Subtlety is not a requirement of protest songs, and the message of Edwin Starr’s funky 1970 chart topper couldn’t be clearer: “War. Huh. Good God, y’all. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!” Originally recorded by the Temptations, “War” was covered by Starr and released by Motown, and the rest is antiwar-anthem history. Bruce Springsteen’s version of “War” was a hit in the mid-’80s. As the classic song insists, “Say it again!”
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