The Hit
I first heard “One Tin Soldier” on the 1987 Freedom Rock compilation…which, if I’m being honest introduced me a slew of acts from the late-60s/early-70s acts that didn’t stay in the headlines after the decade ended. Like any kid who found something that excited him, I played Freedom Rock into the goddamn ground (or parts of it; stretched that tape to the breaking point), but “One Tin Soldier” always came across as hokey, hippie-dippie, etc. - e.g., if you listen and hear what the greedy, murderous Valley People find under the stone, the naivete passes like a kidney stone. That carried into the music - the delicate flute it opens with, the soaring, uplifting horns - it sounded like folk after the marketing department got its hands on it. Researching this has only made this funnier…
At any rate, the original song came from the songwriting team of Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter (also responsible for Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds, “Don’t Pull Your Love,” the Four Tops, “Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I Got),” and the Grass Roots’ “Two Divided by Love”) as an anti-war ballad during the Vietnam War. The original was recorded in 1969 and performed by a Canadian act named Original Caste, with Dixie Lee Stone on vocals. The song played well in Canada an all right in the U.S. (#34). You don’t have to look hard to find Original Caste’s original, which…does not sound like the version I heard on Freedom Rock (above comes close, but I don't think it's entirely right). The tune is there, along with the strident critique of greed and organized religion (cousins!), but the production lacks the polish and richness of the other version.
The makers of a movie called The Legend of Billy Jackrevived the song for its soundtrack in 1971, only with the credit going to a band called Coven. That movie tells the story of a half-Native American Green Beret (presumably returned from Vietnam) who fought (semi-) reluctantly fought injustice in an Arizona town relying on martial arts. The rest of this post tells the story of Coven.
The Rest of the Story
“Also included inside the album was Coven's infamous Black Mass poster, showing members of the group displaying the sign of the horns as they prepared for a Satanic ritual over a nude Dawson lying on an altar.”
I first heard “One Tin Soldier” on the 1987 Freedom Rock compilation…which, if I’m being honest introduced me a slew of acts from the late-60s/early-70s acts that didn’t stay in the headlines after the decade ended. Like any kid who found something that excited him, I played Freedom Rock into the goddamn ground (or parts of it; stretched that tape to the breaking point), but “One Tin Soldier” always came across as hokey, hippie-dippie, etc. - e.g., if you listen and hear what the greedy, murderous Valley People find under the stone, the naivete passes like a kidney stone. That carried into the music - the delicate flute it opens with, the soaring, uplifting horns - it sounded like folk after the marketing department got its hands on it. Researching this has only made this funnier…
At any rate, the original song came from the songwriting team of Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter (also responsible for Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds, “Don’t Pull Your Love,” the Four Tops, “Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I Got),” and the Grass Roots’ “Two Divided by Love”) as an anti-war ballad during the Vietnam War. The original was recorded in 1969 and performed by a Canadian act named Original Caste, with Dixie Lee Stone on vocals. The song played well in Canada an all right in the U.S. (#34). You don’t have to look hard to find Original Caste’s original, which…does not sound like the version I heard on Freedom Rock (above comes close, but I don't think it's entirely right). The tune is there, along with the strident critique of greed and organized religion (cousins!), but the production lacks the polish and richness of the other version.
The makers of a movie called The Legend of Billy Jackrevived the song for its soundtrack in 1971, only with the credit going to a band called Coven. That movie tells the story of a half-Native American Green Beret (presumably returned from Vietnam) who fought (semi-) reluctantly fought injustice in an Arizona town relying on martial arts. The rest of this post tells the story of Coven.
The Rest of the Story
“Also included inside the album was Coven's infamous Black Mass poster, showing members of the group displaying the sign of the horns as they prepared for a Satanic ritual over a nude Dawson lying on an altar.”
