Music
Edwin Starr
1942–2003 · singer, songwriter
Soul singer who launched his career on Detroit's Ric-Tic label with "Agent Double-O-Soul" and then sang Norman Whitfield's protest anthem "War" for Motown.
- Born
Nashville, Tennessee- Died
Beeston, Nottinghamshire, England
aged 61- Birth name
- Charles Edwin Hatcher
- Detroit years
- 1965–early 1970s
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Raised in Cleveland, Starr made his solo debut in 1965 for Ric-Tic, the Detroit label run by Ed Wingate and Joanne Bratton, and lived in Detroit while recording there. His early hits "Agent Double-O-Soul", "Back Street" and "Stop Her on Sight (S.O.S.)" were cut at the Golden World studio on West Davison, often with Motown session players moonlighting. When Berry Gordy bought Ric-Tic and Golden World in 1966, Starr moved to Motown, where "Twenty-Five Miles" reached the Top 10 in 1969. In 1970 Norman Whitfield gave him "War", first recorded by the Temptations; Starr's version topped the Billboard Hot 100. His Ric-Tic sides later became northern soul favorites in Britain, and he settled in England in the 1970s.
Highlights
- "War" (1970): No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100
- "Agent Double-O-Soul" (1965) on Detroit's Ric-Tic label
- "Twenty-Five Miles" (1969): Top 10 pop and R&B
- Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame (2017)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Recorded here · 1965–1966
Golden World studio (Motown Studio B)
Closed
His early Ric-Tic hits, including "Agent Double-O-Soul", were recorded at the Golden World studio.
Recorded here · 1967–early 1970s
Motown Museum
Motown's studio and headquarters during his "Twenty-Five Miles" and "War" years.