For the music history course I’m teaching in the fall, I decided to look at how songs can have political influence. One section will be devoted to propaganda songs and while doing some research I stumbled upon a doozie, Connie Francis’s “Nixon’s The One”. Thought this was amazing until next I found “We Need Wallace” by a band called The Crusader, rivaling whatever one might call the best of The Shaggs. An exploration of musical propaganda wouldn’t be sincere unless it looks across the spectrum, so I incorporated music used by Nazi Germany, North Korea and Mussolini’s Fascists right next to Dolly Parton’s rendition of “The Ballad of the Green Beret” and Vera Lynn’s “We’ll Meet Again”. Given what I’ve seen of bias in academia, I will not be surprised if hysterical emails from the higher ups come my way. It might offend people if I direct students to hear “Song of General Kim II Sung” or “Without The Communist Party, There Would Be No New China” or “Horst-Wessel-Lied”. I predict if I try to show propaganda in song it will come with propaganda in text. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"