Even the name "Edwin Starr" was forced upon him. His real name was Charles Hatcher, but, when he was performing with Bill Doggett's group, he was introduced one night as "Edwin Starr", without being consulted first, and that was that.
He was an amazing singer- at Golden World he cut three stone classics, "Stop Her On Sight (S.O.S.), "Headline News" and "Agent Double O Soul", and you can clearly hear why Gordy wanted him so badly. But "War"- my God! He was in full Baptist preacher mode on that- not so much singing the lyrics as SCREAMING them with an insane amount of passion. He sold the song to an even greater degree than even Whitfield must have imagined- and it was no wonder it ended up as a #1 hit.
And, of course, it's still relevant now, because war still "ain't nothing but a heartbreak" and "friend only to the undertaker".
I did not know that that name was forced on him, although I did know that it wasn't his real name. So many shenanigans and shady behavior in the music business!
I think that's why I'm very sympathetic to him, he was so amazingly talented but stayed true to himself despite being bandied about by the business. And he wouldn't talk badly about fellow musicians even when baited by interviewers. Gotta respect that.
Whitfield and Strong left us an incredible legacy of anti-war songs, and have to agree that the lyrics to "War" are pretty nigh perfect.
Wonderful look back, with so much history I knew nothing about. And man, that guy's voice! His "Huh!" is legendary! Thanks for the look back. Also appreciate the aside about Tom Lehrer. I grew up listening to him--what an amazing wit.
Not a lot to add to this other than the song echoing through the streets at the time, the lyrics easy to understand and remember, we used to imitate the iconic "WAR, HUH!" with the best guttural boom we could muster.
Yes, we did too. We thought it was fun, even though we knew it was serious.
Barrett Strong was a great lyricist in terms of catchy lyrics. "Ball of Confusion" did not have easy to remember lyrics, but they were catchy in their own way. He had a definite way with words.
Probably the most OG of the anti war songs. I had to smile at the thought he didn’t view it as an anti Vietnam song. I suspect that’s his narrative for the press to consume. Who knows, maybe he did actually believe it in some way.
I don’t know if this is on your list somewhere but Two Tribes from Frankie Goes To Hollywood is probably one of the better known anti war vids from the start of the MTV era.
Those characters could be interchanged with any number of people today. The message of “tribes” is more applicable today probably than it was then. I did security for one of FGTH US tours. Fantastic shows for the technology available then.
Have you written a book on doing security for rock stars? I would buy it! I've got books by rock photographers, journalists, groupies, label guys, and recording engineers, but none by security guys.
I wrote three novels about a British stadium rock band in 1984 on a big US tour, and the security team plays a big role in the 2nd novel when things go out of control. Happy to send you a copy if you give me an address in chat. But don't feel pressured to say yes as many don't read fiction. (Planning to reissue them under a different cover. I've been ignoring them and doing no marketing, even though they've gotten five-star reviews.)
I had a start on a book several years ago but gave up the idea. I value the good will of the artists I worked for more than any money I would get for making public “inside information “. There have been artists who put out their own memoirs and that’s fine. Also there is no shortage of Behind The Music documentaries. A lot of them take liberties with what really happened. The sordid needs to be emphasized in order to get eyeballs.
There is no shortage of these types of experiences during the 25 years I did this but that’s not what I remember fondly. Most people aren’t interested in stories about skydiving, fishing or doing normal activities with their “heroes”. They don’t want to know about Slayer wearing Hawaiian shirts and raising dogs and snakes, or trying to help Dave Mustaine save the princess in the video game he was playing. They want the stories about trying to revive someone in the shower with a needle in their arm at 4 am. You sound like you could be different. I hope so. I would be honored to read your book. I would be happy to purchase it if available. Thanks for reaching out. I will send my address through your chat. I wasn’t sure what it was when it appeared. Thanks again.
Yes, I'm actually not interested in something that highlights so-and-so having to be revived at 4am. After reading a lot of bios, you get tired of the trauma porn that comprises moments in someone's life and want to know what it was like for them doing what they did day after day.
I think what intrigues me about what you did is what's it like having to think about security for an artist and then what's involved in getting it carried out. What are the decisions about how to travel to ensure safety, how are hotel rooms booked, aliases used, transport to the arena done, etc. What did crazy fans do and how was that handled? What obstacles or helps did arenas offer, and did that vary by arena? What about bands getting lost trying to find the stage? Or artists falling off stages? Fans trying to get on stages or surging? I'm not sure you dealt with all these things, but they are things I'm very curious about.
I do love knowing that Slayer did all those things. The human interest stuff is great fun.
I did all that and more. I’ll give you a quick example.
I was contracted to go out with Tom Petty. The tour was starting in Phoenix where I was living at the time. I went down to the gig and the tour manager told me that Carlene Carter, who was going to be the opener, wanted to talk to me. I was intrigued and went to her room. She told me that she wanted to go into the audience for a song and asked if I would be able to carry her on my shoulders. That was a first but I agreed. The show kicked off and I went to the barricade to meet her at the agreed upon corner of the stage. When it came time to go into the audience she slid onto my shoulders and I proceeded down the center aisle. I should say at this time that I’m 6’5” so she had a ways to fall if I went down. She was also wearing a VERY short black skirt. I did my rounds of the arena with her singing and deposited her back on the stage with a sigh of relief. Her set was over and I was talking to the guys in the barricade when a person walked up to the barricade and motioned me over. He told me he would give me $500 for the shirt I was wearing. I took it off and he gave me the money. I got a shirt from one of the guys there and finished the evening. We did the same thing throughout the tour but that was the only time that happened. That’s the kind of thing I remember.
I’m happy to discuss things with you that you’re curious about. If you have specific questions I can deal with them.
See, that is a great story! Who would ever think that something like that could happen?! So many fun and outrageous elements. I love it.
You really should think about writing a book and I can certainly advise on self-publishing, although you may be able to get an agent and publisher given how interest in the rock and roll world continues unabated.
Thanks for the offer to answer questions. Much appreciated! I am very likely to come back to you on that.
You get it. To me that’s crazier than most of the Behind the Music crap. ODs aren’t that rare unfortunately, but how many times can you get $500 for a tshirt. Anytime Ellen. Thanks for the offer. I know there’s a market. People have said to do a Substack of stories. I’m happier dealing with people like yourself on a personal level. I don’t need the money. I was paid very well for my service.
Even the name "Edwin Starr" was forced upon him. His real name was Charles Hatcher, but, when he was performing with Bill Doggett's group, he was introduced one night as "Edwin Starr", without being consulted first, and that was that.
He was an amazing singer- at Golden World he cut three stone classics, "Stop Her On Sight (S.O.S.), "Headline News" and "Agent Double O Soul", and you can clearly hear why Gordy wanted him so badly. But "War"- my God! He was in full Baptist preacher mode on that- not so much singing the lyrics as SCREAMING them with an insane amount of passion. He sold the song to an even greater degree than even Whitfield must have imagined- and it was no wonder it ended up as a #1 hit.
And, of course, it's still relevant now, because war still "ain't nothing but a heartbreak" and "friend only to the undertaker".
I did not know that that name was forced on him, although I did know that it wasn't his real name. So many shenanigans and shady behavior in the music business!
I think that's why I'm very sympathetic to him, he was so amazingly talented but stayed true to himself despite being bandied about by the business. And he wouldn't talk badly about fellow musicians even when baited by interviewers. Gotta respect that.
Whitfield and Strong left us an incredible legacy of anti-war songs, and have to agree that the lyrics to "War" are pretty nigh perfect.
Wonderful look back, with so much history I knew nothing about. And man, that guy's voice! His "Huh!" is legendary! Thanks for the look back. Also appreciate the aside about Tom Lehrer. I grew up listening to him--what an amazing wit.
Thanks, Charles, glad you enjoyed it as well as Tom's song supplied by Jackie R, who's always coming up with gems.
Not a lot to add to this other than the song echoing through the streets at the time, the lyrics easy to understand and remember, we used to imitate the iconic "WAR, HUH!" with the best guttural boom we could muster.
Yes, we did too. We thought it was fun, even though we knew it was serious.
Barrett Strong was a great lyricist in terms of catchy lyrics. "Ball of Confusion" did not have easy to remember lyrics, but they were catchy in their own way. He had a definite way with words.
Probably the most OG of the anti war songs. I had to smile at the thought he didn’t view it as an anti Vietnam song. I suspect that’s his narrative for the press to consume. Who knows, maybe he did actually believe it in some way.
I don’t know if this is on your list somewhere but Two Tribes from Frankie Goes To Hollywood is probably one of the better known anti war vids from the start of the MTV era.
I'll let Mick McJesus know as he's compiling a list on spotify and already has 113 songs. He may want to add that song.
But that's a pretty dramatic video. Of course we know who's in the ring fighting, but it could be updated to make it relevant to today.
Those characters could be interchanged with any number of people today. The message of “tribes” is more applicable today probably than it was then. I did security for one of FGTH US tours. Fantastic shows for the technology available then.
Agree completely about relevance to today.
Have you written a book on doing security for rock stars? I would buy it! I've got books by rock photographers, journalists, groupies, label guys, and recording engineers, but none by security guys.
I wrote three novels about a British stadium rock band in 1984 on a big US tour, and the security team plays a big role in the 2nd novel when things go out of control. Happy to send you a copy if you give me an address in chat. But don't feel pressured to say yes as many don't read fiction. (Planning to reissue them under a different cover. I've been ignoring them and doing no marketing, even though they've gotten five-star reviews.)
I had a start on a book several years ago but gave up the idea. I value the good will of the artists I worked for more than any money I would get for making public “inside information “. There have been artists who put out their own memoirs and that’s fine. Also there is no shortage of Behind The Music documentaries. A lot of them take liberties with what really happened. The sordid needs to be emphasized in order to get eyeballs.
There is no shortage of these types of experiences during the 25 years I did this but that’s not what I remember fondly. Most people aren’t interested in stories about skydiving, fishing or doing normal activities with their “heroes”. They don’t want to know about Slayer wearing Hawaiian shirts and raising dogs and snakes, or trying to help Dave Mustaine save the princess in the video game he was playing. They want the stories about trying to revive someone in the shower with a needle in their arm at 4 am. You sound like you could be different. I hope so. I would be honored to read your book. I would be happy to purchase it if available. Thanks for reaching out. I will send my address through your chat. I wasn’t sure what it was when it appeared. Thanks again.
Yes, I'm actually not interested in something that highlights so-and-so having to be revived at 4am. After reading a lot of bios, you get tired of the trauma porn that comprises moments in someone's life and want to know what it was like for them doing what they did day after day.
I think what intrigues me about what you did is what's it like having to think about security for an artist and then what's involved in getting it carried out. What are the decisions about how to travel to ensure safety, how are hotel rooms booked, aliases used, transport to the arena done, etc. What did crazy fans do and how was that handled? What obstacles or helps did arenas offer, and did that vary by arena? What about bands getting lost trying to find the stage? Or artists falling off stages? Fans trying to get on stages or surging? I'm not sure you dealt with all these things, but they are things I'm very curious about.
I do love knowing that Slayer did all those things. The human interest stuff is great fun.
I did all that and more. I’ll give you a quick example.
I was contracted to go out with Tom Petty. The tour was starting in Phoenix where I was living at the time. I went down to the gig and the tour manager told me that Carlene Carter, who was going to be the opener, wanted to talk to me. I was intrigued and went to her room. She told me that she wanted to go into the audience for a song and asked if I would be able to carry her on my shoulders. That was a first but I agreed. The show kicked off and I went to the barricade to meet her at the agreed upon corner of the stage. When it came time to go into the audience she slid onto my shoulders and I proceeded down the center aisle. I should say at this time that I’m 6’5” so she had a ways to fall if I went down. She was also wearing a VERY short black skirt. I did my rounds of the arena with her singing and deposited her back on the stage with a sigh of relief. Her set was over and I was talking to the guys in the barricade when a person walked up to the barricade and motioned me over. He told me he would give me $500 for the shirt I was wearing. I took it off and he gave me the money. I got a shirt from one of the guys there and finished the evening. We did the same thing throughout the tour but that was the only time that happened. That’s the kind of thing I remember.
I’m happy to discuss things with you that you’re curious about. If you have specific questions I can deal with them.
See, that is a great story! Who would ever think that something like that could happen?! So many fun and outrageous elements. I love it.
You really should think about writing a book and I can certainly advise on self-publishing, although you may be able to get an agent and publisher given how interest in the rock and roll world continues unabated.
Thanks for the offer to answer questions. Much appreciated! I am very likely to come back to you on that.
You get it. To me that’s crazier than most of the Behind the Music crap. ODs aren’t that rare unfortunately, but how many times can you get $500 for a tshirt. Anytime Ellen. Thanks for the offer. I know there’s a market. People have said to do a Substack of stories. I’m happier dealing with people like yourself on a personal level. I don’t need the money. I was paid very well for my service.