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{{Short description|1970 song by The Temptations}}
{{other uses|War (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox song
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| released = {{Start date|1970|03|06}}
| recorded = 1969–1970
| studio = [[Hitsville USAU.S.A.]] (Studio A), [[Detroit, Michigan|Detroit]]
| venue =
| genre = [[Progressive soul]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Backus |first=Rob |year=1976 |title=Fire Music: A Political History of Jazz |edition=2nd |publisher=[[Vanguard Books]] |isbn=091770200X}}</ref>
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}}
 
"'''War'''" is a [[counterculture of the 1960s|counterculture era]]-era [[soul music|soul]] song written by [[Norman Whitfield]] and [[Barrett Strong]] for the [[Motown]] [[Record label|label]] in 1969. Whitfield first produced the song – ana obviousself-evident [[Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War|anti–Vietnamanti-Vietnam War]] statement – with [[The Temptations]] as the original vocalists. After Motown began receiving repeated requests to release "War" as a single, Whitfield re-recorded the song with [[Edwin Starr]] as the vocalist, with the label deciding to withhold the Temptations' version from single release so as not to alienate theirthat group's more conservative fans. Starr's version of "War" was a No. 1 hit on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart in 1970, and is not only the most successful and well-known record of his career, but it is also one of the most popular [[protest song]]s ever recorded. It was one of 161 songs on [[2001 Clear Channel memorandum|the no-play list]] issued by [[Clear Channel Communications|Clear Channel]] following the [[9/11|events of September 11, 2001]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/chatterbox/2001/09/its_the_end_of_the_world_as_clear_channel_knows_it.html |title=It's the End of the World as Clear Channel Knows It |publisher=Slate.com |date=2001-09-17 |access-date=2014-07-19}}</ref>
 
==Temptations' version and initial release==
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| released = {{Start date|1970|06|10}}
| recorded = May 15, 1970
| studio = [[Hitsville USAU.S.A.]] (Studio A), [[Detroit, Michigan|Detroit]]
| venue =
| genre = {{hlishlist|[[Funk]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_rb-funk.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100925122615/https://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_rb-funk.html |title=100 Greatest Funk Songs |website=Digital Dream Door |date=August 7, 2008 |archive-date=September 25, 2010 |access-date=October 7, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>|[[psychedelic soul]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.allbutforgottenoldies.net/edwin-starr.html | title=Edwin Starr - Songs }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://wwwbooks.google.com/books/edition/The_Rock_Cover_Song/FCQXAwAAQBAJ?hlid=en&gbpv=1FCQXAwAAQBAJ&dq=Edwin+Starr+War+psychedelic+soul&pg=PA138&printsec | isbn=frontcover9780786478095 | title=The Rock Cover Song: Culture, History, Politics | date=10 March 2014 | publisher=McFarland }}</ref>}}
| length = 3:12
| label = [[Motown|Gordy]] (Gordy 7101)
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}}
{{Listen |filename=Edwin Starr - War.ogg |title=Edwin Starr sings ''War'' |description=Sample of the song }}
[[Edwin Starr]], who had become a Motown artist in 1968 after his former label, Ric-Tic, was purchased by Motown founder [[Berry Gordy]], became "War's" new vocalist. Considered among Motown's "second-string" acts, Starr had only one major hit, 1968's No. 6 hit "Twenty-Five Miles", to his name by this time. He heard about the conflict surrounding the debate of whether or not to release "War", and volunteered to re-recordrerecord it. Whitfield re-createdrecreated the song to match Starr's [[James Brown]]-influenced soul shout: the single version of "War" was dramatic and intense, depicting the general anger and distaste the [[anti-war movement]] felt towards the war in Vietnam. Unlike the Temptations' original, Starr's "War" was a full-scale Whitfield production, with prominent electric guitar lines, [[clavinet]]s, a heavily syncopated rhythm accented by a [[horn section]], and with [[The Originals (band)|The Originals]] and Whitfield's new act [[The Undisputed Truth]] on backing vocals.
 
Upon its release in June 1970, Starr's "War" became a runaway hit, and held the No. 1 position on the ''[[Billboard magazine|Billboard]]'' Pop Singles chart for three weeks, in August and September 1970. It replaced "[[Make It With You]]" by [[Bread (band)|Bread]], and was itself taken out of the spot by another Motown single, "[[Ain't No Mountain High Enough]]" by [[Diana Ross]]. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the [[Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1970|No. 5 song of 1970]].
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Notable as the most successful protest song to become a pop hit, earning compliments from contemporary protester John Lennon, "War" became Edwin Starr's signature song. Rather than hindering his career (as it might have done for the Temptations), "War" buoyed Starr's career, and he adopted the image of an outspoken [[Liberalism|liberal]] orator for many of his other early-1970s releases, including the similarly themed "Stop the War Now" from 1971. It and another 1971 single, "[[Funky Music Sho' 'Nuff Turns Me On]]", continued Starr's string of Whitfield-produced psychedelic soul hits. After 1971, Starr's career began to falter, and, citing Motown's reliance on formulas, he departed the label in the mid-1970s. Edwin Starr re-recorded the song in 1992 produced by [[Simon Harris (musician)|Simon Harris]].
 
Later in his career, after moving to the [[United Kingdom]], Starr re-recorded several of his hits with British band [[Utah Saints]]. Starr's new version of "War" in 2003 was his final piece, but remains unreleased. He died on April 2 of the same year of a [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]].
 
Starr earned a [[Grammy]] nomination in 1971 for "War" for best R&B Male Vocal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.awardsandshows.com/features/grammy-awards-1971-220.html |title=Grammy Award Nominees 1971 - Grammy Award Winners 1971 |website=Awardsandshows.com |date=1971-03-16 |access-date=2016-10-03}}</ref> In 1999, Starr's recording of the song was inducted into the [[Grammy Hall of Fame]].
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! Peak<br>position
|-
{{singlechartsingle chart|AustraliaKent|37|artist=Edwin Starr|page=291}}
|-
{{single chart|Flanders|16|artist=Edwin Starr|song=War}}
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{{single chart|Ireland2|5|artist=Edwin Starr|access-date=December 30, 2017}}
|-
|{{singlechartsingle chart|Dutch100|14|artist=Edwin Starr|song=War|access-date=December 30, 2017}}
|-
|New Zealand (''[[New Zealand Listener|Listener]]'') <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search+listener&qsongid=3801#n_view_location|title=flavour of new zealand - search listener|website=www.flavourofnz.co.nz|access-date=2020-03-28|archive-date=2022-01-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124210714/http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search+listener&qsongid=3801#n_view_location|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|15
|-
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! style="text-align:center;"|Rank
|-
|Canada <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.3740&URLjpg=https%3a%2f%2ffanyv88.com%3a443%2fhttp%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.3740.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.3740|title=Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada|work=collectionscanada.gc.ca|date=17 July 2013 }}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|22
|-
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|US ''Billboard'' R&B <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rateyourmusic.com/list/goldwax317/1970__the_top_100_soul_randb_singles/|title=1970: The Top 100 Soul/R&B Singles|website=RateYourMusic}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|3026
|-
|}
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{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Edwin Starr|title=War|award=Silver|relyear=2004|certyear=2020|id=8058-1478-1|access-date=March 25, 2020}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
 
==Later covers==
The song's power was reasserted when [[Bruce Springsteen]] and the E Street Band took their rendition into the U.S. Top 10 in 1986. It was also covered and released as a single by [[Frankie Goes to Hollywood]] in 1984.
 
===Frankie Goes to Hollywood version===
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The release of "War" / "Two Tribes" also coincided with an extensive and iconic T-shirt marketing campaign for the band during the summer of 1984, featuring such slogans as "Frankie Say WAR! Hide Yourself", as pictured on the 12" single cover.
 
Several lines of spoken dialogue were added to the Temptations/Edwin Starr version of the song. Impressionist [[Chris Barrie]] voiced the long [[soliloquy]] about war and love, while impersonating the American President [[Ronald Reagan]]; a role he would later reprise in the hit UK TV Show [[Spitting Image]]. Born in Germany, Barrie translated and subversively quoted [[Adolf Hitler]] from his failed 1924 putsch trial, in the first new lines added to the song.<ref>{{cite web|title=25 Years On: Frankie Goes To Hollywood's Welcome To The Pleasuredome|date=14 April 2010 |url=http://thequietus.com/articles/04077-frankie-goes-to-hollywood-welcome-to-the-pleasuredome-20th-anniversary|publisher=The Quietus.com|access-date=8 June 2018}}</ref>
{{clear}}
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"War" was performed in concert by [[Bruce Springsteen]] and the E Street Band in 1985, added to the set list for the final few shows of their lengthy [[Born in the U.S.A. Tour]]. Springsteen and his manager [[Jon Landau]] were looking for a way to make these concluding shows, taking place at the [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]], a little different and special, and Landau suggested playing "War". A year earlier, he had suggested the same, as a loose protest against [[Reagan Administration]] foreign policy in Central America and elsewhere, but the band had been unable to come up with an effective arrangement. This time, however, they did. Springsteen taped the words of the song to his arm, prefaced the song with a spoken admonition not to blindly trust the government, leaders or anything else, and then he and the band performed a rock rendition.
 
Springsteen released the September 30, 1985 performance as a part of his 1986 box set, ''[[Live/1975–85]]''. "War" was chosen as the first single from the set, and it was again a big hit, reaching No.9 on the [[Cash Box Top 100|''Cashbox'' Top 100]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=[[Joel Whitburn's CashBox Pop Hits 1952-1996]]|year=2014|publisher=Record Research|isbn=978-0-89820-209-0}}
</ref> and No. 8 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart. The music video for the single was a straight concert filming of the same performance.
 
Springsteen continued to perform "War" regularly through his 1988 [[Tunnel of Love Express]] and [[Human Rights Now! Tour]]s. He then retired it for 11 years until a one-off guest spot by Edwin Starr during the [[Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour|Reunion Tour]]. Springsteen brought the song back for six performances on his 2003 [[The Rising Tour|Rising Tour]] before and in the early days of the [[Iraq War]]. Springsteen hasn't, to date,{{when|date= September 2021}} performed the song since 2003.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://brucebase.wikidot.com/song:war|title=War - Brucebase Wiki|website=brucebase.wikidot.com}}</ref>
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|38
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{{singlechartsingle chart|Flanders|10|artist=Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band|song=War (Live)|access-date=2015-12-05|rowheader=true}}
|-
!scope="row"|Canada (''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]'')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.0759.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - February 1, 1986}}</ref>
{{singlechart|Ireland2|2|artist=Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band|song=WAR (WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR)|access-date=January 15, 2021|rowheader=true}}▼
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▲{{singlechartsingle chart|Ireland2|2|artist=Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band|song=WAR (WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR)|access-date=January 15, 2021|rowheader=true}}
|-
!scope="row"|Italy (''[[Musica e Dischi]]'')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicaedischi.it/classifiche_archivio.php|title=Classifiche|work=[[Musica e dischi]]|language=it|access-date=June 1, 2022}} Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, with "War" in the "Titolo" field and "Bruce Springsteen" in "Artista", click "cerca".</ref>
| 11
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{{singlechartsingle chart|Dutch40|5|artist=Bruce Springsteen|rowheader=true|access-date=June 1, 2022}}
|-
{{singlechartsingle chart|Dutch100|8|artist=Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band|song=War (Live)|access-date=2015-12-05|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{singlechartsingle chart|New Zealand|42|artist=Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band|song=War (Live)|access-date=2015-12-05|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{singlechartsingle chart|Norway|2|artist=Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band|song=War (Live)|access-date=2015-12-05|rowheader=true}}
|-
!scope="row"|Spain ([[Productores de Música de España|AFYVE]])<ref>{{cite book|first= Fernando |last= Salaverri |title= Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 |edition= 1st |date= September 2005 |publisher= Fundación Autor-SGAE |location= Spain |isbn= 84-8048-639-2 |language= es}}</ref>
|3
|-
{{singlechartsingle chart|Sweden|4|artist=Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band|song=War (Live)|access-date=2015-12-05|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{singlechartsingle chart|UKsinglesbyname|18|artist=Bruce Springsteen|artistid=26627|access-date=January 15, 2021|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{singlechartsingle chart|Billboardhot100|8|artist=Bruce Springsteen the e street band|access-date=January 15, 2021|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{singlechartsingle chart|West Germany|27|artist=Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band|song=War (Live)|songid=70400|access-date=January 15, 2021|rowheader=true}}
|-
|}
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* [[The Jam]] released a version of "War" as one of the b-sides to their 1982 single "[[Just Who Is the 5 O'Clock Hero?]]". That version is available as a bonus track on reissues of their 1982 album ''[[The Gift (The Jam album)|The Gift]]''.
* Also in 1982, Vancouver punk band [[D.O.A. (band)|D.O.A.]] released a version of "War" as the title track of their EP ''[[War on 45]]''.
* In 1985, [[Eddy and the Soulband]] released the single, "The World Turns On". The group sang parts of "[[Papa Was a Rollin' Stone]]" and "War" in a medley.
* In 1998, [[Bone Thugs-n-Harmony]] made a song [[War (Bone Thugs-n-Harmony song)|with the same name]] (featuring [[Henry Rollins]], [[Tom Morello]], and [[Flea (musician)|Flea]]) that interpolates Edwin Starr's chorus.
* For the second season of the legal drama ''[[Family Law (American TV series)|Family Law]]'', a cover of the song by The Brink was used before reverting to using the original Edwin Starr version for its third and final season much like it had utilized in the first season.
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* Rock band [[Black Stone Cherry]] covered "War" on its 2016 album ''[[Kentucky (Black Stone Cherry album)|Kentucky]]''.
*The Edwin Starr version was used in [[Rush Hour (1998 film)|the first]] and [[Rush Hour 3|third films]] of the [[Rush Hour (franchise)|''Rush Hour'']] Trilogy.
*In 1992, Edwin recorded a new version produced by [[Simon Harris (musician)|Simon Harris]].<ref>Discogs - [https://www.discogs.com/release/187408-Eddy-The-Soulband-The-World-Turns-On Eddy & The Soulband – The World Turns On]</ref><ref>Amazon.it - [https://www.amazon.it/EDDIE-SOULBAND-WORLD-TURNS-VERSION/dp/B003UUO1YS EDDIE C & THE SOULBAND / THE WORLD TURNS ON (PEACE VERSION), Descrizione prodotto Incl Papa Was A Rolling Stone / War]</ref>
 
==Personnel==
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* The [[E Street Band]] ([[Roy Bittan]], [[Clarence Clemons]], [[Danny Federici]], [[Nils Lofgren]], [[Patti Scialfa]], [[Garry Tallent]]) – background vocals
* The E Street Band – instrumentation
 
==Legacy of all versions==
The [[popular culture]] centered publication ''[[Stereogum]]'' released an article by [[Music journalism|music journalist]] Tom Breihan in January 2019 that retrospectively highlighted Edwin Starr's version of "War" as one of the greatest number one singles in the history of the Billboard Hot 100. In terms of [[musical genre]] and overall style, Breihan remarked that the "groove is huge and all-consuming", particularly since the listener will "hear little accents of guitar or saxophone in between the beats" yet "every instrument on the song, including Starr’s voice, is part of the rhythm section." He stated that the track fundamentally "is weaponized music... that’s impossible to ignore" as a form of [[Protesting|social protest]]. While noting Starr's issues in the navigating the broader [[music industry]], opining that Starr's "primal anti-violence roar outlived him" and may "live forever", Breihan additionally concluded, "Edwin Starr’s 'War' might be the greatest musical document of the movement that sprang up against a war— a hard, intense stomp-chant, as visceral as what the moment demanded."<ref name="Tom">{{cite news|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2027969/the-number-ones-edwin-starrs-war/columns/the-number-ones/|journal=[[Stereogum]]|accessdate=February 26, 2024|date=January 10, 2019|first=Tom|last=Breihan|title=The Number Ones: Edwin Starr's 'War'}}</ref>
 
Music critic [[David Fricke]] has argued about Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's version of the song that "Springsteen gets right to the point, dedicating it to the post-Vietnam kids in the crowd ('The next time they’re gonna be lookin’ at you') before leading the E Street Band into an explosive reading of the... hit with his best tonsil-ripping yell". He also remarked upon "plenty of spitfire guitar" being a part of that version. Fricke praised the band's overall performance of the track and other songs during its 1970s and 1980s [[Live music concert|concerts]] in the pages of the popular culture magazine ''[[Rolling Stone]].<ref>{{cite magazine|first=David|last=Fricke|date=November 10, 1986|title=Music: Live 1975-1985|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/live-1975-1985-252645/|accessdate=February 26, 2024|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref>
 
==See also==
{{Portal|History|Music|Politics|United States}}
* [[1970 in music]]
* [[Bruce Springsteen discography]]
* [[Edwin Starr discography]]
* [[List of anti-war songs]]
* [[List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1970]]
* [[The Temptations discography]]
* [[Protest music]]
* [[Rhythm and blues music]]
 
==References==
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{{Anti-war}}
{{Edwin Starr}}
{{Bruce Springsteen songs}}
{{Authority control}}
 
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