#War edwin starr full

His skill as a lyricist with an ear for topical metaphor was evident on Agent Double-O- Soul, a rousing dance song that cashed in on the 1960s vogue for spy movies. Hatcher, now renamed Edwin Starr at the suggestion of Doggett's manager Don Briggs, made his solo recording debut in 1965 for Detroit record company Ric-Tic. He joined the group led by organist Bill Doggett, later singing with the Holidays. By the time he was discharged, he had decided to make music his career. But after graduation he was called up for military service and was posted to Europe, where he sang in clubs when off-duty. In 1957, came his first group, the Future Tones, which recorded a single. Starr was born Charles Edwin Hatcher in Nashville, Tennessee, and attended college in Cleveland, Ohio. And, 16 years later, Bruce Springsteen had a hit with a new version. The record was nominated for a Grammy as best r 'n' b performance. Soon afterwards, it reached the top 10 in Britain and elsewhere in Europe. The song became a number one hit in 1970.

Listen to the B-side of “War,” titled “He Who Picks a Rose”ġ970 my last year in college, war in vietnam raging, personally hating the war, facing the draft, country was divided, my father a republican supported the war, and me going into army reserves, and I were divided…edwin’s song was major artistic/political statement during that time…soundtrack for that time…I felt if I was drafted, I would die in Vietnam…when I heard Springsteen’s story re his dad re Army on The River from LIVE 1975-85, it blew me away….His almost hoarse vocal tone and energetic, emphatic performance caught the public mood. “War” lasted three weeks in the top spot, before being supplanted by another Motown hit, Diana Ross’ “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” 29, replacing the soft-rocker “Make It With You” by Bread. Released on June 10, 1970, with a B-side titled “He Who Picks a Rose,” the single entered the Billboard Hot 100 at #72 on July 11 and reached #1 on Aug. Starr’s decision to pick up the tune paid off big-time. Throughout, Starr bolsters the lyric with chanted exhortations, among them, “Say it, say it, say it, good God, y’all,” always returning to the main theme of war being good for “absolutely nothing.” (War), Friend only to the undertaker, awwww In each new verse, the singer spells out the reasons to back up his claim, such as this one: The recording begins with a military-style drum roll that leads to Starr’s horn-punctuated chant of the “What is it good for?” chorus. Listen to the Temptations’ version of “War” Instead, the label decided, another artist on the group’s roster would re-cut the song. The album track had generated a fair amount of interest, especially among college students involved in the protest movement, but Motown was reluctant to associate the Temptations with a politically infused lyric. Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong (the latter of “Money” fame), “War” had already been recorded and released by the Temptations on their Psychedelic Shack album of 1970. There wasn’t much interest in a new version of that one, but with “War” in 1970, Starr hit gold. You not only keep rooting the walker on-even though you’ve known the happy ending forever-but you probably sing along with him as he makes his way there.įollowing the record’s chart run, Edwin Starr was next heard from via the minor chart single “Oh, How Happy,” his own version of a gospel-tinged tune he’d co-written and which had been a hit in 1966 by the Shades of Blue. “Twenty-Five Miles” is one of those likable numbers that never gets old. Talking Heads’ ‘Stop Making Sense’ Concert Film Restored For Theaters, Vinyl.Doc Severinsen Plays Final Concert… at 95.Dave Edmunds’ ‘Repeat When Necessary’: Where the New Wave Met the Old.American Graffiti Coming to Theaters For 50th Anniversary.‘Born in Chicago’: A New Documentary Spotlights the Impact of the Windy City’s Game-Changing Blues Scene.Clapton, Winwood, Santana at Hyde Park: 2018.Radio Hits July 1967: No Need to Change the Station.Elton John Farewell Tour Ends 5 Years After It Began.When Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks Shared the Stage For the Last Time.

#War edwin starr full

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