Peace

Annotation

From Canton, Ohio, the group formed in 1958, with all the original members still teenagers at school, under the age of seventeen. The core of the group featured Eddie Levert (vocals - born Bessemer, Alabama) and Walter Williams (vocals - born in Canton, OH). Also in the group at various times: Bill Isles (vocals, 1958-65), Bobby Massey (vocals, 1958-71), William Powell (vocals, 1958-76), Sam Strain (vocals, 1977-93), Nathaniel Best (vocals, 1993-97), and Eric Nolan Grant (vocals, 1997-present). They developed a Philly soul sound - string and horn instrumental arrangements, and funk influences. The spent much of their career on the Cleveland, OH soul scene.1 The song "Peace" (Astroscope # AS-110) from 1972 took a general anti-war perspective, rather than specifically targeting Vietnam. The narrator commented that "I hear the people asking when will it end?" - probably a reference to the early 70s protest movement. It then made several religious / biblical references: "there was no evil in the garden" - the narrator suggested that the world needed to turn to love and peace. It featured on their 1971 album Super Bad (Trip Records # TLP-9510). Note that the group also released the Vietnam-related single "There's Someone Waiting (Back Home)" in 1969.Sources1Rock 'n' Roll and the Cleveland Connection (Deanna R. Adams, 2002)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation — Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs

From Canton, Ohio, the group formed in 1958, with all the original members still teenagers at school, under the age of seventeen. The core of the group featured Eddie Levert (vocals - born Bessemer, Alabama) and Walter Williams (vocals - born in Canton, OH). Also in the group at various times: Bill Isles (vocals, 1958-65), Bobby Massey (vocals, 1958-71), William Powell (vocals, 1958-76), Sam Strain (vocals, 1977-93), Nathaniel Best (vocals, 1993-97), and Eric Nolan Grant (vocals, 1997-present). They developed a Philly soul sound - string and horn instrumental arrangements, and funk influences. The spent much of their career on the Cleveland, OH soul scene.1 The song "Peace" (Astroscope # AS-110) from 1972 took a general anti-war perspective, rather than specifically targeting Vietnam. The narrator commented that "I hear the people asking when will it end?" - probably a reference to the early 70s protest movement. It then made several religious / biblical references: "there was no evil in the garden" - the narrator suggested that the world needed to turn to love and peace. It featured on their 1971 album Super Bad (Trip Records # TLP-9510). Note that the group also released the Vietnam-related single "There's Someone Waiting (Back Home)" in 1969. Sources1Rock 'n' Roll and the Cleveland Connection (Deanna R. Adams, 2002)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: I hear the people asking when will it end? / And when will man's fight ever cease? / To me it seems, the answer is love / For where there is love there is peace / In the beginning there was a garden and everything was instilled with love... / There was no evil in the garden / Nobody had been taught to hate... / So everyone was loving, that's what the good book said... / We must start making more peace for every brother / For one another, enough for everyone... / Throughout the land, for every man... / I saw a picture of the garden before the apple... / We got to get back to that garden

Notes

Astroscope AS-110B (AS-112), label with zodiac sign names round the rim; "Peace" (Bradford Craig, H. B. Barnum), time 4:55, Hidle, BMI; credited to Ojay's; produced by H. B. Barnum; ℗ All Platinum Record Co., 1972; "Distributed Nationally by All Platinum Record Company, Inc." [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

American soul vocal group formed 1958 in Canton, Ohio. [Source: Wikipedia]

Themes

Anti-War · Religion

In collections

Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years] · Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs