| "Eve of Destruction" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
&sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:Eve_of_Destruction_picture_sleeve.jpg) West German picture sleeve | ||||
| Single by Barry McGuire | ||||
| from the album Eve of Destruction | ||||
| B-side | "What Exactly's the Matter With Me" | |||
| Released | July 16, 1965[1] | |||
| Recorded | July 15, 1965 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:35 | |||
| Label |
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| Songwriter(s) | P. F. Sloan | |||
| Producer(s) | Lou Adler, P. F. Sloan, Steve Barri | |||
| Barry McGuire singles chronology | ||||
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"Eve of Destruction" is a protest song written by P. F. Sloan in mid-1965.[4] Several artists have recorded it, but the most popular recording was by Barry McGuire, on which Sloan played guitar.
The song references social issues of its period, including the Vietnam War, the draft, the threat of nuclear war, the Civil Rights Movement, turmoil in the Middle East and the American space program.
The American media helped to make the song popular by using it as an example of everything that was wrong with the youth culture of the time.[5] Its controversial lyrics caused it to be banned by some American radio stations, "claiming it was an aid to the enemy in Vietnam".[6][7]
- ^ Billboard magazine, August 14, 1965, page 1
- ^ MacDonald, Ian (2007). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Third ed.). Chicago: Chicago Review Press. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-55652-733-3.
- ^ Breihan, Tom (August 14, 2018). "The Number Ones: Barry McGuire's "Eve Of Destruction"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
As a pop song, it's raw and snarly, but it never takes flight the way the best pop music of the era did.
- ^ P.F. Sloan. "P.F. Sloan: In His Own Words — The Stories Behind the Songs". Retrieved November 18, 2015.
- ^ P. F. Sloan (February 19, 1999). "P. F. Sloan - Stories Behind The Songs". The P. F. Sloan Website. Retrieved April 26, 2008.
- ^ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 33 - Revolt of the Fat Angel: American musicians respond to the British invaders. [Part 1]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
- ^ Blecha, Peter; Taboo Tunes/A History of Banned Bands & Censored Songs; Backbeat Books, 2004. ISBN 0-87930-792-7