Tin Pan Alley: No Time for Sergeanting

TIN PAN ALLEY

I'm goin' home; my tour is done— I'm goin' home. I'm a lucky one. —from Ballads of the Green Berets

The luckiest one is U.S. Special Forces Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler. At 25, he has come away from Viet Nam not only with his skin but with a clutch of ballads that have made him famous and rich. His recording of The Ballad of the Green Berets, only three months old, has sold more than 2,000,000 copies, and a subsequently released twelve-tune album has already leaped to the top of the bestselling LP lists. For this, Sergeant Sadler has...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!