“War” is most famously sung by Edwin Starr. Edwin Star was born Charles Edwin Hatcher on Jan. 21, 1942, in Nashville, Tennessee and died April 2, 2003. Edwin Starr completed two years of military service in the USA and German. In 1962, after his military career was over, he moved to Detroit, Michigan to work on his musical career. By the middle of the 1960s, he had produced many major hits in collaboration with others under the name of Ed Wingate.1 By the end of the 1960s he had reached international fame.1
“War” was written in 1969, to protest the Vietnam War. It was originally sung by the Temptations, but visionary producer Norman Whitfield wanted a different sounding voice to perform the song, and Edwin Starr had just the voice that he …show more content…
When this song was written the war had been going on for fifteen years, and many people believed that it was time to stop fighting and dying for other people. “Cause it means destruction of innocent lives. War means tears to thousands of mothers’ eyes.” These two lines could have had a tremendous emotional impact on many mothers and fathers whose children were in Vietnam fighting. The lines brought out feelings of despair and worry because it reminded them of the likely possibility that their children may not make it home from the war. It also had a more emotional meaning to Starr because he served time in the military. “War has caused unrest within the younger generation”3 is an obvious comment on the thousands of young men and women, most of whom were hippies, who protested American involvement in the Vietnam War and other wars. The protest were in the hopes of stopping violence and U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, yet ironically, some of the protests erupted in violence which shows just how volatile the debate over the war had gotten. The main lines in the song “War, huh yeah. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing”3 represents the feelings that many Americans, especially the soldiers that were in the middle of the fighting, had about the Vietnam War. They could not see any positive results from a war that had been going on for such a long
“War” was written in 1969, to protest the Vietnam War. It was originally sung by the Temptations, but visionary producer Norman Whitfield wanted a different sounding voice to perform the song, and Edwin Starr had just the voice that he …show more content…
When this song was written the war had been going on for fifteen years, and many people believed that it was time to stop fighting and dying for other people. “Cause it means destruction of innocent lives. War means tears to thousands of mothers’ eyes.” These two lines could have had a tremendous emotional impact on many mothers and fathers whose children were in Vietnam fighting. The lines brought out feelings of despair and worry because it reminded them of the likely possibility that their children may not make it home from the war. It also had a more emotional meaning to Starr because he served time in the military. “War has caused unrest within the younger generation”3 is an obvious comment on the thousands of young men and women, most of whom were hippies, who protested American involvement in the Vietnam War and other wars. The protest were in the hopes of stopping violence and U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, yet ironically, some of the protests erupted in violence which shows just how volatile the debate over the war had gotten. The main lines in the song “War, huh yeah. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing”3 represents the feelings that many Americans, especially the soldiers that were in the middle of the fighting, had about the Vietnam War. They could not see any positive results from a war that had been going on for such a long