"War! Huh! Yeah! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!"
If you just shouted those words in your head with the force of a thousand suns, you aren't alone. It’s one of the most recognizable opening salvos in music history. But honestly, most people today don't realize that the War song Edwin Starr made famous was almost a footnote in a different band's discography.
It wasn't even supposed to be his.
The year was 1970. America was bleeding out over the Vietnam War. Tensions weren't just high; they were explosive. You had college kids getting shot at Kent State and a draft lottery that felt like a death sentence for a generation of young men. In the middle of this chaos, Motown Records—the "Sound of Young America"—found itself at a crossroads. They had this monster of a track sitting on a shelf, and they were terrified to release it.
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The Temptations Passed on a Legend
The story starts with Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. These guys were the geniuses behind "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." They wrote "War" in 1969 and originally gave it to The Temptations.
It actually appeared on their Psychedelic Shack album first.
But there was a problem. The Temptations were Motown’s crown jewels. They were polished. They were "safe." When the label started getting flooded with letters from college students begging for "War" to be a single, the executives panicked. They didn't want to alienate conservative fans by turning their biggest boy band into political radicals.
So they shelved the Temptations' version as a single.
Enter Edwin Starr. At the time, Starr was considered "second-string" at Motown. He’d had a hit with "Twenty-Five Miles," but he wasn't exactly Marvin Gaye or Stevie Wonder. When he heard about the track, he basically stepped up and said, "I'll do it."
He didn't just sing it. He weaponized it.
How the War Song Edwin Starr Recorded Changed Everything
Starr’s version is a violent departure from the Temptations' take. While the original was funky and a bit trippy, Starr brought a James Brown-style "soul shout" that felt like a punch to the gut.
He recorded it in Detroit at Hitsville U.S.A.
The arrangement is relentless. You've got that iconic, military-esque drum beat that feels like a march toward a cliff. Then there’s the tambourine—it’s nervous, shaky, like someone’s heart racing during a firefight. When Starr bellows "Good God, y'all," it doesn't sound like a catchy ad-lib. It sounds like a prayer or a scream for help.
It hit Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 29, 1970. It stayed there for three weeks.
Think about that. A song that explicitly calls war a "heartbreaker" and "friend only to the undertaker" was the most popular song in the country while that very war was still killing people every single day. That's not just a chart success; that's a cultural shift.
The Anatomy of a Protest Anthem
What makes the War song Edwin Starr belted out so effective isn't just the volume. It's the lyrics. Barrett Strong wrote lines that were surprisingly sophisticated for a pop song:
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- "War means tears to thousands of mothers' eyes / When their sons go to fight and lose their lives."
- "It’s an enemy to all mankind / The point of construction of the mind."
He’s talking about how war destroys the potential of what humans can build. It’s heavy stuff. Starr's delivery makes it feel immediate. You've probably noticed he sounds a lot like James Brown on the track. That was intentional. Whitfield wanted that raw, unpolished energy.
Funny enough, James Brown never actually had a Number 1 pop hit himself. Starr took that style and rode it straight to the top of the mountain.
From 1970 to the 2000s: The Song That Won’t Die
The impact didn't stop when the 70s ended.
In 1986, Bruce Springsteen covered it during his Born in the U.S.A. tour. He’d introduce it by warning the crowd that "blind faith in your leaders... will get you killed." His version also hit the Top 10.
Then came the 2000s. After the 9/11 attacks, the song was actually included on the "Clear Channel Memorandum"—a list of 161 songs that were "lyrically questionable" and shouldn't be played on the radio.
Isn't that wild? Thirty years later, the song was still so potent that people were afraid it would "upset" the public during a time of national crisis.
Why It Still Hits Different Today
Honestly, "War" works because it isn't just about Vietnam. It’s universal. Whether it’s 1970, 2001, or 2026, the sentiment remains the same. It’s a song about the human cost of political decisions.
Starr eventually moved to the UK, where he became a massive legend on the Northern Soul scene. He never quite replicated the massive success of "War," though he tried with "Stop the War Now" a year later. It just didn't have the same lightning-in-a-bottle energy.
He passed away in 2003, but he lived long enough to see his signature song inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
The Reality of the Record
If you're looking for the "War" experience, you need to understand the technical side of why it sounds so huge.
- The Overdubs: The backing vocals weren't just a few people. It was a combination of The Originals and a new group called The Undisputed Truth. They created that wall of sound that makes the chorus feel like a crowd of thousands is shouting with Starr.
- The Instrumentation: You’ve got a clavinet (that funky keyboard sound) and distorted electric guitars. It was "psychedelic soul" before that was even a mainstream term.
- The Tempo: It’s fast. Around 120 beats per minute. That’s why it works in clubs today just as well as it worked at protest rallies back then.
Actionable Insights for Music Lovers
If you want to truly appreciate the War song Edwin Starr gave the world, don't just stream it on a loop. Try these steps to see the bigger picture of what was happening at Motown:
- Listen to The Temptations' version first. It's on the Psychedelic Shack album. Notice how much more "laid back" it is. It helps you realize just how much of the "War" energy came from Edwin Starr himself.
- Check out "Twenty-Five Miles." It was Starr's other big hit. You can hear him developing that raspy, soulful growl that he eventually perfected for "War."
- Watch the Soul Train performance. There is footage of Starr performing this song where he looks like he’s about to levitate off the stage. The sheer physical effort he puts into the vocal is insane.
- Read about Norman Whitfield. He’s the producer who pushed Motown into "Gothic Soul." Without his willingness to get "weird" and political, we would have never moved past the era of "My Girl."
The song isn't just a relic of the hippie era. It’s a masterclass in how to take a political message and wrap it in a groove so tight that people can’t help but dance while they’re thinking. That is the true legacy of Edwin Starr. He took a song that everyone was afraid to touch and turned it into the definitive statement of an era.