Protest songs in the United States Tom Paxton ("Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation" - about the escalation of the war in Vietnam, "Jimmy Newman" – the story of a dying soldier, and "My Son John" – about a soldier who returns from war unable to describe what he's been through), among others. The first protest song to reach number one in the United States was P.F. Sloan's "Eve Of Destruction", performed by Barry McGuire in 1965. The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s often used Negro spirituals as a source of protest, changing the religious lyrics to suit the political mood of the time.
Eve of Destruction (song) list" by the BBC, and could not be played on "general entertainment programmes". In the late 1970s Los Angeles punk band The Dickies recorded a cover of "Eve of Destruction". The Undead (Fronted by Ex-Misfits guitarist Bobby Steele) recorded a cover of "Eve of Destruction" in 1986 and was released on their album "Act Your Rage" in 1989. New wave group Red Rockers covered the song in their 1984 album "Schizoprenic Circus". Johnny Thunders recorded it on his 1984 album "Hurt Me" and also frequently covered the song in concert (a live version is included on his 2000 CD, "Belfast