Song:War
Album:Motown 1's
War was one of 1970's biggest hits and also the biggest hit for soul singer Edwin Starr. Of course it was also an anti-war anthem and represents a lot of changes going on at Motown at the time. Unlike most Motown artists, Starr wasn't from Detroit and might have been more at home at Stax. He was born Charles Hatcher Jan. 21, 1942 in Nashville and grew up in Cleveland. His cousins Roger & Willie Hatcher were also singers. Starr had a doo wop group called The Future Tones in 1958. He moved to Detroit in the 60s and first recorded for Ed Wingate's Ric-Tic label. Agent Double-O-Soul reached #21 on the pop charts in 1965 and he had more hits until Motown bought Ric-Tic in 1968. Starr is now on Motown. 25 Miles was a top ten hit in 1969. But War reached #1 in 1970. Norman Whitfield wrote War for The Temptations and they recorded it in the Psychedelic Shack album. But Starr did more with the song and he deserved to have a hit with it. But Starr didn't fit the Motown formula and he moved to England in 1973 and signed with 20th Century Records. He did the soundtrack for the 1974 film Hell Up In Harlem and had some success in the disco market in the late 70s. He recorded occasionally and was a very popular live act in England's Northern Soul circuit. Motown releases a lot of various artists comps. This one is pretty good for beginners. Edwin Starr died on Apr. 3, 2003 at age 61. Here's Edwin Starr performing War on Jools Holland 2002.
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