In 1962, the foundation of the band was laid when Howard E. Scott and Harold Brown formed a group called the Creators in Long Beach, California. Within a few years, they had added Charles Miller, B.B. Dickerson and Lonnie Jordan to the lineup. Lee Oskar and Papa Dee Allen later joined as well. They all shared a love of diverse styles of music, which they had absorbed living in the racially-mixed Los Angeles ghettos.
The Creators recorded several singles on Dore Records while working with Jay Contreli, a saxophonist from the band Love. In 1968, the Creators became Nightshift (named because Brown worked nights at a steel yard) and started performing with Deacon Jones, a football player and singer.
The original War was the brainchild of veteran record producer Jerry Goldstein ("My Boyfriend's Back," "Hang on Sloopy," "I Want Candy") and rock legend Eric Burdon (ex-lead singer of the top British band the Animals). "I first saw some of the guys who would eventually become War playing at the Rag Doll in North Hollywood, backing Deacon Jones, the pro football player, and knew immediately how potent these kids were," Goldstein said of his first exposure to the group. "I was friends with Eric and he was ready to throw in the towel on the music scene and return to Newcastle. He was tired of the 'rock' thing and desperate for a fresh authentic sound. I called him the morning after I first saw the band and made him return to the club the next night with me. Lee Oskar was so blown away by what he had heard that he jumped on stage to jam with them. The guys were so sheltered, that they hadn't even heard of Eric or The Animals. I had them in the studio within a week, and the rest is history!"
The year was 1969, and the band had the nerve to carry the name War at a time when peace was the slogan in an anti-Vietnam America. "Our mission was to spread a message of brotherhood and harmony," states founder and singer/keyboardist Lonnie Jordan. "Our instruments and voices became our weapons of choice and the songs our ammunition. We spoke out against racism, hunger, gangs, crimes, and turf wars, as we embraced all people with hope and the spirit of brotherhood. It's just as apropos today."
Eric Burdon & War began playing live shows and immediately found themselves in front of sold-out audiences throughout Southern California before entering into the studio to record their debut album Eric Burdon Declares "War". The album's key track, the erotic, spaced-out, Latin-flavored "Spill the Wine", was an immediate worldwide hit and launched the band's career.
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