War (Bob Marley song) producer Bob Marley
Songwriting controversy
"War" is credited to Allen "Skill" Cole (idea) and Carlton Barrett (music); the music was an extension of the one-drop drumming style, which Carlton Barrett had developed and refined, if not invented. The lyrics are a near-exact repetition of a 1963 speech in the UN by the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie. However, the two simple guitar chords and the semi-improvised, spirited melody put to Selassie's words is unmistakably Marley's.
According to Stephen Davis' biography "Bob Marley," it also appears that Marley had credited several of his multi-million selling 1974-1976 songs to close friends and relatives because he was under an unfavorable publishing contract, signed in April 1968 with Cayman Publishing, that would have otherwise deprived him of much of his songwriting royalties. Crediting close friends, such as football player Allan "Skill" Cole or  Wailers drummer Carlton "Carly" Barrett therefore enabled Bob Marley to circumvent the law until new, more favorable agreements were made. This practice, along with the practice of rewarding friends who contributed to compositions by crediting them — even if they only contributed with ideas — and Marley's sudden death without leaving a will all combined to create confusion about the copyright status of several songs, including "War".
Barrett's brother, Wailer musician Aston "Family Man" Barrett (who created the bass line, key to the song's efficiency) has since brought lawsuits against the Marley estate (in practice, the widow Rita Marley) for unpaid royalties and credit for songs such as "War" that were claimed to have been either written by others and not by Bob Marley, or in collaboration with Marley. One such suit reached a settlement in 1994 in which Barrett was paid $500,000. Barrett later continued to pursue legal action, seeking £60 million ($113.6 million at the time) in a suit against the Island-Universal record label and the Marley family, but the case was dismissed on the grounds that the earlier settlement proscribed any further claim on the estateThe song
The original version of "War" was recorded at Harry J's studio in Kingston, Jamaica, by engineer Sylvan Morris. It includes Aston "Family Man" Barrett on Fender Jazz bass, his brother Carlton 'Carly' Barrett on drums, Earl "Chinna" Smith on guitar, Alvin "Seeco" Patterson on percussion and Tyrone Downie on keyboards. Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt and Rita Marley sing harmony vocals as the I Three. It was produced by Bob Marley & The Wailers and mixed at Miami's Criteria studio by Aston "Family Man" Barrett and Chris Blackwell with engineer Alex Sadkin.
With such potent and meaningful lyrics, the song soon became one of Bob Marley's greatest classics, carrying the Rastafari message to the world in Haile Selassie I's own words. As from 1977, when Bob Marley & The Wailers embarked for their first major world tour in June, "War" was sung at most concerts until Marley's last show on September 23, 1980 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Two live recordings of the song have since been released officially by Tuff Gong/Island Records. The first one was issued on the 1978 Babylon by Bus album recorded live at the Pavillon de Paris in Paris, France, on June 26, 1978. The second was recorded at the Rainbow Theatre in London, England, on June 4, 1977, and was issued on the 2001 Deluxe Edition of the Exodus album. Predating these two is another version, recorded on May 26, 1976 and released in 2003 on Live at the Roxy.
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