Edwin Starr, RIP

[Dr Dave]

From this morning's NY Times:

April 4, 2003
Edwin Starr, Soul Singer With 'War' Hit, Dies at 61
By REUTERS


LONDON, April 3 — The Nashville-born soul singer Edwin Starr, whose 1970 hit "War" denounced conflict as good for "absolutely nothing," died on Wednesday at his home in central England. He was 61.

The cause was a heart attack, his manager, Lilian Kyle, said.

Mr. Starr, who was born Charles Hatcher, gained fame in the mid-1960's with a series of soul hits, including "Agent Double-0 Soul," which he promoted by appearing in a short film with the original James Bond actor, Sean Connery.

Mr. Starr signed to the Motown record label and had more hits in the United States and Britain, where his gutsy and strident style earned him a large cult following.

His most memorable numbers were the foot-stompers "Twenty-Five Miles" from 1969 and the visceral No. 1 hit "War," a thundering indictment against war, which earned him a Grammy Award and includes the lyrics:

War has shattered many young men's dreams,
We've got no place for it today.
They say we must fight to keep our freedom,
But Lord, there's just got to be a better way.

Mr. Starr served in the United States Army for three years before turning to music. He shifted from soul to disco in the late 1970's, and in the 1980's he moved to Britain and performed in oldies and soul revues.

More recently he played at charity events and was to perform in July at the international music festival Womad (World of Music, Arts and Dance) in Reading, England.

[Pete C]

Originally posted by Dr Dave
The Nashville-born soul singer Edwin Starr, whose 1970 hit "War" denounced conflict as good for "absolutely nothing," died on Wednesday at his home in central England.

He died of a broken heart.

[S.Eden]

Insert your conspiracy theory here.

[Gentle Giant]

That's a serious drag. Only friend to the undertaker. Just goes to show you that good music never goes out of style...in this case, it's unfortunate his big hit is still so relevant.

[Valerie]

Very sad and untimely departure of a wonderful man. He actually was of great comfort to a friend of mine about 10 years ago who had lost his wife suddenly of a heart attack at age 47 and Edwin lovingly played host to him at his estate in England.

[Ron Thorne]

I heard this sad news on NPR yesterday while driving.

RIP, Edwin Starr~

[hornplayer]

WAR.... what is it good for? ABSOLUTELY NUTHIN'! (Say it again!)

RIP Edwin Starr

[Darryl G. Thomas]

He couldn't sing "War" today. Radio would boycott him and his records would get burned for not being patriotic.

[bluenoter]

To me, his "big hit" will always be "Agent Double-0 Soul." When I was a kid, I spent one summer listening to it about every five minutes on an "urban" AM radio station in Pittsburgh, PA (WEEP--"WEEP for Joy"). And I never got tired of it.

RIP, Edwin Starr