# Eve of Destruction (song)

"Eve of Destruction" is a protest song written by P. F. Sloan in mid-1965. 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. Its controversial lyrics caused it to be banned by some American radio stations, "claiming it was an aid to the enemy in Vietnam".

## Background

The song was offered to the Byrds as a potential single in the style of their Bob Dylan covers, but they rejected it. The Turtles, another L.A. group, recorded a version instead. The Turtles' version appeared as a track on their October 1965 debut album It Ain't Me Babe in July 1965, shortly after McGuire's version was released. The Turtles version was later released as a single in 1970 and hit #100 on the Billboard Hot 100.

## Lyrical references

* "You're old enough to kill, but not for votin'" refers to the United States law requiring registration for the draft at age 18. The minimum voting age in most states was 21 until the ratification of the Twenty-sixth Amendment in 1971.
* "And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin'" refers to the War over Water. The Jordan River is also the location of Jesus Christ's baptism by John the Baptist and the beginning of his ministry. Making the river a sacred location for many Christians.
* "If the button is pushed, there's no runnin' away." refers to mutual assured destruction.
* The song's mention of Selma, Alabama, refers to the Selma to Montgomery marches in March 1965. The Jan & Dean version substitutes "Watts, California" in the lyrics, in apparent reference to the Watts riots that occurred in Los Angeles later in 1965.
* "You may leave here for four days in space, but when you return it's the same old place" refers to the June 1965 mission of Gemini 4, which lasted just over four days.
* "The pounding of the drums, the pride and disgrace" refers to the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the marching band that played as his casket was carried to Arlington National Cemetery.
* "Hate your next door neighbor, but don't forget to say grace" refers to simple hypocrisy, according to Sloan.

## Barry McGuire version

McGuire's recording was made between July 12-15 1965 and released by Dunhill Records. The accompanying musicians were P. F. Sloan on acoustic guitar and "Wrecking Crew" session musicians Hal Blaine on drums and Larry Knechtel on bass guitar. McGuire's vocal track was not intended to be the final version, but a copy of the rough mix "leaked" out to a disc jockey, who began playing it. The song was an instant hit, and as a result the more polished vocal track was never recorded.
McGuire recalled in later years that "Eve of Destruction" had been recorded in one take on a Tuesday morning, with him reading lyrics scrawled on a crumpled piece of paper. He said the following Monday morning he received a phone call from the record company at 7am telling him to turn on the radio, his song was playing. McGuire's single hit #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the UK Singles Chart in September 1965.

## P.F.Sloan version

Sloan recalled: "Barry McGuire was the lead singer for a popular folk group at the time called the New Christy Minstrels. [He had written and sung] his own Number 1 hit, "Green,Green". He had just left the group and was on his own and looking for material to record. He wound up at my publishing company and was told there was a quirky songwriter he might want to listen to. Barry didn't like the song "Eve of Destruction" that much. He liked a few other songs of mine better. When he was ready to record he picked four songs, and "Eve" was the fourth to be recorded if there was time. If you listen to the recording, he's rushing because of the time constraints and he was reading it for the first time off a piece of paper." When the record was released "Eve of Destruction" was the B-side.

### Reception

In the first week of its release the single was at No. 103 on the Billboard charts. In August 12 Dunhill released the LP, Eve of Destruction. It reached its peak of #37 on the Billboard album chart during the week ending September 25. That same day the single went to #1 on the chart, and repeated the feat on the Cashbox chart, where it had debuted at No. 30. McGuire would never again break into the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. It went to #1 in Norway for two weeks.

### Controversy, parodies, and response songs

In addition to its being banned in some parts of the U.S., the song was also banned by Radio Scotland. It was placed on a "restricted list" by the BBC, and could not be played on "general entertainment programmes". It was however featured on Top of the Pops on television one week while in the Top 10.
Researcher Justin Brummer, founding editor of the Vietnam War Song Project. has identified 25 answer records referring to "Eve of Destruction". A group called The Spokesmen released "The Dawn of Correction" which became a Top 40 hit. Singer Tony Mammarella released a positive answer song titled "Eve of Tomorrow". Johnny Sea's 1966 spoken word recording, "Day For Decision", was also a response to the song, and was a Top 40 hit. The British musician Alan Klein included a parody of the song attacking protest singers, entitled "Age of Corruption", on his album Well at Least It's British.

## In popular culture

The Temptations' 1970 song "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" mentions the song title.
The song is prominently featured in the second season episode of The Greatest American Hero, entitled "Operation Spoilsport". The song is played during the fourth-season finale of The A-Team, "The Sound of Thunder".
The song, like many other popular songs of the day, gave its name to a gun truck used by United States Army Transportation Corps forces during the Vietnam War. The truck is on display at the U.S. Army Transportation Museum and is believed to be the only surviving example of a Vietnam-era gun truck.
The song is featured in the soundtrack of Mafia III.
The song is played in its entirety in the Italian film Rose Island from 2020.