Album: No Guts, No Glory (1983)

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Songfacts®:

• In March 1966, at the height of Beatlemania, John Lennon remarked to a journalist from the London Evening Standard - probably in his usual deadpan style - that the Beatles were now more popular than Jesus. Later in the year, when that comment found its way into an American teenagers' magazine, it provoked uproar in the Bible Belt, and led to a DJ in Birmingham, Alabama boycotting their records, a boycott that spread like wildfire, many teenagers actually burning their records.
  
  In view of this, probably no one would have been more surprised than Lennon himself that a Southern musician, if a Southern rock musician, should have written a tribute song to him. Although Molly Hatchet guitarist Dave Hlubek's epic "Fall Of The Peacemakers" alludes to both Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy as well, it is primarily about Lennon with its overt references to "Imagine" and "Give Peace A Chance."
  
  The last verse alludes to the funeral of President Kennedy, who some might say saved the world from a potential nuclear disaster by his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis the year before his assassination.
• There are at least six recordings of "Fall Of The Peacemakers," the definitive is probably the original from the 1983 No Guts, No Glory album, which runs 8:04, but the 1998 acoustic version (which is heavily keyboard-based) is also a notable rendition. This can be found on Silent Reign Of Heroes, and runs 6:55. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2

Comments: 8

• John from MemphisFolks, back in 1983, our AOR station had the one and only Redbeard as our program director; he was also one of the DJs. I remember when this song came out. It was written in response to the assassination of Anwar Sadat, then president of Egypt, who had brokered peace between the Israelis and the Muslim world. Some Muslim religious fanatic in the Egyptian army, as Sadat sat in the stands watching a military review, opened fire and killed him. Needless to say, that threw the entire world into an uproar, and the almost-peace fell to pieces. And before anyone says anything snippy, I do not take sides in that conflict in any way; there's fanatics aplenty on both sides.
• Bcook1014 from Foley, Al, UsaI cannot let this chump from Clarksville, TN go unanswered in his attack on John Lennon. He tries, as others foolishly did back then, to paint Lennon as anti-Jesus or anti-Christian for that matter, when all he said was, "The Beatles have gotten more popular than Jesus." Ignorance & narrow-minded thinking is unfortunately what most southerners have been known for over the years & for many southerners, ain't much changed. SMDH, sheesh. For him to say JFK was killed by "Democrats" again shows his inability to correctly interpret history & actually do a bit of research to find an answer to what did really happen to this great man. By the way, I'm a southern Viet Nam-era veteran.
• Bcook1014 from Foley, Al, UsaThis song greatly surprises me the first time hearing it, a southern rock band known for their kick-a** Skynyrd-ish tunes. I didn't discover it until couple years ago when trying to beef up my playlist, at the age of 69, lol.
• Stan Travis from Clarksville TnThe song isn't about John Lennon at all. But rather about the one who Lennon insulted in 66!
  Read carefully. A voice from the past cried give peace a chance, "he paid our price" now he's free at last. Imagine, we called him a dreamer.
  
  John Lennon was alive. He died for no one! JFK was killed by Democrats because he opposed communism. MLK was killed out of racial hate. Both died for a cause, but not while paying "our price".
  However, the one who Lennon insulted was Jesus Christ, who was a voice from the past, who preached love, peace, and kindness, was considered by many to be a dreamer (prophet), and did indeed pay our price by taking on the sin of the world! He was also free from the tomb and death.
  This wasn't a tribute to Lennon, it was an ultimate diss!
• J.r.j. from Fall River, Mass."Fall of the peacemakers"
  Is one of the best songs ever written!!
• Barry from Sauquoit, NyPer: www.legacy.com
  Banner Thomas, a musician who was the original bassist for the platinum-selling Southern rock band Molly Hatchet, died Monday, April 10, 2017, of a heart attack, according to multiple news sources, he was 60. The band, founded in 1975 by guitarist Dave Hlubek in Jacksonville, Florida, is known for its hit song "Flirtin' With Disaster." The group announced Thomas' death via its official Facebook page:"Molly Hatchet bassist, Banner Thomas passed away this morning. From 1978 - 1983, Banner played on the first four MH albums, including the hit Flirtin' With Disaster*. He left the band and was replaced by Riff West, also deceased, who played on the next 5 albums. Tim Lindsey has been the bassist for nearly fifteen years and continues to carry the torch forward. Our prayers and condolences extend to Banners family and friends. RIP" According to posts on his own Facebook page, Thomas had been treated for pneumonia just days before he died. He had plans to resume playing concerts with his current band, Those Guys, also based in Jacksonville. Thomas, who was born Sept. 6, 1956, in Orange Park, Florida, played on Molly Hatchet's first four studio albums: "Molly Hatchet" (1978), which went platinum; "Flirtin' With Disaster" (1979), which sold more than 2 million copies; "Beatin' the Odds" (1980), another platinum success; and "Take No Prisoners" (1981), which peaked at No. 36 on the U.S. albums chart.Thomas left Molly Hatchet in 1983, moving on to co-found the group Big Engine.
  May he R.I.P.
  * Molly Hatchet placed three records on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; "Flirtin' With Disaster" {#42 in 1980}, "The Rambler" {#91 in 1981}, and "Power Play" {#96 in 1982}.
• Terri Stewart from Sanford, FlP.S. - Riff West lost 30 years of royalties for Peacemakers, the song he wrote (along with Dave) with pure sincerity and passion for its lyrics and sublime message behind the lyrics. Mister Sunshine Music, however, has enjoyed the royalties and accoutrements they've afforded him (i.e. custom homes, yachts, etc.) for decades, literally, due to his continued exploitation (as "agent for" and "promoter of" and "owner of" the music and band name) of the once young and naive (from a business & legal perspective) musician named Riff West... as well as the other 'original era' members of Molly Hatchet Band. Clearly, none of the young, trusting musicians understood the significance or meaning of "fiduciary," and their manager took full advantage of his position over them with apparently zero regard for the ostensible conflict of interest.
  
  
  
• Terri Stewart from Sanford, FlRiff West (bass & vocals) with Molly Hatchet Band for a decade wrote the lyrics, although Mister Sunshine Music (Pat Armstrong) didn't give him credit until recently. BMI now recognizes Riff West as a co-owner/author. Riff wrote the lyrics, and was deeply disturbed by Lennon's, JFK's, MLK's, etc. assassinations, respectively, hence, the inspiration behind those haunting lyrics. Just FYI.
  Work Title: FALL OF THE PEACEMAKERS
  BMI Work #: 400249 ISWC: T-070.253.702-7
  Date Registered: 03/22/1983 Registration Origin: Works Registration
  Songwriter/Composer Current Affiliation Shares IP #
  - HLUBEK, DAVID LAWRENCE BMI 75.00% 00043196489
  - WEST, RALPH EMERSON ("Riff") BMI 25.00% 00488208326
  Publisher: Current Affiliation Shares IP #
  - MISTER SUNSHINE MUSIC (ORIG NAME) (a.k.a. Pat Armstrong) BMI 100.00% 00043176497
  Artists: MOLLY HATCHET
  

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