Motown head Berry Gordy subsequently bought out Ric Tic and took over its artist roster, with Starr the crown jewel. Starr capitalized on the song’s novelty appeal by appearing on-stage in a spy costume complete with toy gun, but proved he was no one-trick pony by returning to the Top Ten a year later with “Stop Her on Sight (S.O.S.).” “Agent Double-O-Soul” hit the R&B Top Ten later in 1965, and just missed the pop Top 20. Two years later, Starr wrote what he felt was a sure-fire hit in the spy-themed “Agent Double-O-Soul,” and left Doggett ‘s band to sign with Ric Tic Records and settle in Detroit. When he returned in 1962, he tried to get things going again, but to no avail instead, he wound up joining Bill Doggett ‘s group as a featured vocalist in 1963. They won numerous local talent competitions and even recorded a single for a small label, but Starr was drafted into the military in 1960, stalling the group’s momentum. He grew up in Cleveland and formed a doo wop quintet called the Future Tones while still in high school. Starr was born Charles Hatcher in Nashville, TN, on Janu(his cousin was deep soul singer and songwriter Roger Hatcher ). Even if nothing else ever matched the phenomenon of “War,” Starr had several Top Ten hits on the R&B charts over the late ’60s and early ’70’s, and also enjoyed a brief renaissance during the disco era.
Starr first made his name as “Agent Double-O-Soul,” and when his contract was transferred to Motown, he instantly became one of the roughest, toughest vocalists on the crossover-friendly label, with his debt to James Brown and the Stax soul shouters. The hotel-lounge version of James Taylor's MOR classic You've Got a Friend was the only naff moment in a supremely entertaining show - it just made the rest sound all the better.Rightly revered for the storming protest classic “War,” Edwin Starr didn’t really need another hit to achieve legendary status in soul circles, so electrifying was that single performance. Although chugging through, say, the blustery disco-era Contact for the millionth time must hold the same thrill as brushing his teeth, he has been gifted with a voice that refuses to convey anything but commitment. Grasping the futility of trying to compete with young bling-bling merchants such as Sisqo, he offers up old hits and nothing but. His repertoire - which includes tributes to Jackie Wilson, Marvin Gaye and Otis Redding, a misty Dock of the Bay proving he can do pensive as persuasively as gritty - was long ago pruned to cabaret perfection. He needs only rasp "War!" to elicit an instant, euphoric "What is it good for?" Starr replies "Absolutely nothing!" and we sing, far less tunefully "Say it again!" This probably explains why it turns up surprisingly early in the show, its strident call and response format adrenalising Starr for the rigours of the even sweatier Agent Double 0 Soul and H.A.P.P.Y. The intro is one of the most distinctive in pop history, and the crowd is right on cue. At least half the rammed house were in nappies when Starr was last a star, yet every last one knows all the words to War.
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