dothan, Alabama. He graduated from Dothan High School in 1959 and later enrolled at Auburn University. Goldsboro left college after his second year to pursue a musical career. He played guitar for Roy Orbison from"
"Mel Tillis Lonnie Melvin Tillis (August 8, 1932 – November 19, 2017) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s, with a long list of Top 10 hits. Tillis' biggest hits include ""I Ain't Never"", ""Good Woman Blues"", and ""Coca-Cola Cowboy"". On February 13, 2012, President Barack Obama awarded Tillis the National Medal of Arts for his contributions to country music. He also won the Country Music Association Awards' most coveted award, Entertainer of the Year. Additionally, he was known for his speech impediment, which"
"thwarted after the group's 1969 song ""Baby Baby Don't Cry"" hit the ""Billboard"" Pop Top 10, and when the Miracles' 1967 song, ""The Tears of a Clown"",(their ""fourth Grammy Hall of Fame-""inducted hit) was released as a single in 1970, it became a number-one hit in the UK. It was subsequently released in the U.S., where it duplicated its U.K. success, reaching number 1 on the """"Billboard"" Hot 100 Pop Chart"" and selling over 3 million copies. As a result, the Miracles became hotter than ever, and Robinson decided to stay with the group for another two years. In 1970,"
"A House Is Not a Home (song) ""A House Is Not a Home"" is a 1964 ballad recorded by American singer Dionne Warwick, and written by the team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1964 film of the same name, starring Shelley Winters and Robert Taylor. The song was a modest hit in the United States for Warwick, peaking at #71 on the pop singles chart as the B-side of the top 40 single, ""You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)"". Another version of the song, by Brook Benton, which was the version that appeared"
"""Heroes"" (David Bowie song) ""Heroes"" is a song by English musician David Bowie. It was co-written by Bowie and Brian Eno, produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti, and recorded in July and August 1977 at Hansa Studio by the Wall. It was released on 23 September 1977 as the lead single from his 12th studio album of the same name, backed with the song ""V-2 Schneider"". A product of Bowie's ""Berlin"" period, the track was not a huge hit in the United Kingdom or United States after its release, but it has since become one of his signature songs. In"
"You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show) ""You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)"" is a song by the husband/wife duo of Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr., former members of the vocal group The 5th Dimension. Released from their album, ""I Hope We Get to Love in Time"", it became a crossover success, spending six months on the charts and soaring to number one on both the ""Billboard"" Hot 100 and Hot Soul Singles charts during late 1976 and early 1977. The song also reached #6 on Billboard's Easy"
"them repeatedly at block parties and dance clubs. At the end of the 1970s, popular songs like ""Rapper's Delight"" by Sugarhill Gang gave hip hop a wider audience. Hip hop was also influenced by the song ""The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"" by Gil Scott-Heron. Country music also continued to increase in popularity in the 1970s. Between 1977 and 1979, it became more mainstream, particularly with the outlaw movement, led by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. Other artists; such as Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, Don Williams, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, the Allman Brothers Band, Ronnie Milsap, Crystal Gayle, and Barbara"
"Roger Daltrey Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, occasional songwriter and actor. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Daltrey came to prominence in the mid-1960s as the founder and lead singer of the rock band The Who, which released 14 singles that entered the Top 10 charts in the United Kingdom during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, including ""I Can't Explain"", ""My Generation"", ""Substitute"", ""I'm a Boy"", ""Happy Jack"", ""Pictures of Lily"", ""Pinball Wizard"", ""Won't Get Fooled Again"", and ""You Better You Bet"". Daltrey began his solo career in 1973, while still a"