War (formerly known as Eric Burdon and War) is a Long Beach, California-based American funk/rock/soul band best known for their popular songs “Spill the Wine”, “The World Is a Ghetto”, “The Cisco Kid”, “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”, “Low Rider”, and “Summer”). War is a musical crossover band founded in 1969 that mixes elements of rock, funk, jazz, Latin, rhythm and blues, psychedelia, and reggae. According to music critic Colin Larkin, their “potent fusion of funk, R&B, rock, and Latin styles produced a progressive soul sound”, while Martin C. Strong deems them “one of the fiercest progressive soul combos of the ’70s”.
Their record The World Is a Ghetto was the best-selling album of 1973, according to Billboard. With a multi-ethnic lineup, the band broke through racial and cultural boundaries. War has through several lineup changes throughout the course of its career, with original member Leroy “Lonnie” Jordan remaining as the sole original member in the present lineup; four other members formed a new band named the Lowrider Band.
