Starr’s decision to pick up the tune paid off big-time. Throughout, Starr bolsters the lyric with chanted exhortations, among them, “Say it, say it, say it, good God, y’all,” always returning to the main theme of war being good for “absolutely nothing.” (War), Friend only to the undertaker, awwww In each new verse, the singer spells out the reasons to back up his claim, such as this one: The recording begins with a military-style drum roll that leads to Starr’s horn-punctuated chant of the “What is it good for?” chorus. Listen to the Temptations’ version of “War” Instead, the label decided, another artist on the group’s roster would re-cut the song. The album track had generated a fair amount of interest, especially among college students involved in the protest movement, but Motown was reluctant to associate the Temptations with a politically infused lyric. Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong (the latter of “Money” fame), “War” had already been recorded and released by the Temptations on their Psychedelic Shack album of 1970. There wasn’t much interest in a new version of that one, but with “War” in 1970, Starr hit gold. You not only keep rooting the walker on-even though you’ve known the happy ending forever-but you probably sing along with him as he makes his way there.įollowing the record’s chart run, Edwin Starr was next heard from via the minor chart single “Oh, How Happy,” his own version of a gospel-tinged tune he’d co-written and which had been a hit in 1966 by the Shades of Blue. “Twenty-Five Miles” is one of those likable numbers that never gets old.
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