Legendary Funk Band WAR Celebrates 50 Years With Show In Venice

VENICE, CA — Funk and soul legends WAR will celebrate 50 years of music in Southern California with a free anniversary show and lowrider event in Venice Saturday.

The band behind the hits "Low Rider," "Why Can't We Be Friends," "Slippin' Into Darkness," and "The Cisco Kid," will hit the stage at noon Saturday at Windward Plaza, 1 Winward Avenue.

“Our music came from the street and the challenges that everyday people struggle with," founding member Lonnie Jordan said. “We expressed the pleasures and pains of those experiences which we are still confronting all these years later.”

Rhino Entertainment will present the event, which is produced by Munson Industries. The showcase features a performance from WAR, a low rider car show featuring the ENVYUZ Minis and Dogtown Devils car clubs, and a special WAR-inspired mural by the STP crew will be completed live.

Local event merchandise and food vendors will also be there, including food by The Waterfront and The Erwin Hotel's Venice Way Pizza. Twenty percent of the day's sales will benefit Venice Family Clinic, a leader in providing comprehensive, high-quality health care to people in need on the Westside.

WAR was a street band formed in 1969 in Long Beach and brought together by record producer Jerry Goldstein and rock legend Eric Burdon, former lead singer of The Animals. Goldstein is behind the hits “My Boyfriend’s Back,” “Hang On Sloopy,” and “I Want Candy.”

The group arrived on the music scene at the height of the Vietnam War.

“Our mission was to spread a message of brotherhood and harmony,” according to the band's website.

Original band members included Lonnie Jordan/singer/keyboardist, Howard Scott/guitars/ vocal, Lee Oskar/harmonica, B.B. Dickerson/bass vocals, Harold Brown/drums/ vocals, the late Thomas “Papa Dee” Allen/congas/timbales, and Charles Miller /saxophonist/flutist.

“Our instruments and voices became our weapons of choice and the songs our ammunition," the band said. "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.”

It all started in the valley.

"I first saw some of the guys who would eventually become WAR playing at a topless beer bar in the San Fernando Valley, backing Deacon Jones, the pro football player, and knew immediately how potent these kids were,” Goldstein said.

“I was friends with Eric and he was ready to throw in the towel on the music scene and return to Newcastle," Goldstein said. "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. Eric was so blown away by what he had heard that he jumped on stage to jam with them. The guys weren’t familiar with Eric or The Animals. I had them in the studio within a week, and the rest is history!”

Burdon and WAR went on tour together across the U.S. and Europe until Burdon left the lineup. The band jammed with Jimi Hendrix at Ronnie Scott’s Club in London the night he died.

The award-winning band will celebrate 50 years of topping the charts and releasing memorable tunes.

As part of the anniversary festivities, WAR has debuted two new 4K high-definition versions of their classic music videos on their YouTube channel for “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” and “Low Rider.” The restored innovative videos which pre-date the MTV era capture the band’s roots and spirit. “Low Rider” features Southern California’s unique and cherished car culture while “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” displays WAR’s good-humored commentary on serious social issues.

RSVP for the anniversary event t0 check out the band and classic cars.

Watch the original music video for WAR's "Low Rider" and check out the other new remastered videos on YouTube:

SEE MORE:

• Watch: Tom Hanks Crashes Couple's Santa Monica Beach Wedding
• Armed Robbery Suspect Held Store Employee At Knifepoint: Police
• 17-Year-Old Girl Suspected In Stabbing In Santa Monica