Johnny Wright - American Power

Vietnam War song: https://rateyourmusic.com/list/JBrummer/vietnam_war_song_project/ The song "American Power" (Decca Records # 32162), released in July 1967 and written by the bluegrass songwriter Jim Anglin, combined the issues of Vietnam with race relations. Wright narrates the story of his friend's son dying in Vietnam. He then comments on a recent race riot, and calls for people to unite in the name of what is right and to not play into the hands of the enemy: "We must stick together or be destroyed from within". A female chorus led by Wright's wife Kitty Wells kicks the song off: "American power, not black and not white But all Americans who believe in what is right Regardless of race, lets respect one another Good or bad comes in no certain colours". Perhaps hoping to repeat the major success of Johnny Wright's 1965 Hello Vietnam single, which held the # 1 spot in the Billboard Hot Country charts, the label Decca Records ran a full-page advert in Billboard on 8 July 1967, announcing the "release of a moving and meaningful record". The advert went on to boldly claim that "never before has a recording captured in music and lyric a performance with so timely a message. Listen to it! We sincerely believe it is one of the most important records of our time!". However, it never made it above # 66 in the charts.