Play it Again, Sam #18a - "War"

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It should be fairly common knowledge here on MyLot by now, but I am a big fan of protest songs. This morning, I am going with possibly the ultimate protest song for today's Play it Again, Sam. As always, this is a two part discussion consisting of an original song followed by a cover of that song. We are at #18a, the "original:" "War" by Edwin Starr. In 1969, with the Vietnam War in full rage mode, the Motown hit machine songwriting team of Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong penned "War" for the label's legendary vocal group, The Temptations, and the song was included on the group's 1970 album, Psychedelic Shack. Under pressure to release "War" as a single, but reluctant to do so in fear of alienating Temptations fans (never mind that The Temptations themselves would go through a protest phase during the 1970's. "War" wasn't exactly "My Girl," at the time,) Motown head honcho Berry Gordy Jr had the song re-recorded by vocalist Edwin Starr. Berry Gordy Jr is possibly the smartest man to ever run a record label, and this move was just one of many brilliant decisions. Starr's version not only hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for three weeks, but is such a classic anti-war anthem that it is arguably the greatest protest song ever recorded. Simply put, "War" meant a hell of a lot to a hell of a lot of people at the time. This thing is INTENSE, made even more so by Starr's vocals. The dude could sing his (insert F-Bomb here) ass off, and was the perfect choice for this punchy, vitriolic tune. So who would dare try to cover this protest classic? Stay tuned! (Info verified by Wikipedia)