Motown's Edwin Starr Dead At 61

Edwin Starr, the American soul singer who produced No. 1 Motown hits including the protest song "War," has died at the age of 61.

Starr died at his home near the central city of Nottingham, England, apparently of a heart attack, according to his manager, Lilian Kyle.

Last year, Starr - a soul shouter from the Motown stable similar in style to James Brown - performed at the wedding of Liza Minelli and David Gest in New York. He also had sung live with Bruce Springsteen.

Starr - who was born Charles Hatcher in Nashville, Tennessee - formed his first group, The Future Tones, in 1957, recording one single before his three-year army service. In 1965, he was offered a solo deal in following two years of touring with another band.

Early U.S. hits included "Agent Double O-Soul" and "Stop Her On Sight (S.O.S)," which also were widely played at British soul clubs.

But his biggest success came with his outspoken single "War," a U.S. No. 1 hit during a time of growing anti-Vietnam War protests in America.

Starr shouted out the lyrics that for so many, said it all: "War! Huh! Yeah!
What is it good for? Absolutely nothing! ...War! I despise, 'cause to me destruction of innocent lives, war means tears to thousands of mothers' eyes, when their sons gone to fight and lose their lives."

"War" enjoyed a revival in 1999, when it became the theme song for "Family Law," a drama on family court cases which ran for several years on CBS.

Other top 10 hits for Starr included "Contact" and "H.A.P.P.Y. Radio."

In 1984, he recorded a tribute album to Marvin Gaye for England's Streetwave label.

Starr, who made a brief comeback during the disco craze, later spent most of his time touring Europe on the oldies circuit. Last weekend, he performed at two shows in Stuttgart, Germany.

Seventies rock star Suzi Quatro, 52, who had known Starr since she was a teenager in Detroit, praised him Wednesday.

"He was the best," she said. "There was nobody better on stage, and he was the nicest man you could ever wish to meet."

Rainer Haas, Quatro's husband and the promoter of the Stuttgart shows, said: "He was just superb. He played to 16,000 people over the two nights and he put on a great show. The shows were actually recorded for television, so we will have an enduring memory of how brilliant he was live."

In England, Starr took part in an award-winning British Broadcasting Corp. radio series on the U.S. civil rights movement. In 1995, he was featured on a Walt Disney children's workout album entitled "Mousercise."

"His death has come as a total shock," said Paul Carvell, a friend. "His health hasn't been brilliant recently, but he kept that away from most people and continued to give it his all when he performed. There is one more star in heaven tonight."