War (band)
War (originally called Eric Burdon and War) is an American funk/rock/soul/Latin band[8] from Long Beach, California, known for several hit songs (including "Spill the Wine", "The World Is a Ghetto", "The Cisco Kid", "Why Can't We Be Friends?", "Low Rider", and "Summer").[9][10] Formed in 1969, War is a musical crossover band that fuses elements of rock, funk, jazz, Latin, rhythm and blues, psychedelia, and reggae.[2] According to music writer Colin Larkin, their "potent fusion of funk, R&B, rock and Latin styles produced a progressive soul sound",[11] while Martin C. Strong calls them "one of the fiercest progressive soul combos of the '70s".[12] Their album The World Is a Ghetto was Billboard's best-selling album of 1973.[13] The band transcended racial and cultural barriers with a multi-ethnic line-up. War was subject to many line-up changes over the course of its existence, leaving member Leroy "Lonnie" Jordan as the only original member in the current line-up; four other members created a new group called the Lowrider Band.
Not to be confused with Warband.
War
Eric Burdon and War (1969–1970, 1976)
Long Beach, California, U.S.
1969–present
- MGM
- United Artists
- MCA
- Avenue
- Leroy "Lonnie" Jordan
- James Zota Baker
- Scott Martin
- Stanley Behrens
- Sal Rodriguez
- David "Pug" Rodriguez
- Marcos Reyes
- Trevor Huxley
- Eric Burdon
- Harold Ray Brown
- Howard E. Scott
- Lee Oskar
- B. B. Dickerson
- Thomas "Papa Dee" Allen
- Charles Miller
- Ron Hammon
- Pat Rizzo
- Luther Rabb
- Alice Tweed Smith
- Ricky Green
- Tetsuya "Tex" Nakamura
- Rae Valentine
- Kerry Campbell
- Charles Green
- J. B. Eckl
- Lance Ellis
- Smoky Greenwell
- Sandro Alberto
- Richard Marquez
- Kenny Hudson
- Fernando Harkless
- Stuart Ziff
- Pancho Tomaselli
- Mitch Kashmar
- David Urquidi
History[edit]
1960s: Beginnings[edit]
In 1962, Howard E. Scott and Harold Brown formed a group called the Creators in Long Beach, California. Within a few years, they had added Charles Miller, Morris "B. B." Dickerson, and Lonnie Jordan to the lineup. Lee Oskar and Papa Dee Allen later joined as well. They all shared a love of diverse styles of music, which they had absorbed living in the racially mixed Los Angeles ghettos. The Creators recorded several singles on Dore Records while working with Tjay Contrelli, a saxophonist from the band Love. In 1968, the Creators became Nightshift (named because Brown worked nights at a steel yard) and started performing with Deacon Jones, a football player and singer.
The original War was conceived by record producer Jerry Goldstein ("My Boyfriend's Back", "Hang on Sloopy", "I Want Candy") and singer Eric Burdon (ex-lead singer of the British band the Animals). In 1969, Goldstein saw musicians who would eventually become War playing at the Rag Doll in North Hollywood, backing Deacon Jones, and he was attracted to the band's sound. Jordan claimed that the band's goal was to spread a message of brotherhood and harmony, using instruments and voices to speak out against racism, hunger, gangs, crimes, and turf wars, and promote hope and the spirit of brotherhood. Eric Burdon and War began playing live shows to audiences throughout Southern California before entering into the studio to record their debut album Eric Burdon Declares "War". The album's best known track, "Spill the Wine", was a hit and launched the band's career.
1970s: Height of popularity[edit]
Eric Burdon and War toured extensively across Europe and the United States. The subtitle of a 1970 review in the New Musical Express of their first UK gig in London's Hyde Park read: "Burdon and War: Best Live Band We've Ever Seen".[14] Their show at Ronnie Scott's Club in London on September 16, 1970, is historically notable for being the last public performance for Jimi Hendrix,[15] who joined them onstage for the last 35 minutes of Burdon and War's second set; a day later he was dead. A second Eric Burdon and War album, a two-disc set titled The Black-Man's Burdon was released in 1970. During the subsequent tour, Burdon collapsed on the stage during a concert, caused by an asthma attack, and the band continued the tour without him[16] before Burdon left the band in the middle of its European tour. They finished the tour without him and returned to record their first album as War.
War (1971) met with only modest success, but later that year, the band released All Day Music which included the singles "All Day Music" and "Slippin' into Darkness". The latter single sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in June 1972.[17] In 1972, they released The World Is a Ghetto which was even more successful. Its second single, "The Cisco Kid" shipped gold,[11] and the album attained the number one spot on Billboard 200,[18] and was Billboard magazine's Album of the Year as the best-selling album of 1973.