I went down a YouTube rabbit hole of 60s kitsch pop music
One Tin Soldier youtu.be/o8JtNHGSO…
Written by Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter, first recorded by Canadian folk group The Original Caste. A 1971 cover by Jinx Dawson, lead vocalist of Coven, became a hit in the US after being featured in the movie “Billy Jack.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Tin_Soldier
I’m pretty sure we had this 45 when I was a kid.
I never saw Billy Jack, although my 8th Grade social studies class did a table reading from the paperback version of the script over the course of several days. Our teacher, Mr. Geig, was a hippie. I also read the Mad Magazine parody.
Here’s a trailer of the movie.
It looks … earnest.
“Coven” was a pioneering metal band that used occult themes, and introduced the “sign of horns” to metal.
“One Tin Soldier” is an example of a “strophic ballad,” where all the verses are sung to the same music.
It is also an example of the pop genre, “This song isn’t long enough so just repeat a couple of bits of it so it fills out the 45.”
Also: “Billy Don’t Be a Hero,” by Paper Lace (1974) youtu.be/T2seUCc3o…
Paper Lace didn’t succeed with the song—Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods recorded the hit version.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Don%27t_Be_a_Hero
Here are Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods. They are 70s-tastic.
However, Paper Lace—“reportedly the most successful band Nottingham ever produced”—scored a hit with “The Night Chicago Died,” which is a fun song and this is a fun video.
And here’s “Knock Three TImes” by Tony Orlando and Dawn.