Edwin Starr

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Edwin Starr (January 21, 1942 – April 3, 2003) was a soul music singer. Born Charles Edwin Hatcher in Nashville, Tennessee, Starr is most famous for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the #1 hit "War".

In 1957 Starr formed a doo-wop group The Future Tones and began his singing career. Starr lived in Detroit, Michigan in the 1960s and recorded at first for the small label Ric-Tic, and later for the famed Motown after it absorbed Ric-Tic in 1968.

The song which began his career was "Agent Double'O'Soul" (1965), a take-off on the James Bond films which were popular at the time.

He recorded more soul music for the next three years before having an international chart-topper in "25 Miles" (1968). As of 2005 it is one of only two Starr songs on oldies radio.

The biggest hit of his career, and the one which cemented his reputation as one of the great soul artists, was the anti-Vietnam War protest song "War" (1970). Starr's intense vocals transformed a Temptations album track into a #1 chart success, an anthem for the antiwar movement and a cultural milestone that continues to resound a generation later in movie soundtracks and hip hop music samples. Incidentally, the song's parent album - War and Peace - featured another song of very similar construction titled "Stop the War Now", which was a minor hit in its own right.

He moved to England in 1973. Starr continued to record music into the 1970s, most notably recording the song "Hell Up In Harlem" for the 1974 movie, Hell Up In Harlem, which was the sequel to Black Caesar, an earlier hit with a soundtrack by James Brown.

In 1979 Starr reappeared on the charts with a pair of disco hits, titled "(Eye-To-Eye) Contact" and "H.A.P.P.Y. Radio". By now he had joined the well established disco boom and had further singles out on the record label 20th Century. Over the years he released tracks on many labels including Avatar, Calibre, 10 Records, Motown (a return to his former label for a 1989 remix of "25 Miles"), Streetwave and Hippodrome.

In 1985 Starr released "It Ain't Fair", which grabbed the attention of many in the soul and dance clubs, but never became the big hit expected.

In 1988 Starr teamed up with the popular and successful Stock, Aitken and Waterman production company for the club hit "Whatever Makes Our Love Grow", and in 1990 he featured on the track made for the Brit Awards which made number 2 in the UK charts. A club mix of various artists, it included the previous years remix of "25 Miles". Starr also appeared on the charity number one single "Let It Be" by Ferry Aid, again a various artist project.

Starr resurfaced briefly in 2000 to team up with British band Utah Saints to record a new version of his song "Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On" and then again in 2002 to record a song with the British musician Jools Holland, singing "Snowflake Boogie" on Holland's compact disc More Friends, and to record another track with Utah Saints, a so far unreleased new version of his number one hit "War"- his last ever recording.

Starr died of a heart attack at the age of 61 in his home in Beeston near Nottingham.

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Song list

(incomplete)

  • "Agent Double-O-Soul" (1965)
  • "Back Street" (1966)
  • "Headline News" (1966)
  • "Oh How Happy" (1966)
  • "I Want My Baby Back" (1967)
  • "S.O.S. (Stop Her On Sight)" (1968)
  • "Grits Ain't Grocery" (1968)
  • "25 Miles" (1968)
  • "I'm Still a Struggling Man" (1969)
  • "I Just Wanna Do My Thing" (1970)
  • "Stop the War Now" (1970)
  • "Time" (1970)
  • "War" (1970)
  • "Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On" (1971)
  • "My Sweet Lord" (1971)
  • "There You Go" (1973)
  • "Big Papa" (1974)
  • "Easin' In (American Pimp Soundtrack) (1974)
  • "Hell Up In Harlem" (1974)
  • "Contact" (1979)
  • "Happy Radio" (1979)
  • "Tell-A-Starr" (1979)
  • "It's Called The Rock" (1979)
  • "25 Miles (Mix)" (1980)
  • "Get Up-Whirlpool" (1980)
  • "Stronger (Than You Think I Am)" (1980)
  • "Smooth" (1983)
  • "I Wanna Take You Home" (1983)
  • "Marvin" (1984)
  • "It Ain't Fair" (1985)
  • "Missiles" (1985)
  • "Grapevine" (1985)
  • "Soul Singer" (1986)
  • "Whatever Makes Our Love Grow" (1988)
  • "25 Miles (Remix)" (1989)
  • "Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On" (w/Utah Saints) (2000)
  • "Snowflake Boogie" (w/Jools Holland) (2002)
  • "War" (w/Utah Saints) (2002)
  • "25 Miles" (w/Three Amigos) (2002)
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See also

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References

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