EDWIN STARR made his name with War, the thumping chorus of which became the chant of protesters against America’s involvement in Vietnam. The success of the song eclipsed his other achievements, although his soul and disco anthems brought him modest success, especially in Britain, and kept him on a frantic touring schedule which may, in the end, have contributed to his death.

Originally penned as a Temptations number for their LP Psychedelic Shack, Starr’s lyrics for War were intended as a plea to end the inter-gang rivalries that sparked the Chicago and Los Angeles Riots of 1968. But when campus demonstrators adopted the song and demanded it be re-released as a single, Motown baulked at the idea: opposing the Truman Doctrine was not part of the Temptations’ easygoing image. So Starr performed War by himself.

Born Charles Hatcher in Nashville in 1942, Starr moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, early in life, and there, as a teenager, he led his band, the Future Tones, to a record contract with a local label. They managed one single before Starr was drafted into the US Army, where he spent three years entertaining troops across Europe. On leaving the army he moved to Detroit and played with the Bill Doggett combo, taking his new name from his manager’s hackneyed prophesy: “Kid, one day you’re gonna be a star!”

He toured continuously for two years before releasing his first single with Detroit’s Ric-Tic Records, a low-budget Motown copycat. Agent Double-O-Soul achieved moderate success and struck a particular chord in England, where underground dance clubs picked it up.

He followed up with Stop Her On Sight (SOS), and stayed on the books when Ric-Tic was swallowed by Motown. In 1969 he gave them the foot-stomping Top 10 hit 25 Miles, followed by I’m Still a Strugglin’ Man. In 1970 he reached his apogee, the simple but effective words of War carrying the song to number one in the US and keeping it in the charts for 13 weeks: “War has shattered many young men’s dreams / We’ve got no place for it today / They say we must fight to keep our freedom but Lord / There’s just got to be a better way.”

The single sold 3.5 million copies in the US by the end of the year, and has sold a further 1.5 million since. It was banned by the BBC during the 1991 Gulf War and by Clear Channel Communications, America’s largest radio network, in the wake of September 11, 2001. It was covered by Bruce Springsteen, who used it, in blatant opposition to the American attack on Iraq, to launch each concert on a recent tour of Australia. It is currently banned from American airwaves again.

Starr’s attempt to capitalise with another anti-Vietnam song, Stop the War Now took him only to No 26 in the American charts. His last major soul single, in 1974, was Funky Music Sho' Nuff Turns Me On. Larry Cohen asked Starr to perform the soundtrack to the Black Caesar sequel Hell Up in Harlem, but the album was a flop. Starr left Motown and drifted among minor labels for several years with little success.

In the late 1970s he adapted his style to match the disco sound and produced the album Clean and the dancefloor-filling Contact for 20th Century Records. In the 1980s Starr moved to England and began a constant touring schedule that was fuelled by cover versions, re-releases of his songs for films such as Small Soldiers and Rush Hour, and credited samples of his old riffs by upcoming hip-hop and rap bands.

Only last Monday, he was interviewed by Tony Blackburn for Classic Gold FM, telling him he had moved to Britain after growing weary of the American scene in the early Eighties. “I knew that I had a following here in England, and if I came over here maybe I could cultivate it,” he said, “but I never dreamt it would be as great as it has been.”

The interview took place just after Starr’s return from a concert in Stuttgart. In recent years he had been playing as many as 186 gigs a year. He said that clean living helped to maintain his energy, but friends knew that poor health was catching up with him. A timely remake of War, recorded with the Utah Saints, will now be released in his memory.

Starr, who had previously been married, is survived by his partner, Jean, and by a son and a daughter.

Edwin Starr, singer, was born on January 21, 1942. He died of a heart attack on April 2, 2003, aged 61.