Change
of Pace: Bring My Buddies Back
[purchase]
In 1971, at the height of the Vietnam War, Freda Payne sang one of the great anti-war songs, “Bring The Boys Home” and had a surprise hit with it, taking the composition by General Johnson, Gregory S Perry and Angelo Bond to #12 in the US charts.
[purchase]
In 1971, at the height of the Vietnam War, Freda Payne sang one of the great anti-war songs, “Bring The Boys Home” and had a surprise hit with it, taking the composition by General Johnson, Gregory S Perry and Angelo Bond to #12 in the US charts.
Soon after, a little known soul band called Change of Pace
reworked the song, presenting it from a whole new perspective. Where Payne
stated her request as an observer, Change of Pace framed their case from the
point of view of the soldiers who have done their tour, and accordingly are
much more invested in the fate of their comrades left in ’Nam.
The sweet soul of the original is now accompanied by the
martial counting rhythm, and the lyrics are changed to account for the new perspective.
In one of those cruel quirks of musical fate, Change Of Pace
did not enjoy the success they merited on account of their Bring My Buddies Back LP, an album of fine soul music, perceptive
lyrics and a couple of very good covers, including a great one of Conway Twitty’s
hit “Hello Darling”.