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TL;DR:

  • Alice Cooper songs and one of Nancy Sinatra’s songs got played at the Waco siege.
  • One of David Koresh’s followers said the Branch Davidians’ beliefs were not respected.
  • He didn’t specify which Cooper songs were played during the siege.
The Branch Davidian compound on fire during the Waco siege
The Branch Davidian compound during the Waco siege | Gregory Smith / Contributor

Some classic rock songs were played during the Waco siege. Alice Cooper songs and Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walkin'” were some of the songs the Branch Davidians were forced to hear. Subsequently, one of David Koresh’s followers explained why music became part of the siege.

Alice Cooper songs, Nancy Sinatra songs, and Christmas tunes got played at the Waco siege

David Thibodeau was a follower of David Koresh who survived the Waco siege. In his 1999 book Waco: A Survivor’s Story, Thibodeau discussed how the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives treated the Branch Davidians.

“The cacophony of speeding trains and hovering helicopters alternates with amplified recordings of Christmas carols, Islamic prayer calls, Buddhist chants, and repeated renderings of whiny Alice Cooper and Nancy Sinatra’s pounding, clunky lyric, ‘These Boots Were Made for Walkin’,” he said. 

“Through the night the glare of brilliant stadium lights turns our property into a giant fishbowl,” he continued. “The young children and babies in our care, most under eight years old, are terrified.” 

Alice Cooper songs were meant to get David Koresh cultists to give up at the Waco siege

Thibodeau explained why this happened. “The dismal racket and the blinding lights are tortures invented by the small army of law enforcement officers armed with tanks, armored vehicles, and automatic weapons who’ve surrounded the complex we call Mount Carmel for the past seven weeks,” he said. 

“These torments are intended to sap our wills and compel us to surrender to an authority that refuses to accept that we are a valid religious community with deeply held beliefs,” he added. “All our attempts to explain our commitment to what we believe have been dismissed as mere ‘Bible babble.'”

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How Nancy Sinatra’s ‘These Boots Are Made for Walkin” performed in the United States

The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits says “These Boots Are Made for Walkin'” was a huge hit for Sinatra. The tune topped the Billboard Hot 100 for one week, becoming Sinatra’s first and only solo No. 1 single in the United States. She later topped the chart with a Frank Sinatra duet called “Somethin’ Stupid.”

Jessica Simpson later released a cover of “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.” It sounds like a Britney Spears hit from the early 2000s. This cover made it to No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 11 weeks. Simpson’s “These Boots Are Made for Walkin'” remains one of her most popular tracks.

The Waco siege had its own impact on music. For example, the band The Indelicates wrote a concept album about the siege called David Koresh Superstar.

Sinatra and Cooper are great artists and they have an interesting connection to the Waco siege.

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