“War” was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1969 for the Motown label and Whitfield first produced the song with The Temptations singing. After the track became popular, Motown re-recorded the song with newcomer Edwin Starr on vocals, so as to not alienate more conservative fans of the group. Starr’s version of “War” went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1970.
VOCAL only (Edwin Starr):