In 1970, one of the era’s most powerful musical rallying cries was wrapping up a three-week run at No. 1, but the song almost had a very different voice behind it.
Edwin Starr’s recording of “War” spent three weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in August and September 1970. Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, the fiery anti-war song became Starr’s signature recording and eventually earned a place in the Grammy Hall of Fame.
But Starr wasn’t the first Motown star to record it.
The Temptations originally recorded “War” for their 1970 album Psychedelic Shack, with Paul Williams and Dennis Edwards handling lead vocals. The song’s blunt anti-Vietnam War message struck a nerve, and fans began urging Motown to release it as a single.
Motown balked.
The label was reportedly concerned that releasing such a politically charged song as a Temptations single could alienate some of the hugely successful group’s fans. Instead, Whitfield was allowed to record a new version with another artist.
Starr volunteered.
His recording was considerably more explosive, pairing Starr’s forceful vocal with electric guitar, horns and a hard-driving rhythm. Released in June 1970, it took off, ultimately becoming Starr’s only No. 1 hit. It was wrapping up its three-week run at No. 1 56 years ago today.
“War” didn’t disappear with the Vietnam era.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band began performing the song during the final dates of the Born in the U.S.A. Tour in 1985. A live recording was released as a single the following year and climbed to No. 8 on the Hot 100.
More than four decades later, Springsteen reached for it again.
On March 31, 2026, Springsteen opened the first show of his Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour with “War,” making the 56-year-old protest song the opening statement of a politically charged set that concluded with Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom.”
A song Motown once considered too risky to release as a single by one of its biggest groups had proved remarkably difficult to silence.
