America Why I Love Her Recited by John Wayne; Poem by John Mitchum

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America, Why I Love Her; Studio album by John Wayne
Released March 1, 1973; Label RCA Victor
Producer Billy Liebert

America, Why I Love Her is an album of poetry recited by John Wayne. It was released on the RCA Victor label on March 1, 1973. It consists of patriotic poems written by actor John Mitchum, the brother of Robert Mitchum. The idea for the album came about when actor Forrest Tucker heard John Mitchum recite his poem "Why Are You Marching, Son?". Tucker and Mitchum were on location with Wayne, shooting the 1970 Western film Chisum. Tucker asked him to read it for Wayne, and halfway through the reading, Wayne had tears in his eyes. Wayne reportedly told Mitchum, "I've never recorded anything in my life, but I'm going to record an album of your poetry". And that was the genesis of Duke’s one and only album.

On the album, Wayne reads Mitchum's poetry with backing from an orchestra and choir. Billy Liebert arranged and conducted the orchestra and also produced the album.

In an interview upon the album's release, Wayne explained his attraction to the material: "John Mitchum thinks like I think and writes like I wish I could". Wayne added that he hoped that the album would cause "a little bit of rapport between everybody in our country". Mary Campbell of the Associated Press wrote that the album was "tastefully done, not over-produced, and the poems don't sound like the work of an amateur". She chose "My Roots Are Buried Here" as the album's best track. In The Atlanta Constitution, Terry Kay wrote that Wayne's face on the album cover "has the toughness of Nevada seen from the air" and that the album "makes one want to snap to and salute". He recommended the album and noted that some would likely "snicker and giggle" over such things, but they would do so in private, as doing so publicly might offend someone, "and that could be dangerous".

For his performance on the album, Wayne was nominated in 1974 for the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album.