  war (originally called eric burdon and war) is an american funk band from california, known for the hit songs "low rider", "spill the wine", "summer", "why can't we be friends?", "the cisco kid", and "the world is a ghetto". formed in 1969, war was a musical crossover band which fused elements of rock, funk, jazz, latin, rhythm and blues, and reggae.[ allmusic biography page] the band also transcended racial and cultural barriers with a multi-ethnic line-up. war was also subject to many line-up changes over the course of its formation, leaving member leroy "lonnie" jordan as the only original member in the current line-up. although war's lyrics are often socio-political in nature, their music usually had a laid-back, california funk vibe. a particular feature of war's sound is the use of harmonica and saxophone playing melody lines in unison, sounding like a single instrument, for example in the melody of "low rider". the music has been sampled and recorded by many singers and groups, ranging from r&b/pop singers such as janet jackson to nu metal band korn and hip hop groups like tlc and a$ap mob. ==1960s: beginnings== in 1962, 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, morris "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 
1969_establishments_in_the_United_States African-American_musical_groups American_funk_musical_groups American_rock_music_groups Chicano_rock_musicians MCA_Records_artists Musical_groups_established_in_1969 Musical_groups_from_Los_Angeles,_California