Billy Don't Be a Hero Billy Don't Be a Hero "Billy Don't Be a Hero" is a 1974 pop song that was first a UK hit for Paper Lace and then, some months later, a US hit for Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods. The song was written and composed by two British songwriters, Mitch Murray and Peter Callander. Because the song was released in 1974, it was associated by some listeners with the Vietnam War, though the war to which it actually refers is never identified in the lyrics. It has been suggested that the drum pattern, references to a marching band leading soldiers in
(I'd Be) A Legend in My Time recorded a second later version which was featured on his 1967 tribute album to Gibson, "Roy Orbison Sings Don Gibson". A 1973 rendition by Sammy Davis Jr. became an Adult Contemporary charts, reaching #33 in Canada and #29 U.S. The song was recorded by Ronnie Milsap and released in November 1974 as the lead single from his album "A Legend in My Time". This was Milsap's sixth country hit and his third number one. The single stayed at number one for a single week and spent a total of ten weeks within the top 40. Milsap's recording altered the song