War
E917048
"War" is a 1970 protest soul song by Edwin Starr, famous for its powerful anti-war message and the iconic refrain "War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing!"
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| War (song) | 0 |
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
single
ⓘ
song ⓘ |
| adaptedForSingleBy | Edwin Starr NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedLabelImprint | Gordy GENERATED ⓘ |
| associatedMovement | anti-Vietnam War movement ⓘ |
| associatedRecordCompany | Motown Records GENERATED ⓘ |
| backingBand | The Funk Brothers NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| bSide | He Who Picks a Rose NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| chartPositionUSBillboardHot100 | 1 ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| culturalImpact | became an anthem of the anti-war movement ⓘ |
| famousRefrain | War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing! NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| format | 7-inch single ⓘ |
| genre |
protest song
ⓘ
soul ⓘ |
| hasMusicVideo | no original 1970 promo video ⓘ |
| includedOnCompilation | The Very Best of Edwin Starr NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| label |
Gordy Records
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Motown NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| leadVocalsBy | Edwin Starr NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| length | 3:21 ⓘ |
| lyricalMessage | condemnation of war ⓘ |
| notableCoverArtist |
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Bruce Springsteen NERFINISHED ⓘ Frankie Goes to Hollywood NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| notableLyric |
War, huh, yeah
ⓘ
What is it good for? Absolutely nothing ⓘ |
| originallyRecordedBy | The Temptations NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| originalVersionAlbum | Psychedelic Shack NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| originalVersionPerformer | The Temptations NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| performer | Edwin Starr NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| producer | Norman Whitfield NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| publisher | Jobete Music NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| rankedOnList | Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| reachedNumberOneInCountry | United States NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| recordedIn | 1969 ⓘ |
| releaseDate | 1970-06-10 ⓘ |
| releaseYear | 1970 ⓘ |
| side | A-side ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
criticism of militarism
ⓘ
human cost of war ⓘ |
| theme |
Vietnam War protest
ⓘ
anti-war ⓘ |
| title | War NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| vocalStyle | soul shouting ⓘ |
| weeksAtNumberOneUSBillboardHot100 | 3 ⓘ |
| writer |
Barrett Strong
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Norman Whitfield NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.