Guilty Pleasure No. 55: The Dawn of Correction

The year was 1964 and folk singer Barry McGuire had just released a new song called Eve of Destruction. In Eve of Destruction, McGuire painted an apocalyptic view of the world and put a lot of the blame on the Cold War. McGuire wrote about 18 year-olds being sent to war when they weren’t even allowed to vote. (At that time, the voting age was 21.) McGuire wrote about the nuclear arsenals of the U.S. and Russia, saying that nuclear annihilation was just one push of a button away. McGuire sang about the Civil Rights struggle and the feeling that all of the well-meaning protests hadn’t led to any real change.

Not surprisingly, this early protest song was as controversial as it was popular. While many claimed that McGuire was one of the few singers willing to sing the truth, others said that he wasn’t being unpatriotic and excessively negative.

That’s where The Spokesmen came in. The Spokesmen were a trio, made up of John Madera, David White, and Ray Gilmore. Feeling that McGuire wasn’t being fair in his critique of the good old U.S., the Spokesmen released an “answer song,” one that addressed all of McGuire’s charges and which dismissed them all. McGuire sang about the “Eve of Destruction.” The Spokesmen decided that they would sing about the …. DAWN OF CORRECTION!

So over and over again, you keep sayin’ it’s the end
But I say you’re wrong, we’re just on the dawn of correction

What exactly is “the dawn of correction?” I honestly have no idea. But it probably sounded profound while the song was being written. Plus …. destruction …. correction …. it rhymes!

Anyway, the Dawn of Correction was a minor hit when it was released, though it was soon forgotten about as the protest movement grew and teenagers in the 60s saw far more evidence to support McGuire’s vision of the world than the vision of the Spokesman. Among music aficionados, Dawn of Correction has developed a reputation for being one of the worst songs ever written.

I have to admit though that, when I recently listened to the song, I kind of liked it, in much the same way that I like zero-budget polemical films and kitschy dance scenes. It’s one of those songs that is so definitely rooted to one cultural moment that, from a historical point of view, it becomes rather fascinating. It’s lyrics are just so strangely literal. (It takes a certain …. something …. to try to put a positive spin on the policy of mutually assured destruction in a folk song.) Even more than that, lead singer John Madera attempts to duplicate the raspy growl the McGuire used while singing Eve of Destruction and, even though he doesn’t succeed, there’s something oddly touching about how hard he tries. With a Dylanesque harmonica playing in the background, the song is so determined to be “with it,” that you just know some government teacher in 1967 probably tried to reach her apathetic students by forcing them to listen to this song in class.

Finally, to be honest, that chorus is kind of catchy. Watch the band perform below and be sure to pay attention to the dancers.

The western world has a common dedication
To keep free people from Red domination
And maybe you can’t vote, boy, but man your battle stations
Or there’ll be no need for votin’ in future generations