War (band)

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 (see 1962 in music). 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 (see 1968 in music). 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 (see 1970 in music). "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 (see 1971 in music). After a highly unsuccessful album, War[?], War's The World Is a Ghetto[?] reestablished them at the forefront of popular funk and included two hits, "Gypsy Man" and "The Cisco Kid". Why Can't We Be Friends (1975 in music) and ([sold well, and included "Low Rider", perhaps their most well-remembered song during the year when Why Can't We Be Friends was nominated for the Grammy Awards of 1976. War had released 2-albums during the year with Greatest Hits[?] as a complation and Love Is All Around as an LP (both 1976 in music) and there was a compilation of jams called Platinum Jazz[?] was a surprise success in 1977 (see 1977 in music).

The line-up began to fall apart in 1978 when Dickerson quit and Charles Miller was murdered (see 1978 in music) when they released 2-albums with Galaxy[?] and Youngblood[?]. After a few unsuccessful attempts at recouping, War's Outlaw[?] (1982 in music) 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 and disbanded in 1985. A comeback was attempted in 1994 with Peace Sign[?], but the album flopped (see 1994 in music).