Big and Rich talk about inspiration behind their '8th of November' By RONNA RUBIN Great American Country 26-JUN-06
Country duo Big & Rich (Kenny Alphin and John Rich) have never neatly fit into any one category or classification. Larger than life, the two came on the scene with the colorful "Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy," and have never looked back.
Their latest single, "The 8th of November," is based on a story so significant that it could not be told in a standard 3-1/2-minute song and video. The track from their "Comin' To Your City" album has been made into an hourlong documentary that will debut on GAC on Saturday, July 1, at 9 p.m. EDT.
The inspiration for "The 8th of November" is Niles Harris, a Vietnam veteran and Purple Heart recipient who survived a battle that took place on Hill 65 in War Zone D on Nov. 8, 1965. Forty-eight of Harris' comrades in the Army's 173rd Airborne were killed and hundreds wounded in a battle that found them outnumbered 30 to 1.
In 1965, Alphin was a 1-year-old and Rich was not yet born, but a chance meeting with Harris in a Deadwood, S.D., bar created what has become a lasting friendship. In 2002 _ before they had a record deal _ Alphin and Rich played at a saloon in Deadwood where Harris tended bar.
Moved by Harris' tale of life as a 19-year-old Army private shot down in jungle fire, the duo wrote "The 8th of November."
"The difference between writing this song and writing other songs is that normally Kenny and I would sit right down, have a couple of beers and write a song," Rich says in the documentary.
"But in this case, it was so important to us that we just wanted to make sure it was right," Alphin adds. "It's the pinnacle of all we've written so far."
In 2005, the duo asked Harris if he would be interested in revisiting Vietnam for the first time since his last tour. With a documentary crew of Americans and Vietnamese in tow, the group traveled 34 hours to the exact site of the Hill 65 battle. The boots Harris was wearing the day of the battle were buried at that site in a crater made by a B-52 bomb.
"Niles Harris' story sheds light on the realities of one individual in the center of a war," the duo said about the inspiration for their documentary. "There are thousands more out there just like his and we wish to honor all of our military personnel who have represented our country with courage and bravery."
Big & Rich can also be seen hosting "Great American Weekend," beginning at 3 p.m. EDT July 1 on GAC.
