Stop The War Now
1970 · Gordy G 7104 · USA
- Artist
- Edwin Starr
- Title
- Stop The War Now
- Release
- Stop the War Now / Gonna Keep On Tryin' Till I Win Your Love
- Year
- 1970
- Label
- Gordy # G 7104
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- USA
- Genre
- Soul, Gospel & Funk · Soul
- Primary theme
- Peace, Protest & Anti-War
Annotation
The track "Stop the War Now" (Gordy Records # 7104), while musically very similar to Edwin Starr's "War", contained more content, calling for people to protest and the politicians to act. Kicking off with the whistle of a bomb dropping, and then an explosion, it told of the draft letter arriving: "there's a letter from the war...greetings, we want you". But the narrator wanted to know "why must I kill against my will". He then asked what do the mothers of dead soldiers get: "a few measly pennies a month, a medal, a grave". Starr strongly criticised the government for claiming that victory was near when "the death list keeps right on growing". Certainly the strongest anti-war song to come out of Motown Records. But coming so soon after "War", with its similar sound and content, it looks like an attempt to cash in on the growing anti-war sentiment of the early 1970s. Motown's advertising in Billboard adds support to this, as it claimed: "Edwin Starr knows the mood of the times", as he "cries out for stronger action" - the word are written over a photograph of a wounded soldier in pain, sitting in the jungle. (1) Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, who wrote "War", also composed…
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
American soul singer, born 21 January 1942 in Nashville, Tennessee ('War', 1970); died 2 April 2003 in Bramcote, England. [Source: Wikipedia]
Themes
In collections
Draft Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs · Soul, Gospel, & Funk Songs