Mr. Custer Mr. Custer "Mr. Custer" is a march novelty song, sung by Larry Verne, and written by Al De Lory, Fred Darian, and Joseph Van Winkle. It was a song in the United States in 1960, topping the "Billboard" Hot 100 singles chart for the issue dated October 10, 1960, and remained there for one week. It is a comical song about a soldier's plea to General Custer before the climactic Battle of the Little Bighorn against the Sioux, which he did not want to fight. In 1964, Verne recorded and released a sequel novelty song entitled "Return of Mr. Custer,"
Achilles Last Stand on 27 November 1975, 15 days after the group laid down the basic tracks for "Achilles Last Stand". Atlantic Records released "Presence" on 31 March 1976, with "Achilles Last Stand" as the opening track. The album initially performed well in the charts, but ultimately was not a great success for the group. There was no tour to support the album release. However, in November after Plant had sufficiently recovered, Led Zeppelin began to rehearse for a upcoming American tour. "Achilles Last Stand" was one of the first songs they attempted. Since their studio recording relied heavily on overdubs, they needed