Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
We're working to fix a technical issue causing problems with our broadcasts. We'll have it resolved as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience.

The Music-Based Memories of Vietnam Veterans, With Hugo Keesing And Doug Bradley

As part of Missoula's 2014 Big Read project, two music scholars, Doug Bradley and Hugo Keesing, share their insights with "Folk Show" host John Myers on what American popular and folk music of the 1960s and 1970s can tell us about the Vietnam War.

Doug Bradley is the author of a collection of short stories, "DEROS Vietnam," and co-author with Craig Werner of "We Gotta Get Out of This Place: Music, Survival, Healing, and the Soundtrack of the Vietnam War" (in progress).

?Hugo Keesing's comprehensive 13-cd box set, "Next Stop is Vietnam: The War on Record, 1961-2008," was released in 2010 by Bear Family Records.

Hugo Keesing joins John Myers live on "The Folk Show" on Tuesday, October 28, 2:06 - 4:00 p.m., playing more music by Americans from the Vietnam era.

Below is the October 14, 2014 conversation between Bradley, Keesing and John Myers, in seven parts. Scroll down to the bottom for October 2014 "The Big Read" events featuring Keesing and Bradley.

Bradley-Keesing_2_10-14-14.mp3
Segment 2 (of 7) from"The Folk Show," Oct. 14, 2014. Host John Myers talks with Doug Bradley and Hugo Keesing about how today's university students relate to the pop and folk music of the Vietnam era.

Lydia Fish's collection of folk songs by American veterans of the Vietnam War

Bradley-Keesing_3_10-14-14.mp3
Segment 3 (of 7) from"The Folk Show," Oct. 14, 2014. Host John Myers talks with Doug Bradley and Hugo Keesing about collecting songs written by American soldiers in Vietnam during the conflict, and in the decades since its conclusion.

Bradley-Keesing_4_10-14-14.mp3
Segment 4 (of 7) from"The Folk Show," Oct. 14, 2014. Host John Myers asks Doug Bradley and Hugo Keesing about some of the most controversial American songs of the Vietnam War era.

Bradley-Keesing_5_10-14-14.mp3
Segment 5 (of 7) from"The Folk Show," Oct. 14, 2014. Host John Myers talks with Doug Bradley and Hugo Keesing about how perspective shaped the different interpretations of pop songs during the Vietnam War era.

Bradley-Keesing_6_10-14-14.mp3
Segment 6 (of 7) from"The Folk Show," Oct. 14, 2014. Host John Myers asks Doug Bradley and Hugo Keesing which songs from the 1960s and 1970s were most popular among members of the U.S. armed forces in Vietnam.

Bradley-Keesing_7_10-14-14.mp3
Segment 7 (of 7) from"The Folk Show," Oct. 14, 2014. Host John Myers asks Doug Bradley and Hugo Keesing about getting permission from music publishers to include songs and lyrics in their respective books and cd box sets.

Credit courtesy of Hugo Keesing

Here are "The Big Read" events in Drummond and Missoula, MT, featuring Keesing and Bradley: 

1. "Next Stop is Vietnam: The War on Record, 1961 - 2008"

Audio/visual presentation tracking timeline & themes such as draft, going to war, teenage soldiers, protest, anti-protest, peace movement and war's aftermath through music.

Event Location: Drummond High School, Drummond, MT

Date: Thurs., Oct 23, 2014    Time: 2:30pm – 4:00pm

 

2. Hugo Keesing & Doug Bradley Open Discussion & No-Host Dinner

All interested will meet at Parker's Restaurant (Front Street) for an informal question and answer time with Mr. Keesing and Mr. Bradley. No-Host Dinner.

Event Location: Parker's Restaurant, Front Street, Drummond, MT

Date: Thurs., Oct 23, 2014    Time: 5:00pm – 6:30pm

 

3. More Than Songs: What Music Tells Us About the Vietnam War

Audio/visual event focusing on how historical songs of the Vietnam Era functioned as a lifeline for one's sanity and to the world outside of war.

Event Location: Drummond School Community Library, Edwards Street, Drummond, MT

Date: Thurs., Oct 23, 2014    Time: 7:00pm – 8:00pm

 

4. We Gotta Get Out of This Place: The Music-based Memories of Vietnam Vets Event

Informal discussion with music between Hugo Keesing, Doug Bradley and Dan Gallagher over lunch

Event Location: Old Post, Missoula, MT 59802

Date: Fri, Oct 24, 2014   Time: 11:30am – 1:00pm

 

5. We Gotta Get Out of This Place: The Music-based Memories of Vietnam Vets

Informal discussion with music between Hugo Keesing, Doug Bradley and Dan Gallagher over no-host dinner

Event Location: Old Post (American Legion Post #101), Missoula, MT 59802-4735

Date: Fri, Oct 24, 2014   Time: 6:00pm – 8:00pm

 

6. Rockin' the Vietnam War: from the Delta to the DMZ

Keesing and Bradley will present the music of the era at Rockin' Rudy's Music Store. This program features the 20 top songs based on WGGOTP (We got to get out of this place) feedback. The hosts will supply AFNV sound clips (PLSs, ads, "Chicken Man" episodes, etc.) to simulate an in-country broadcast.

Event Location: Rockin' Rudy's, 237 Blaine Street, Missoula, MT

Date: Sat, Oct 25, 2014   Time: 1:00pm – 3:00pm

 

Beth Anne Austein has been spinning tunes on the air (The Folk Show, Dancing With Tradition, Freeforms), as well as recording, editing and mixing audio for Montana Public Radio and Montana PBS, since the Clinton Administration. She’s jockeyed faders or "fixed it in post” for The Plant Detective; Listeners Bookstall; Fieldnotes; Musicians Spotlight; The Write Question; Storycorps; Selected Shorts; Bill Raoul’s music series; orchestral and chamber concerts; lecture series; news interviews; and outside producers’ programs about topics ranging from philosophy to ticks.
Become a sustaining member for as low as $5/month
Make an annual or one-time donation to support MTPR
Pay an existing pledge or update your payment information