Edwin Starr’s version of “Cloud Nine” is among the funkiest, right up there with that of The Temptations and Mongo Santamaria.
For your own good, check out Mongo Santamaria’s version as well:
…and of course, the Temptations version:
And as a special treat, peep this Funky edit by ShoNuffFunk aka Tim Waje from “Hamburrrg,” Germany. (FREE Download!)
Known for hits in Disco, Soul, and Funk, Edwin Starr is a giant among 1970s Funksters, who wasn’t shy about joining artists like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder in criticizing the social state of the United States and the world.
Widely known for his version of “War”, Starr was a vocal critic as well as a sonic symbol of opposition to violence, especially that which is state-sanctioned, as the lyrics go:
War
What is it good for?
Absolutely (nothing)
Listen to meWar, it ain’t nothin’ but a heartbreaker
War, friend only to the undertakerAh, war is an enemy of all mankind
The thought of war blows my mind
War has caused unrest within the younger generation
Induction then destruction
Who wants to die ? Ah….
Some very interesting background on the Disco and Hip-Hop eras from Starr, with an insight on the industry’s effect on artists and music at large:
As one of the rare established soul artists who flourished – rather than disappeared – during the disco boom, Edwin has nothing but praise for the music itself and disgust for the industry politics that forced its premature demise by the early Eighties: “The era was cut so short because the major record companies couldn’t control it! I mean, there were records being cut in basements; being cut in garages; Donna Summer came out of Germany; Village People came out of the San Francisco gay community… It was like ‘Where are these people COMING from?’!. The records were being cut underground, and were being made smash hits before the radio had even HEARD about them! So the major companies had to try to kill disco because they couldn’t CONTROL it!“
“The same thing happens every time there’s an innovative type of music formula”, he continues passionately: “The major companies will let it ride for so long, they’ll sit back and see if there’s any possible way that they can jump in there and make some money too… And if they can‘t, then they start to eat away at it! When the major labels couldn’t manufacture punk, they killed it; same thing with disco… And rap was gonna be dead too, if it hadn’t been for people like MC Hammer!”
Definitely peep Edwin Starr’s website and dig some more of his Soulful sounds.
