1. Harmony

2. Lyrics synopsis

3. Cover version

4. Chart history

5. Other recordings

6. References

7. External links

"One Tin Soldier" is a 1960s counterculture era anti-war song written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter. Canadian pop group The Original Caste first recorded the song in 1969 for both the TA label and its parent Bell label.

The song charted each year from 1969 to 1974 by various artists and on various charts in the United States and Canada. However, it did not chart outside North America.

"One Tin Soldier" went to number 6 on the RPM Magazine charts, hit the number 1 position on CHUM AM in Toronto on 27 December 1969, and reached number 34 on the American pop charts in early 1970. It was a bigger Adult Contemporary hit, reaching number 25 U.S. AC and number 5 Canada AC.^[1]

A 1971 cover was a hit in the U.S. for Coven, whose re-recording only featuring its lead singer Jinx Dawson was featured in the film Billy Jack. The single went to number 26 on the Billboard pop chart^[2][3] before it was pulled from radio by the film's producer. On November 20, 1971, Coven performed "One Tin Soldier" on the Dick Clark ABC-TV Saturday-afternoon program American Bandstand. A re-recorded version by Coven made the Billboard chart in 1973, peaking at number 79.

In 1972, Skeeter Davis had moderate success with a cover version on the American country charts, but did very well in Canada, peaking at number 4 on the Canadian country chart and number 2 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart.^[4] Davis received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Country Vocal for the song.

Harmony

The verse of "One Tin Soldier" has the same harmonic base as Pachelbel's Canon (I-V-VI-III-IV-I-IV-V). The chorus is a simple I-V-IV-I.^[5] This fact was commented on by noted musical analyst Rob Parovonian.^[6]

Lyrics synopsis

"One Tin Soldier" tells the story of two neighboring tribes, the warlike Valley People and the peaceful Mountain Kingdom which possesses a great treasure buried under a stone. The Valley People demand the treasure. The Mountain People respond that they will share it with "their brothers", but the Valley People invade and slaughter the Mountain People. On overturning the stone, they find nothing except the words "Peace On Earth" inscribed beneath it.

Cover version

Singer Jinx Dawson of the band Coven performed the song at a 1971 session with the film's orchestra as part of the soundtrack for the Warner Bros. film Billy Jack. Dawson asked that her band, Coven, be listed on the recording and film, not her name as a solo artist. This Warner release, titled as "One Tin Soldier (The Legend of Billy Jack)", reached #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the fall of 1971.^[2][3]

The full Coven band then re-recorded the song for their self-titled MGM album, which displayed the band members' whited-out faces on the cover, contrived again by the film's producer Tom Laughlin. Coven hit the charts again with the song in 1973, in both the new MGM recording and a reissue of their Warner original. The Coven recording was named Number One All Time Requested Song in 1971 and 1973 by the American Radio Broadcasters Association.{{citation needed|date=January 2013}}

Chart history

The Original Caste

Coven cover

Skeeter Davis cover

Coven (2nd charting)

Coven (3rd charting)

Other recordings

A version recorded by Guy Chandler (titled "One Tin Soldier [The Legend of Billy Jack]") was released in the summer of 1973.

A version of the song was done, sung by Coven, with a video created by animator John David Wilson for The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.

Roseanne Barr parodied the song on her 1990 album I Enjoy Being a Girl.

The song has been covered by other artists, including Mad Parade, Gimp, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Bushman, and Killdozer. Actress Brittany Murphy, in character as Luanne Platter, sang the song on the King of the Hill soundtrack. This song was also covered by Voices for Peace, a band consisting of a group of voice actors including Greg Ayres and Tiffany Grant. Abigail and Milly Shapiro covered the song for their live album Live Out Loud.

The progressive bluegrass band Bluegrass Alliance covered the song at bluegrass festivals in the early 1970s.^[18]

References

External links

• Song lyrics

• Andrea Bronfman
• Andrea Brooke Ownbey
• Andrea Brustolon
• Andre Abujamra
• Andrea Bunjes
• Andrea Busati
• Andrea Cabral
• Andrea Caesalpino
• Andrea Cagan
• Andrea Camassei
• Andrea Cambern
• Andrea Campagnolo
• Andrea Capone
• Andrea Carandini
• Andrea Cardinal Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo
• Andrea Cardinal Ferrari
• Andrea Carlo Cardinal Ferrari
• Andrea Carlo Ferrari
• Andrea Carlone
• Andrea Carnevale
• Andrea Carrea
• Andrea Casali
• Andrea Caserraghi
• Andrea Castagna
• Andrea Castagno