"Eve of Destruction" is a
protest song
A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre.
Among social mov ...
written by
P. F. Sloan in mid-1965. Several artists have recorded it, but the best-known recording was by
Barry McGuire
Barry McGuire (born October 15, 1935) is an American singer-songwriter primarily known for his 1965 hit " Eve of Destruction". Later he would pioneer as a singer and songwriter of Contemporary Christian music.
Early life
McGuire was born in O ...
.
The song references social issues of its period, including the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
,
the draft
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
, the threat of
nuclear war
Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear w ...
, the
Civil Rights Movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
, turmoil in the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
, and the
American space program
The space policy of the United States includes both the making of space policy through the legislative process, and the implementation of that policy in the United States' civilian and military space programs through regulatory agencies. The early ...
.
The American
media
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...
helped popularize the song by using it as an example of everything that was wrong with the youth of that time.
Due to its controversial lyrics, some American radio stations, "claiming it was an aid to the enemy in Vietnam",
banned the song.
[Blecha, Peter; ''Taboo Tunes/A History of Banned Bands & Censored Songs''; Backbeat Books, 2004. ] It was also banned by some British radio stations.
Background
The song was offered to
the Byrds
The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...
as a
Dylanesque
''Dylanesque'' is the twelfth studio album by English singer Bryan Ferry, released on 5 March 2007 by Virgin Records. The album consists of cover versions of ten Bob Dylan songs and one traditional song that Dylan himself covered on his first ...
potential single, but they rejected it.
The Turtles
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
, another L.A. group which often recorded the Byrds' discarded or rejected material, recorded a version instead. Their version was issued as a track on their 1965 debut album ''
It Ain't Me Babe
"It Ain't Me Babe" is a song by Bob Dylan that originally appeared on his fourth album ''Another Side of Bob Dylan'', which was released in 1964 by Columbia Records. According to music critic Oliver Trager, this song, along with others on the albu ...
'', shortly before McGuire's version was cut; it was eventually released as a single and hit #100 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1970.
Lyrical references
* "You’re old enough to kill, but not for votin'" refers to the United States law requiring registration for the draft at age 18, while the minimum voting age (in all but four states) was 21, until
a Constitutional amendment changed it to 18 in July 1971.
* "And even the
Jordan River
The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...
has bodies floatin'" refers to
The War over Water.
* "If the button is pushed, there's no runnin' away." Refers to the threat of a nuclear war at any moment, and the damage that this would cause.
* The song's mention of
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 17,971 as of the 2020 census. About ...
pertains to the
Selma to Montgomery marches
The Selma to Montgomery marches were three protest marches, held in 1965, along the 54-mile (87 km) highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery. The marches were organized by nonviolent activists to demonstrate the ...
and "
Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday may refer to:
Historical events Canada
* Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia
* Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence aga ...
" in March 1965. (The
Jan and Dean
Jan and Dean was an American rock music, rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf mu ...
version substitutes "
Watts, California
Watts, California, was a city of the sixth class that existed in Los Angeles County, California, between 1907 and 1926, when it was consolidated with the City of Los Angeles and became one of the neighborhoods in the southern part of that city.
...
" in the lyrics, in apparent reference to the
Watts riots.)
* "You may leave here for four days in space, but when you return it's the same old place" refers to the June 1965 mission of
Gemini 4
Gemini 4 (officially Gemini IV) With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations. was the second crewed spaceflight in NASA's Project Gemini, occurring in June 1965. It was the tenth crewed American spaceflight (inc ...
, which lasted just over four days.
* "The pounding of the drums the pride and disgrace" refers to the JFK assassination and the marching band as his casket was carried to Arlington cemetery.
* "Hate your nextdoor neighbor but don't forget to say grace" refers to simple hypocrisy, according to Sloan.
Barry McGuire version
McGuire's recording was made between July 12 and July 15, 1965, and released by
Dunhill Records
Dunhill Records was started in 1964 by Lou Adler, Jay Lasker, Pierre Cossette and Bobby Roberts as Dunhill Productions to release the music of Johnny Rivers on Imperial Records. It became a record label the following year and was distributed b ...
. The accompanying musicians were top-tier
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
session player
Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...
s: P. F. Sloan on
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
,
Hal Blaine
Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...
(of the
Wrecking Crew) on
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
, and
Larry Knechtel
Lawrence William Knechtel (August 4, 1940 – August 20, 2009) was an American keyboard player and bassist who was a member of the Wrecking Crew, a collection of Los Angeles-based session musicians who worked with such renowned artists as Simon ...
on
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
. The vocal track was thrown on as a rough mix and was not intended to be the final version, but a copy of the recording "leaked" out to a
disc jockey
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...
, who began playing it. The song was an instant hit, and as a result, the more polished vocal track that was at first envisioned was never recorded.
McGuire recalled in later years that "Eve of Destruction" had been recorded in one take on a Tuesday morning, reading lyrics scrawled on a crumpled piece of paper. The following Monday morning he got a phone call from the record company at 7:00 am, telling him to turn on the radio — his song was playing. McGuire's single hit #1 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #3 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in September 1965.
Reception
In the first week of its release, the single was at No. 103 on the
''Billboard'' charts. By August 12 Dunhill released the LP, ''
Eve of Destruction''. It reached its peak of #37 on the ''Billboard'' album chart during the week ending September 25. That same day the single went to #1 on the chart, and repeated the feat on the ''
Cashbox'' chart, where it had debuted at No. 30. McGuire would never again break into the top 40 of the
''Billboard'' Hot 100. It went to #1 in
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
for two weeks.
Chart history
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Controversy, parodies, and response songs
In addition to its being banned in some parts of the U.S., it was also banned by
Radio Scotland
Radio Scotland was an offshore pirate radio station broadcasting on 1241 kHz mediumwave (242 metres), created by Tommy Shields in 1965. The station was on the former lightship L.V. ''Comet'', which had been fitted out as a radio station in ...
.
It was placed on a "restricted list" by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, and could not be played on "general entertainment programmes". It was however featured on ''
entitled "The Dawn of Correction". This became a Top 40 hit. Singer Tony Mammarella also released a positive answer song titled "Eve of Tomorrow". That song did not make the pop charts. A few months later,
medic SSgt.
".
recording, "Day For Decision", was also a response to the song, and was also a Top 40 hit. In addition the British musician
entitled "Age of Corruption", using the same melody as Sloan's song, on his album ''Well at Least It's British''.
" mentions the song title.
The song is prominently featured in the second season episode of ''
'', entitled "Operation Spoilsport." The aliens who gave Ralph the supersuit play it on the radio to motivate Ralph to shut down the missile launch.
The song is played during the fourth-season finale of ''
'', "The Sound of Thunder," when the team returns to Vietnam and flashbacks recall their tours of duty.
The song, like many other popular songs of the day, gave its name to a
. The truck is on display at the
and is believed to be the only surviving example of a Vietnam era gun truck.
''.
'' from 2020.
An extract of the song is played by Larry Underwood in the 1994 television adaption of