OK. I’ve gone crazy. Three posts already today. But you’ll understand when you see what I’ve found…
This is one of the original commercials created by Tom Laughlin (Billy Jack) for the 1973 re-release of his film ‘Billy Jack’ (the film was originally released by Warner Brothers in 1971 to surprising success). There was a series of commercials, which we will post here (stay tuned), that all featured similar elements, most notably the musical tag of the song ‘One Tin Soldier‘.
When the film was first released in 1971, WB records rejected the soundtrack. But with every TV commercial and radio spot featuring the song during the re-release, prompted folks to call their local radio stations and request the song. The radio stations in turn called WB records, and WB records in turn called Tom pleading for the rights to release the soundtrack. Jinx Dawson’s incredible version of ‘One Tin Soldier‘ became a huge hit (belatedly).
