War was an American funk band of the 1970s that had its roots in California. They had no specific genre, they played Jazz, Funk, Soul, Pop R'nB. The roots of the band are from 1962, when Howard Scott and Harold Brown formed a group called the Creators in Compton, California. Within a few years, they had added Charles Miller, B.B. Dickerson and Lonnie Jordan to the lineup. They recorded several singles on Dore Records and worked with Jay Contreli from Love. In 1968, the Creators became Nightshift and started performing with Deacon Jones, a football player and singer. At a performance, producer Jerry Goldstein suggested they would start to work with Eric Burdon (of the disbanded Animals) and Lee Oskar (a Danish harmonica player).
The original WAR include: (Main instruments listed, they all sang and played various percussion instruments) Eric Burdon (Vocals) BB Dickerson (Bass) Lee Oskar (Harmonica) Lonnie Jordan (Keyboards) Papa Dee Allen (Percussion, Bongos) Harold Brown (Drums) Charles Miller (Saxophone, Flute, Clarinet) Howard Scott (Guitar)
Non-original WAR members: Sandro Albert - Guitar James Montgomery Baker - Guitar William Bergman - Saxophone John Berry - Trumpet Rick Braun - Trumpet Kerry Campbell - Saxophone James Coile - Saxophone Jason (J.B.) Eckl - Guitar Charles Green - Flute, Horn, Saxophone, Horn Arrangements Ricky Green - Bass Ronnie Hammond - Percussion, Drums, Vocals Fernando Harkless - Saxophone Kenny Alvin Hudson - Percussion Larry Klymas - Saxophone Willie Loya - Percussion Richard Marquez - Percussion Debbie Moman - Vocals (Background) Milton Myrick - Vocals (Background) Tetsuya Nakamura - Harmonica, Vocals (Background) Charles Owens - Saxophone Tiki Paccius - Percussion Donald Phillips - Bass Luther Rabb - Bass, Vocals Marcos Reyes - Percussion Pat Rizzo - Flute, Saxophone, Vocals Papo Rodriguez - Percussion Sal Rodriguez - Percussion, Drums, Vocals, (Background) Peter Rosen - Bass Sharon Scott - Vocals (Background) Alice Tweed Smith - Percussion, Vocals (Background) Lee Thornburg - Trumpet Francisco "Poncho" Tomaselli - Bass Rae Valentine - Organ, Percussion, Vocals (Background) Moses Wheelock - Conga Stewart Ziff - Guitar
