Song · Edwin Starr
“War” by Edwin Starr
Released 1970
“War” by Edwin Starr appears on 4 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 2007 and 2024. It was first released in 1970. Its best result is #202 on the 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #5,792 indie & aaa song of all time and #201 of the '70s.
Edwin Starr's "War" came out swinging in 1970: Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong's flat-out anti-Vietnam War statement, written for Motown the year before, finally cut loose as a single with Starr out front. The Temptations had recorded it first, with Whitfield producing, but Motown kept their version off the singles schedule so as not to put off that group's more conservative fans. Requests for a single kept pouring in, so Whitfield recut it with Starr.
It shot to number one on the Hot 100 and became the defining record of Starr's career, as well as one of the best-loved protest songs ever made. Decades later it still had teeth: after September 11, 2001, Clear Channel put it among the 161 songs on its no-play list.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 577 | WTMD | WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time | 897 |
| 2020 | 1943 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2022 | 202 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s | 908 |
| 2024 | 336 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Cover Songs | 850 |
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