War

Fact Sheet

Musical genre:	Funk
Country	USA

War was an American funk band of the 1970s and early 1980s. The roots of the band are from 1962, when Howard Scott and Harold Brown formed a group called the Creators in Compton, California. Within a few years, they had added Charles Miller, B.B. Dickerson and Lonnie Jordan. They recorded several singles on Dore Records and worked with Jay Contreli (of Love). In 1968, the Creators became Nightshift and started performing with Deacon Jones, a football player and singer. At a performance, producer Jerry Goldstein suggested they work with Eric Burdon (of the Animals) and Lee Oskar (a Danish harmonica player).

Burdon changed the name to War and the new line-up, with Oskar, began recording in 1969 and released Eric Burdon Declares War in 1970. "Spill the Wine" became a hugely popular single, and the follow-up, The Black Man's Burdon, was almost as successful as the first. In 1971, Burdon left the group in the middle of a European tour, claiming he was too exhausted to go on. After a highly unsuccessful album, War, War's The World Is a Ghetto reestablished them at the forefront of popular funk and included the 1972 hit "The Cisco Kid". That was followed by the sligtly disco influenced "Gypsy Man" from the 1973 album Deliver The Word. Why Can't We Be Friends (1975) sold well, and included "Low Rider", perhaps their most well-remembered song. A compilation of jams called Platinum Jazz was a surprise success in 1977.

The line-up began to fall apart in 1978 when Dickerson quit and Charles Miller was murdered. After a few unsuccessful attempts at recouping, War's Outlaw (1982) was a moderate success, but the group was unable to keep any momentum as members came and went. By 1984, War was a touring band only. A comeback was attempted in 1994 with Peace Sign, but the album flopped.

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