the letter box tops cover

The Letter by The Box Tops

The Letter Single July 1967

The Letter / Neon Rainbow Album October 1967

Added by Bastien

• Highlights 6
• Versions 215
• Adaptations 17

The Letter written by Wayne Carson English

The Letter written by Wayne Carson instrumental

Tam, odkud píše mi láska written by Eduard Krečmar Czech

Billetten written by Bamse Danish

Romantic Letter written by J. John Jackson English

Pienet kirjeet written by Tapio Lahtinen Finnish

Kirje written by Juice Leskinen Finnish

Une lettre written by Vline Buggy , Herbert Léonard French

La lettre written by Steve [CN] French

Er hat mir geschrieben written by Klaus Munro German

Mi levve written by Heinz Ganss German

המכתב {Hamikhtav} written by Coby Recht Hebrew

Giv mig et billede written by Jakob Frímann Magnússon Icelandic

Datemi un biglietto d'aereo written by Mogol Italian

La carta written by Sasia Spanish

La carta written by Joaquín Prieto Spanish

La carta written by José Luis Jiménez Spanish

Brevet written by Anders F. Rönnblom Swedish

Sms: E written by Lars Persa Swedish

La Carta written by [Unknown] Spanish (not verified yet)

Το Γράμμα (The Letter) written by Takis Karnatsos Greek, Modern (1453-) (not verified yet)

A Carta (The Letter) written by [Unknown] Portuguese (not verified yet)

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The Letter by The Box Tops

Songfacts®:

• This song is about a guy who gets a letter from his former love telling him that she wants him back, and the guy wants to fly out and see her immediately. The Nashville songwriter Wayne Carson Thompson wrote the song after his father gave him the line, "Give me a ticket for an aeroplane." Thompson gave the song to The Box Tops on the recommendation of his friend, Chips Moman, who ran ARS Studios and liked the sound of an unnamed band headed by then-16-year-old Alex Chilton, who auditioned for him in 1967.
• Thompson played guitar on the recording. He didn't like the singing, believing the lead vocal was too husky, and wasn't fond of the production either. The addition of the jet sound "didn't make sense" to him. When producer Dan Penn added the airplane sound to the recording, Wayne Carson Thompson clearly thought that Penn had lost his mind. He hadn't - several weeks later it became one of the biggest records of the '60s, and The Box Tops went on to score with a few other Thompson compositions, including their follow-up release, "Neon Rainbow" (#24, 1967), "Soul Deep" (a #18 hit in 1969) and "You Keep Tightening Up On Me" (their last chart hit, which peaked at #74 in 1970). A few years later, Thompson won a Grammy for cowriting the hit " Always On My Mind ."
• When the group recorded this they still did not have a name. One band member suggested, "Let's have a contest and everybody can send in 50 cents and a box top." Producer Dan Penn then dubbed them The Box Tops.
• At 1:58, the Box Tops' version of this was the last #1 hit to be shorter than two minutes in length.
• Cover versions were US hits for two other artists, The Arbors (#20 in 1969 - arrangement by Joe Scott ) and Joe Cocker (#7 in 1970). Cocker's version is a live recording featuring Leon Russell; a studio version appears on his album Mad Dogs & Englishmen .
• The title is never sung in this song: his baby writes him " a letter."
• More songs from The Box Tops
• More songs that were an artist's first hit
• More songs that were hits for more than one artist
• More songs containing sound effects
• More songs with methods of communication in the title
• More songs inspired by love letters
• More songs with titles that are not part of the lyrics
• More songs from 1967
• Lyrics to The Letter

Comments: 20

• Barry from Sauquoit, Ny On April 12, 1969, Dick Clark conducted an interview with Fred Farran of the Arbors on his ABC-TV Saturday-afternoon program, 'American Bandstand'... At the time the Arbors' covered version of the Box Tops' "The Letter" was in it's second of two weeks at #20 on Billboard's Top 100 chart, that was also it's peak position on the chart, and it spent a total of ten weeks on the Top 100... Fred Farran passed away at the age 74 on August 29th, 2011, and his twin brother Edward, who was also a member of the Arbors, died six years earlier on January 2nd, 2003... May both brothers R.I.P.
• Barry from Sauquoit, Ny Fifty years ago today, Sept. 17th, 1967, the Billboard's Top 10 for the week ending Sept. 23th was: 1. THE LETTER by The Box Tops (Mala) {1st of 4 weeks at #1} 2. ODE TO BILLIE JOE by Bobbie Gentry (Capitol) 3. COME BACK WHEN YOU GROW UP by Bobby Vee and the Strangers (Liberty) 4. REFLECTIONS by Diana Ross and the Supremes (Motown) 5. NEVER MY LOVE by The Association (Warner Brothers) 6. APPLES, PEACHES, PUMPKIN PIE by Jay and the Techniques (Smash) 7. (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) HIGHER AND HIGHER by Jackie Wilson (Brunswick) 8. YOU’RE MY EVERYTHING by The Temptations (Gordy) 9. I DIG ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC by Peter, Paul and Mary (Warner Brothers) 10. FUNKY BROADWAY by Wilson Pickett (Atlantic)...
• Barry from Sauquoit, Ny On February 16, 1969, the Arbors' covered version of "The Letter" entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart position #83; six weeks later on March 30th it peaked at #20 {for 2 weeks} and it spent 10 weeks on the chart... The quartet, which formed at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, had three other Top 100 records; "A Symphony for Susan" {#51 in 1966}, "Graduation Day" {#59 in 1967}, and "I Can't Quit Her" {#67 in 1969}.
• Steve from New Zealand Finally found out who did the slow version of The Letter... slow drum roll * * * * * The Arbours; it's up on youtube and I'm listening to it as I write...
• Brad from Fl Cocker's live version video is a who's who of eclectic musicians. Leon, Bobby Keys on sax, Rita Coolidge on bgv, etc. Timeless.
• Barry from Sauquoit, Ny Per: http://www.oldiesmusic.com/news.htm Songwriter Wayne Carson, who co-wrote such hits as "The Letter" (#1-1967 for the Box Tops and #7-1970 by Joe Cocker), "Neon Rainbow" (#24-1967 by the Box Tops ), "Always On My Mind" (#5-1982 for Willie Nelson) and "Somebody Like Me" (#53-1966 by Eddy Arnold) died Monday (July 20th, 2015) in hospice care in Nashville... The Denver native was 72... He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1997... May he R.I.P.
• Barry from Sauquoit, Ny On December 3rd 1910, Frenchman Georges Claude demonstrated the first modern neon lighting at the Paris Motor Show... And exactly fifty-seven years later on December 3rd, 1967 the Box Tops' "Neon Rainbow" peaked at #24 {for 4 weeks} on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart... "Neon Rainbow" succeeded "The Letter" on the Top 100; “The Letter” had peaked at #1 {for 4 weeks} on September 17th, 1967.
• Rick from Belfast, Me Who performed this song w/ a very slow monologue?
• Mark from Sierra Madre, Ca I saw Alex Chilton about a dozen years ago, performing solo at McCabe's Guitar Shop. In the banter between songs he remarked that he was not about to make the session for 'The Letter', so it is not him singing on that song. I don't know if this is true, maybe he was having fun with us, but it is what he said.
• Lee from Huntsville, Al saddened to hear about alex...i grew up listening to his voice at the skating rink and on am radio. love the song "soul deep". 03-18-10.
• Kevin from Reading , Pa Having listened to Chilton in Big Star and on his solo stuff, I still find it hard to believe he sings these husky-voiced Box Top songs. The guy's voice is actually quite high. He must have shredded his vocal chords before singing this and other BT songs.
• Mike from Baltimore, Md i really like the live version joe cocker does with this song. best song he does imo. even though he calls it "give me a ticket for an airplane".
• P.a. from Paris, France I was going to write the same thing as Jack! Almost Famous is one of my 10 favourite movies, and Philip Seymour Hoffman is the one who says that line as Lester Bangs (actual Rolling Stone journalist). He is the guest of a female radio DJ. She intends to put on The Doors, he trashes Jim Morrison, praises the Guess Who, The Letter, and finally puts himself The Stooges on the record player and starts dancing...
• Nunzio from Darwin, Australia Joe Cockers version is the Best version of theis song. A rare case of the cover being better than the original.
• Rob from Wilkes-barre, Pa Cocker's live version is amazing.
• Jerry from Brooklyn, Ny Once again, the marvelous Eva Cassidy re-worked this song in her own image. It is probably one of the hardest rockers in her catalog of songs, and as always, it is so worth listening to. Her torchy rendition is stunning!
• Jack from Boston, Ma "Did you know that 'The Letter' by the Box Tops is a minute and fifty eight seconds long? It means nothing. But it takes them less than two minutes to accomplish what it takes Jethro Tull HOURS to NOT accomplish!" -Almost Famous
• Craig from Madison, Wi Alex Chilton later formed the intensely influential group Big Star. Not many people bought their albums in the 70's, but Paul Westerburg of the Replacements was such a big fan he wrote a song called "Alex Chilton." All of Westerburg's fans got curious and ran out to buy Big Star albums. Big Star became an influence to pretty much every non hip-hop song sung by a white boy in the 90's, from the Gin Blossoms to Elliot Smith to Counting Crowes [who in concert would replace the lyric "We all want to be big stars" to "we all want to be in Big Star"]. They basically sound like that band from high school with your friends in it, if your friends were geniuses. Their song "Down the Street" was covered by Cheap Trick for use as the theme song to "That 70's Show."
• Craig from Madison, Wi In the 80's, a Cheech Marinesque singer put out a spoof of "The Letter" entitled "Vanna Pick Me a Letter." Yep, that was the whole joke. Yes, it was as bad as you'd suspect.
• Charles from Charlotte, Nc Alex Chilton's gravel-voiced lead vocal was not his natural voice- he once attributed it to lack of sleep.

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The Box Tops ‘The Letter’: Two Minutes of Perfection

The song was written by a 23-year-old named Wayne Carson Thompson – more on him below – whose country music-singing father had spoon fed him a lyric which would ultimately become the first line of the song: “Give me a ticket for an aer-o-plane.” The younger Thompson got the completed song to the Memphis-based “Chips” Moman, who though just 29 was already a veteran producer, songwriter, label exec and studio owner.

Moman gave the song to a staff production assistant, Dan Penn, who corralled a local quintet into the studio to record the tune.  The lead singer, Alex Chilton, was just 16 years old – not a typo, he was born December 28, 1950 – when the song was recorded. Penn is quoted as saying: I hadn’t even paid any attention to how good he sang because I was busy trying to put the band together… I had a bunch of greenhorns who’d never cut a record, including me… I borrowed everything from Wayne Thompson’s original demo – drums, bass, guitar.”

The band’s other original members included lead guitarist Gary Talley, bassist Bill Cunningham, John Evans on keyboards and drummer Danny Smythe, who died (at 67) on July 6, 2016. No cause of death was announced. Chilton died March 17, 2010.

Our Classic Video is a rather unconvincing lip synch version of the great song. Whoever set up the shoot could’ve at least placed some microphones…

That sound you hear at the 1:34 mark? An aer-o-plane taking off via a special effects recording that Penn edited in, against Moman’s wishes. Penn, steadfast, won the argument.

Check out the great hits that “The Letter” topped on Sept. 23, 1967

The single was released in the summer of 1967 and on September 23 it was #1 in the U.S., where it would stay for four weeks, selling over one million copies. It ranked as the #2 song on  Billboard ‘s 1967 singles chart. (Joe Cocker would famously record a version of it in 1970 that would become his first big U.S. pop success at #7.)

The studio version…

Related: Where does “The Letter” rank among 1967’s biggest U.S. radio hits?

Here’s a live version from later that year…

The Box Tops would have another huge hit in 1968 with “Cry Like a Baby.” The group disbanded a few years later. Chilton went on to form the influential power pop group Big Star. He died at 59 of a heart attack in 2010.

And what of songwriter Wayne Carson Thompson? Five years later, in 1972, he wrote “Always on My Mind.”

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5 Comments so far

I waited almost 50 years to see Alex sing live and it was worth the wait

the harmonies werent very good though .Box tops had some great songs.Neon Rainbow , and Fields of clover.But Big Star were even a better band Its uncanny they are better known now they when they were together

I’ve always been curious about the introduction. It sounds like a hammer!

Great and informative article, as most are from BCB.

The Box Tops had a great song, and Alex Chilton had a very good voice, but, as was the case in many instances of his covers, Joe Cocker made many a song the definitive version, and made them his own, IMHO.

I respectfully disagree. The Box Tops original was one of the top songs of the 60’s. It’s easy to copy the original but is never as good as the original. Joe Cocker made a career out of other people’s which is why I never cared for him.

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Complete List Of The Box Tops Albums And Discography

Feature Photo: Marcelo Costa, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Complete List Of The Box Tops Albums And Discography looks at an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1967. The original lineup consisted of Alex Chilton (vocals), Gary Talley (lead guitar), Bill Cunningham (bass), John Evans (keyboards), and Danny Smythe (drums). The band originally called themselves “The Devilles,” but later changed their name to The Box Tops to avoid confusion with another band.

Their breakthrough came with their debut single, “The Letter,” which was released in the summer of 1967. The song was produced by Dan Penn and it became a massive hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The distinctive, soulful voice of Alex Chilton, who was only 16 at the time, became one of the band’s defining features. Following the success of “The Letter,” the band released their debut album, also titled “The Letter,” later in 1967. Their second album, “Cry Like a Baby,” was released in 1968 and included the hit single of the same name, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Over the years, the band underwent several lineup changes. Bill Cunningham and John Evans left in 1969 to attend college and were replaced by Rick Allen and Tom Boggs. Despite these changes, the band’s commercial success began to wane. The Box Tops disbanded in 1970 but have reunited several times for tours. Alex Chilton pursued a solo career and later became a member of the power pop band Big Star.

The Letter/Neon Rainbow

Released 1967

“The Letter/Neon Rainbow” is an album by The Box Tops, and it remains one of the definitive pieces of blue-eyed soul and pop-rock from the 1960s. The album opens with the iconic track “The Letter,” which topped the charts and became one of the most recognizable songs of the decade. The band, fronted by the young yet incredibly soulful Alex Chilton, showcased an incredible knack for catchy hooks and emotive performances.

The album featured Alex Chilton on lead vocals, Gary Talley on guitar, Bill Cunningham on bass and keyboards, Danny Smythe on drums, and John Evans on keyboards. The album was produced by Dan Penn. It was released on Bell Records. The album was recorded at American Sound Studio, in Memphis, Tennessee between May and June 1967.

The album is well-known for its leading single, “The Letter,” which peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and remained on the chart for a total of 13 weeks. This single’s success propelled the album to gold status and elevated The Box Tops into stardom. “Neon Rainbow” is another standout track that received critical acclaim but didn’t perform as well on the charts, peaking at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. The blend of soul, rock, and pop elements throughout the album made it a unique offering during its time, earning it a lasting place in music history.

CD Track Listings:

• “The Letter” – 1:58
• “She Knows How” – 3:08
• “Trains & Boats & Planes” – 3:47
• “Break My Mind” – 2:28
• “A Whiter Shade of Pale” – 4:34
• “Everything I Am” – 2:19
• “Neon Rainbow” – 3:03
• “People Make the World” – 2:32
• “I’m Your Puppet” – 2:54
• “Happy Times” – 1:45
• “Gonna Find Somebody” – 3:02
• “I Pray for Rain” – 2:41

Cry Like a Baby

Released 1968

The Box Tops’ “Cry Like a Baby” album followed up on the band’s successful debut, carrying forward their unique blend of blue-eyed soul and pop-rock. The album is perhaps most well-known for its title track, which became a significant hit for the band. Much like their previous work, “Cry Like a Baby” showcased Alex Chilton’s compelling vocals backed by a tight band that excelled at crossing genres.

The album featured Alex Chilton on lead vocals, Gary Talley on guitar, Bill Cunningham on bass and keyboards, Danny Smythe on drums, and John Evans on keyboards. The album was produced by Dan Penn and Chips Moman. It was released on Bell Records. The album was recorded at American Sound Studio, in Memphis, Tennessee, in late 1967 and early 1968.

The title track “Cry Like a Baby” was a commercial success, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, solidifying The Box Tops’ place in music history. It remained on the chart for 15 weeks. The album itself received favorable reviews from music critics for its genre-defying approach, encompassing elements of soul, rock, and pop music. However, despite its standout single, the album didn’t quite capture the same level of commercial success as their debut, peaking at No. 59 on the Billboard 200 chart. Nonetheless, it remains an essential listen for anyone interested in the musical landscape of the late 1960s.

• “Cry Like a Baby” – 2:36
• “Deep in Kentucky” – 2:30
• “I’m the One for You” – 2:07
• “Weeping Analeah” – 3:01
• “Every Time” – 2:28
• “Fields of Clover” – 2:52
• “Trouble With Sam” – 2:25
• “Lost” – 2:35
• “Good Morning Dear” – 2:33
• “727” – 2:39
• “You Keep Me Hanging On” – 3:49
• “Cry Like a Baby (Mono Single Version)” – 2:32

“Non-Stop” is an album by The Box Tops, coming as a quick follow-up to their previous albums. It’s a showcase of the band’s versatility, as it incorporates elements of blue-eyed soul, rock, and pop, similar to their previous releases. Though it didn’t achieve the commercial heights of “The Letter/Neon Rainbow” or “Cry Like a Baby,” it remains a notable entry in The Box Tops’ discography for fans and critics alike.

The album featured Alex Chilton on lead vocals, Gary Talley on guitar, Bill Cunningham on bass and keyboards, Danny Smythe on drums, and John Evans on keyboards. The album was produced by Dan Penn and Tommy Cogbill. It was released on Bell Records. The album was recorded at American Sound Studio, in Memphis, Tennessee, throughout 1968.

The single “Choo Choo Train” was one of the notable tracks from the album, reaching No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. While the album didn’t achieve the chart-topping success of its predecessors, it managed to secure a position in the Top 100 on the Billboard 200 chart. The inclusion of various covers and stylistic shifts showed a band attempting to explore their range, even if it didn’t garner them a hit on the scale of “The Letter” or “Cry Like a Baby.”

• “Choo Choo Train” – 2:50
• “I’m Movin’ On” – 2:00
• “Sandman” – 2:13
• “She Shot a Hole in My Soul” – 2:32
• “People Gonna Talk” – 4:10
• “I Met Her in Church” – 2:45
• “Rock Me Baby” – 2:37
• “Rollin’ in My Sleep” – 2:44
• “I Can Dig It” – 2:40
• “Yesterday Where’s My Mind” – 2:11
• “If I Had Let You In” – 2:43

Released 1969

“Dimensions” was The Box Tops’ fourth studio album, and it featured a mix of original compositions and cover songs. While it didn’t reach the heights of the group’s previous albums in terms of commercial success, “Dimensions” provided fans with another layer of The Box Tops’ versatility, which included elements of country, rock, and blue-eyed soul.

The album featured Alex Chilton on lead vocals, Gary Talley on guitar, Bill Cunningham on bass and keyboards, Thomas Boggs on drums, and Rick Allen on keyboards. The album was produced by Dan Penn and Tommy Cogbill. It was released on Bell Records. The album was recorded at American Sound Studio, in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1969.

CD Track Listings: (Heading 3 format)

• “Soul Deep” – 2:30
• “I Shall Be Released” – 2:50
• “Midnight Angel” – 2:55
• “Together” – 1:55
• “I’ll Hold Out My Hand” – 2:45
• “I Would Be So Pleased” – 2:55
• “Changing” – 1:30
• “The Happy Song” – 1:56
• “Ain’t No Way” – 3:25
• “Rock Me Baby” – 2:45
• “Sweet Cream Ladies, Forward March” – 2:15

Released 1998

1. Flying Saucers Rock ‘N’ Roll 2. Wang Dand Doodle 3. Ain’t That a Lot of Love 4. It Tears Me Up 5. Last Laugh 6. Treat Her Right 7. Soothe Me 8. I’m in Love 9. Letter 10. Trip to Bandstand 11. Little Latin Lupe Lu 12. Keep on Dancing 13. Last Bouquet 14. Big Bird

Complete List Of The Box Tops Albums And Discography article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2023

Classicrockhistory.com claims ownership of all its original content and Intellectual property under United States Copyright laws and those of all other foreign countries. No one person, business, or organization is allowed to re-publish any of our original content anywhere on the web or in print without our permission. All photos used are either public domain Creative Commons photos or licensed officially from Shutterstock under license with ClassicRockHistory.com. All photo credits have been placed at the end of the article. Album Cover Photos are affiliate links and the property of Amazon and are stored on the Amazon server. Any theft of our content will be met with swift legal action against the infringing websites.

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About the author.

Janey Roberts

Janey Roberts lives in Chelsea, London. She has worked for various British musical publications writing album and concert reviews. Originally from Balboa Park, San Diego, Janey brings an international cross cultural perspective to rock journalism.

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The Box Tops

About The Letter

"The Letter" is a song written by Wayne Carson that was first recorded by the American rock band The Box Tops in 1967. It was sung in a gruff blue-eyed soul style by Alex Chilton. The song was the group's first and biggest record chart hit, reaching number one in the United States and Canada. It was also an international success and reached the top ten in several other countries. "The Letter" launched Chilton's career and inspired numerous cover versions. English rock and soul singer Joe Cocker's 1970 rendition became his first top ten single in the U. S.; several other artists have recorded versions of the song which also reached the record charts. Rolling Stone magazine included the Box Tops original at number 372 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time"; the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame added it to the list of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". In 2011, the single was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.   more »

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The Box Tops were a Memphis rock group from the 1960s. They are best known for the hits "The Letter", "Cry Like a Baby", and "Soul Deep" and are considered a major blue-eyed soul group of the period. They performed a mixture of current soul music songs by artists such as James and Bobby Purify and Clifford Curry, pop tunes such as "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Keith Reid, Gary Brooker and Matthew Fisher of Procol Harum, and songs written by their producers, Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham, and Chips Moman. Vocalist Alex Chilton went on to front the powerpop band Big Star and to launch a career as a solo artist, during which he occasionally performed songs he had sung with the Box Tops. more »

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Written by: Wayne Carson Thompson

Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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"The Letter Lyrics." Lyrics.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 May 2024. < https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/31616967/The+Box+Tops/The+Letter >.

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Know any other songs by the box tops don't keep it to yourself, image credit, the web's largest resource for, music, songs & lyrics, a member of the stands4 network, watch the song video, top hot 100 songs 1967, billboard #1, more tracks from the album, the original albums 1967-1969.

• #1 The Letter
• #7 Neon Rainbow
• #9 I'm Your Puppet
• #10 Happy Times [Mono]
• #13 Cry Like a Baby
• #18 Fields of Clover
• #23 You Keep Me Hanging On
• #26 I See Only Sunshine [Mono B-Side] [*]
• #29 Choo Choo Train
• #32 She Shot a Hole in My Soul
• #33 People Gonna Talk
• #34 I Met Her in Church
• #40 Soul Deep
• #41 I Shall Be Released
• #43 Together
• #45 I Must Be the Devil
• #46 Sweet Cream Ladies, Forward March
• #47 The Happy Song

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Military hid attempted quantico base breach by jordanians from marines for two weeks: source.

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FREDERICKSBURG, Virginia — Top brass at Marine Corps Base Quantico didn’t alert rank-and-file personnel of an attempted breach by two Jordanian nationals in a box truck until two weeks after it happened, The Post can reveal.

The incident occurred May 3, when the two men approached Fuller Road Gate of the Marine base, were stopped for screening, and attempted to ram their way in but were stopped by military sentries.

The incident was first reported by  Potomac Local News  and then highlighted by The Post , as well as confirmed by Capt. Michael Curtis, a spokesman for the base.

However, a notification to Marines didn’t go out until May 16, according to Matt Strickland, 40, who had first flagged the incident to the local new site.

“After I [raised the alarm], I had people who work at Quantico messaging me saying, ‘Holy f—k, when did this happen?,'” Strickland told The Post.

“Two weeks after it happened Quantico finally put an email out to employees on base letting them know.

“It was basically ‘F—k, guys, I guess we aren’t going to be able to keep this secret, we should try to do some CYA’ [cover your ass],” said Strickland, a former infantry combat medic, Blackwater private military contractor and combat incident analyst at the National Ground Intelligence Center.

Strickland served in Iraq and Afghanistan for a combined nine years “down range” between 2004 and 2016. He said federal authorities have no right to bury details of the foiled incursion.

“Every American has a right to know what happened at Quantico.

“Citizens have a right to know what is going on in their backyard,” he said.

Some reports speculated the two men arrested had recently crossed the southern border into the US, and one was on the US government’s terrorist watch list.

Strickland was told one of the people involved had a Virginia ID, while the other was a terrorist. The Post has not been able to independently verify either rumor.

Both men are in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. Authorities would not comment further, only saying the two will remain in ICE custody until deported.

“Who would they be keeping that information from? The reasoning would be so the terrorists, or whoever the Jordanians are working for, don’t know all the information. But whoever those two Jordanian men are working for already know what they planned to do and that they were apprehended,” Strickland said.

“The only people who don’t know what happened are the American people.” 

In response to The Post’s inquiries, a Quantico spokesperson said in a statement: “The unauthorized access attempt was reported immediately to required military officials … In any case determined to be an immediate threat to the base or its population, mass notification and other means are always used to notify all who work and live on Marine Corps Base Quantico.”

Strickland, a native of Fredericksburg, Virginia, said that in his experience of convoys under attack and later in combat intelligence analysis, the secrecy surrounding what happened at Quantico is meant to spare the administration embarrassment, not keep the country safe.

“I’ve been an operational guy and I’ve been behind the scenes as an intel analyst. The government absolutely over-classifies s—t. A lot of what they keep from us is not for national security reasons like they say.

“The secrecy is purposeful because it was illegal immigrants, one of who was on the terror watch list, who breached the gates. 

“And they’re allowing these illegal immigrants to come across the border. 

“There are people coming across the border who hate us and want us dead.”

Strickland echoed speculation that the foiled incursion was a dry run for a future terror attack, and said his experience in the forces has taught him that terror threats are very real.

“I spent years in both Iraq and Afghanistan, so I know first-hand, it’s not just people that want to make a better life for themselves crossing the border. 

“In all my time downrange, every attack that happened, especially with VBEDs [vehicle-borne explosive devices], there was always a dry run, always.”

He also lamented how the southern border has been besieged, with over 7.5 million migrants apprehended and 1.7 million migrant “gotaways” illegally sneaking over unapprehended during the Biden administration.

“I don’t know any American who would be against someone coming into our country with good intentions, who wanted to assimilate to our values and just raise their family in a better environment,” he said.

“For every 10 good people that came over here for a better life, there’s one in that crowd that wants to kill us. And we’re just allowing them in our country.

“And they’ll be dormant and disciplined for however long they have to be until the time comes.

“It’s just not possible to properly vet the amount of people coming across the border.

“[The authorities] don’t want all the information out there because the incompetent government we have are the ones that allowed these people to be in America in the first place. We’re in an election year, so they don’t want negative stories like that out there,” Strickland added.

Strickland said he’s “never been a real political person” and “never trusted politicians” but cast a vote for the first time in 2020, impressed by President Donald Trump’s decision not to bomb Iran in 2019. 

The veteran-turned-restaurateur first went viral for ignoring COVID-19 restrictions, eventually winning a court battle to restore his health department and alcohol licenses.

The infamy earned him a reputation as a people’s champion, which is why  a contact at Quantico originally messaged him about the Jordanian raid .

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