Song of the Day 2/13: War, “Slippin’ Into Darkness”
Theme song for the United States of America.
The band that became War started out in Long Beach, Calif., in the early ’60s. They were a tight unit by 1970, when songrwriter/producer Jerry Goldstein saw them backing a local R&B singer. He hooked them up with British singer Eric Burdon, fresh off the breakup of the Animals, convinced them to change their name to War and wrote them a No. 1 hit, “Spill the Wine.” When Burdon collapsed with an asthma attack during a concert the next year, War continued their tour without him.
They never missed him. Goldstein, who started out as in the business in the ’60s as a member of the Strangeloves of “I Want Candy” fame, guided War to stardom. They peaked with “The World Is a Ghetto,” the best-selling album of 1973, and scored eight top 20 singles between 1972 and 1977. “Slippin’ Into Darkness” was the first, reaching No. 16 in 1972.
The hits stopped coming in the late ’70s, and the band had dissipated by the early ’90s until hip-hop’s sampling habit brought them renewed attention and sales. When they tried to get out from under Goldstein’s thumb they found he owned the name, so four members quit and formed the Lowrider Band, while Goldstein reformed a new War lineup with just one original member. They’ve twice been nominated for the Rock Hall of Fame but never elected.
