“War” was written in 1969 by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. Although Vietnam is never mentioned in the song, it’s obvious that that is what it is about. The Temptations were first slated to record the song, but never got the chance. Motown felt that the recording would alienate the current fans of the Temptations.

Edwin Starr was born Charles Hatcher on January 21, 1942 in Nashville, Tennessee. When he was three years old, his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio where he grew up. When he was in high school, he would get together with other guys and sing doo wop music in the school cafeteria. They entered several talent contests over the years and always won. After high school, he entered the military and served two and a half years, after which he came home to find that his singing partners had all gone separate ways. So, Edwin decided he would go solo and started singing in Cleveland clubs.

He was noticed by Bill Doggett who recorded “Honky Tonk” in 1956 and that got his start in the music business. Edwin Starr recorded “War” for a little known label called Ric-Tic. After coming back home from touring in Europe, Edwin ran into the Temptations one night at the Apollo Theater where they were both performing. The guys welcomed Edwin “into the family.” Edwin had no idea what they were talking about until he learned that Motown had bought the label Ric-Tic and now Edwin Starr was a part of the Motown family. The song probably would not have been the hit it was, if Ric-Tic had maintained ownership of the song.

His introduction to Motown was to immediately get into contract disputes. Edwin didn’t like what Motown was purposing and it took two years before the disputes were settled, during which time Edwin didn’t record anything.

Meanwhile, Edwin had written a song called “Twenty Five Miles” which he did get recorded and which reached number six on the charts. This gave Motown enough confidence in Starr to finally release “War” which went all the way to number one. It was, however, the only hit Edwin Starr had which went to number one.

Although Vietnam was not mentioned in the song, everyone knew it was a anti-Vietnam song. It even got a compliment from John Lennon during his anti-war days. Edwin Starr couldn’t keep up his momentum on the charts, however. After “War”, he only had one more hit, “Stop the War Now” which peaked at number twenty six on the charts.

Bruce Springsteen covered the song in 1986 and reached number six on the charts with his version.

“War” debuted on the charts on July 25, 1970 and spent three weeks at number one. It was Edwin Starr’s only number one hit. The song has been featured in several movies and became something of an anthem. Starr received the Grammy in 1971 for Best R&B Male Vocal. In 1999, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2003, Starr re-recorded the song in an attempt to rejuvenate his career, but it didn’t work. He died later that same year of a heart attack.