"Save the Country" is a song written by

Laura Nyro Laura Nyro ( ; born Laura Nigro; October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' (1968 ...

, first released by her as a single in 1968. Nyro released another version of the song on her 1969 album '' New York Tendaberry''.

Background

Nyro was inspired to write the song after the June 5, 1968

assassination of Robert Kennedy On June 5, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was shot by Sirhan Sirhan shortly after midnight at the Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles. He was pronounced dead at 1:44 a.m. PDT the following day. Kennedy was a senator from New York and a candidate in ...

5th Dimension recording

The most successful version was performed by

The 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire includes pop, R&B, soul, jazz, light opera, and Broadway. Formed as the Versatiles in late 1965, the group changed its name to "the 5th Dimension" by 1966. Betwee ...

. It reached #10 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart, #24 in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, #27 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and #79 in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 1970. It was featured on their 1970 album ''

Portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

''. The song was produced by

Bones Howe Dayton Burr "Bones" Howe (born March 18, 1933) is an American record producer and recording engineer who scored a string of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, often of the sunshine pop genre, starting in 1965 with The Turtles cover of Bob Dylan's "It ...

and arranged by Bill Holman,

Bob Alcivar Bob Alcivar (born July 8, 1938, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American music producer, composer, conductor and keyboard player. He is the father of rock keyboard player Jim Alcivar ( Montrose, Gamma). Discography Film *''Butterflies Are Free'' ...

, and Howe.

Other versions

Julie Driscoll Julie Driscoll Tippetts (born 8 June 1947) is an English singer and actress. Career Driscoll is known for her 1960s versions of Bob Dylan and Rick Danko's "This Wheel's on Fire", and Donovan's " Season of the Witch", both with Brian Auger an ...

with

Brian Auger and the Trinity Brian Auger and the Trinity was a British band led by keyboardist Brian Auger. His duet with Julie Driscoll, the Bob Dylan– penned "This Wheel's on Fire", was a number 5 hit on the 1968 UK Singles Chart. The song also reached number 13 in C ...

released a version of the song on their 1969 album ''

Streetnoise ''Streetnoise'' is a 1969 album by Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and the Trinity, originally released as a double LP. It includes cover versions of The Doors’ "Light My Fire", Nina Simone’s "Take Me To The Water", Laura Nyro’s "Save the Co ...

''. * Canadian band

The Sugar Shoppe The Sugar Shoppe was a Canadians, Canadian sunshine pop vocal group who recorded in the late 1960s and featured actor Victor Garber. History The group was formed in Toronto by lead singer, songwriter and pianist Peter Mann. Born in New York City, ...

, which included actor and singer

Victor Garber Victor Joseph Garber (born March 16, 1949) is a Canadian-American actor and singer. Known for his work in film, television, and theatre, he has been nominated for three Gemini Awards, four Tony Awards, and six Primetime Emmy Awards. He has also ...

, released a version of the song in 1969. *

Paul Revere & The Raiders Paul Revere & the Raiders (also known as Raiders) were an American rock band formed in Boise, Idaho, in 1958. They saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. The band was known for including Revolu ...

(under the shortened name Raiders) made the song the opening track of their 1970 album ''Collage''. *

Thelma Houston Thelma Houston ( Jackson; born May 7, 1946) Retrieved . is an American singer. Beginning her recording career in the late 1960s, Houston scored a number-one hit record in 1977 with her recording of "Don't Leave Me This Way", which won the Grammy ...

released a version of the song in 1970 that reached #73 in

and #74 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. *

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and Vivian Liberto Cash Distin, Johnny Cash's first wife. Although she is often classified as a country art ...

released a version of the song on the 1997 Nyro tribute album '' Time and Love: The Music of Laura Nyro''. *

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the Billboard Magazine, ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Feel Like M ...

performed her version of the song in a live broadcast from

KCET KCET (channel 28) is a secondary PBS member television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the Public Media Group of Southern California alongside the market's primary PBS member, Huntington Beach–licensed KOCE-TV ...

in the 1970s.Roberta Flack, "Artbound Presents Studio A"
Retrieved June 30, 2015 * Nyro's version was sampled by

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

on his song "The Glory" off his third studio album ''

Graduation Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...

''.

References

1969 songs 1970 singles Soul songs Songs written by Laura Nyro Laura Nyro songs The 5th Dimension songs Rosanne Cash songs Bell Records singles Dunhill Records singles Song recordings produced by Bones Howe Gospel songs {{1960s-song-stub