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How ‘Low Rider’ Hitmakers War Went from a British Rock Star’s Backing Band to the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Latin-funk-soul band War, 'Low Rider' and 'The Cisco Kid' Hitmakers, Gets Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
His passion for artists like Mongo Santamaría, Willie Colon and the Fania All-Stars, along with American jazz, blues, soul and funk music, drew him into the orbit of likeminded musicians from the nearby towns of Long Beach, San Pedro and Harbor City. Together, they formed the band War, which – with the addition of Danish harmonica player Lee Oskar – filtered those influences through their personal experiences to create classic albums like 1971’s “All Day Music” and 1972’s “The World is a Ghetto” and pulsing, grooving, woofer-blowing hits including “Slippin’ into Darkness,” “ The Cisco Kid ” and “ Low Rider.” By the late ‘60s, they were working under the name the Nightshift, backing football star Deacon Jones, famous as a member of the L.A. Rams’ “fearsome foursome” defensive line, in a Las Vegas-style revue that also featured saxophonist Tjay Contrelli from the band Love and a trio of female backup singers known as The Mirettes, who had been Ike & Tina Turner’s original Ikettes.
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