Look up Edwin in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The name Edwin means "rich friend". It comes from the Old English elements "ead" (rich, blessed) and "wine" (friend).^[1] The original Anglo-Saxon form is Eadwine, which is also found for Anglo-Saxon figures.

Edwin may refer to:

People

Anglo-Saxon Edwins and Eadwines

• Edwin (died 632 or 633), King of Northumbria and Christian saint
• Edwin, son of Edward the Elder (died 933)
• Eadwine of Sussex (died 982), King of Sussex
• Eadwine of Abingdon (died 990), Abbot of Abingdon
• Edwin, Earl of Mercia (died 1071), brother-in-law of Harold Godwinson (Harold II)

More recent Edwins

• Edwin Starr (musician), (January 21, 1942 – April 2, 2003) was an American soul music singer. Starr is most famous for his Norman Whitfield produced singles of the 1970s, most notably the number one hit 'War'.
• Edwin (musician), Canadian musician
• Edwin Eugene Aldrin, better known as Buzz Aldrin, American astronaut
• Edwin Howard Armstrong American inventor
• Edwin Booth, Shakespearean actor
• Edwin Cassiani, Colombian boxer
• Edwin Centeno, Peruvian race walker
• Edwin L. Elwood (1847-1907), American soldier
• Edwin Haslam (born 1932), a physical organic chemist and an author of books on polyphenols
• Edwin N. Hubbell, American politician
• Edwin Hubble, American astronomer for whom the Hubble Telescope is named
• Isiah Edwin Leopold, known as Ed Wynn, 20th century American comic
• Edwin McCain, Musician
• Edwin Meese, American Attorney General
• Edwin Mosquera, Colombian weightlifter
• Edwin Orozco, Colombian road cyclist
• Edwin van der Sar, Dutch football (soccer) goalkeeper
• Edwin Vurens, Dutch football (soccer) player
• Edwin Wijeyeratne, Sri Lankan cabinet minister
• Edwin Moses, Athlete

Fictional people

• Edwin, a Doctor who turns out to be a psychopathic killer in the 2010 film Predators
• Edwin the Old, mythical Swedish king
• Edwin Jarvis, fictional Marvel Comics supporting character
• Edwin Odesseiron, fictional wizard in the game Baldur's Gate

Other uses

• Edwin, California, community in Amador County
• 1046 Edwin, asteroid discovered by George Van Biesbroeck and named after his son
• Eadwine Psalter, 12th century English illuminated manuscript, named after its scribe
• Edwin (clothing), Japanese garment brand
• Edwin (ship), 15-ton schooner wrecked near Cape Hawke, New South Wales, Australia, in late June 1816
• EDWin, electronics design for Windows
• Edwin, an Emacs-like editor built into MIT/GNU Scheme

References[link]

1. ^ Behind the Name

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This article's lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (September 2009)

Edwin McCain (born January 20, 1970 in Greenville, South Carolina) is an American singer-songwriter and musician.^[1]

Career[link]

Long time touring friends with Hootie and the Blowfish, the Edwin McCain band signed with same label, Atlantic Records. In 1994, he recorded his first major-label album, Honor Among Thieves under the Lava Records imprint (Matchbox Twenty, Kid Rock and Jewel). The record was then released in 1995. His second album, Misguided Roses, spawned "I'll Be", a major hit single in 1998. This song is also featured on the charitable album, Live in the X Lounge, along with a live version of "Solitude". It was also featured and included in the soundtrack of the 2004 teen flick, A Cinderella Story.

Summer of 1999 marked the arrival of McCain's third album, Messenger, which included a second Top 40 hit, the Diane Warren-penned "I Could Not Ask For More." Produced by Matt Serletic (Matchbox Twenty, Collective Soul) and Noel Golden, Messenger was recorded at Tree Sound Studios and Southern Tracks in Atlanta as well as Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles. "I Could Not Ask For More" was also featured on the soundtrack for the 1999 film Message in a Bottle.

Having fulfilled his four-album contract, McCain split from Lava/Atlantic at the end of 2001. In early 2003 he released a collection of acoustic versions of songs both old and new called The Austin Sessions via ATC Records, a Nashville-based independent record label (at which McCain was the first artist signed following its creation in 2001.) Sessions, recorded in roughly 20 days, punctuated McCain's major-label departure with an intentionally stripped-down sound, and offered some fan favorites from his early days of touring, including Dire Straits' "Romeo and Juliet". The album, coupled with McCain's first DVD, Mile Marker: Songs and Stories from the Acoustic Highway (2002) - which consisted of interviews, live performances and other material - served as a thank-you to long-time followers. In a May 2003 interview with Billboard, McCain noted, "The whole package is sort of saying, 'I'm back doing what I started doing.'" Around the same time, the ever-busy musician also hosted "Inside Music With Edwin McCain", a syndicated show on the Sirius radio network.

Mid-2004 saw the arrival of his first studio album in three years, entitled Scream & Whisper, which was released on another indie label, DRT Entertainment. Later that same year, McCain made time in his tour schedule to run the 35th Annual New York City Marathon. In an interview in the August 2004 issue of Runner's World, McCain said of training on the road: "You just pick your spots. One of the things that comes in handy depends on how far away the hotel is from the venue...For example, the other day the hotel was five miles away from the club where I was performing, so once we got to the club and got sound checked I threw on my running clothes then ran back to the hotel. Little things like that help." In late 2004 McCain released his second DVD, Tinsel and Tap Shoes. It was his first live concert DVD, recorded at The House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Co-written & performed with singer/songwriter Maia Sharp, McCain released a single, "Hold Out a Hand." This song, available for a 99 cent download on iTunes, gives all profits to the relief of the hurricane victims of 2005.

McCain's next album, Lost in America, was released on April 11, 2006 on Vanguard Records. Said to be a true "rock 'n roll" collection, Lost in America contained three singles: "Truly Believe", "The Kiss" and live-favorite "Gramercy Park Hotel", which pays homage to the New York City landmark and its colorful patrons (including baseball legend Babe Ruth.)

Edwin's subsequent recording, a collection of R&B cover songs entitled "Nobody's Fault But Mine", was released through Saguaro Road Records on June 24, 2008 and included a version of Soul Brothers Six song "Some Kind of Wonderful."

On 17 May 2009, Edwin performed on board USS John C. Stennis, while the carrier was on a Western Pacific deployment in the vicinity of Guam.

The following year saw the release of The Best of Edwin McCain, a twenty-year career retrospective that included a cross-section of material as well as a new single, "Walk With You" (produced by Don Was.)

Edwin's tenth album, Mercy Bound, was released August 30, 2011 on 429 records. Reuniting McCain with collaborator Maia Sharp (who also produced), Mercy Bound features additional artistic input from Angie Aparo, Mark Addison and Anders Osborne, as well as guitar work from Warren Haynes.

Band members[link]

Lineup of Edwin McCain Band as of 07 July 2007

While his albums are released under his name, he does have a permanent band, referred to as the Edwin McCain Band. Members of the band include Larry Chaney (lead guitar), Pete Riley (rhythm guitar and vocals), Craig Shields (keyboards, saxophone and other wind instruments), Jason Pomar (bass guitar and vocals) and Tez Sherrard (drums and percussion).

• Edwin 6157.jpg

  Edwin McCain

• Larry-Chaney 6066.jpg

  Larry Chaney

• EMB-2-15-08-OP-286.jpg

  Craig Shields

• Jason-Pomar 2439.jpg

  Jason Pomar

• Big-Tez-01.jpg

  Tez Sherard

• Pete riley 9456.jpg

  Pete Riley

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Edwin McCain on Myspace
• Edwin McCain at the Internet Movie Database
• EdwinFans.com (Fan site dedicated to the artist; includes photos, biography, and forum.)
• EMBHolyCity.com (Fan site which includes tabs for Edwin McCain's music, tour dates and more)
• EdwinMcCainMusic.com (Edwin McCain Band fan site with forum, slideshows, tour dates & contests)

Other

• Edwin McCain at Allmusic

Edwin Valero
Statistics
Real name	Edwin Valero
Nickname(s)	El Inca El Dinamita El Terminator The Liquidator[1]
Rated at	Lightweight Super Featherweight
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Nationality	Venezuelan
Born	(1981-12-03)December 3, 1981 Bolero Alto, Mérida, Venezuela
Died	April 19, 2010 (aged 28) Valencia, Carabobo
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	27
Wins	27
Wins by KO	27
Losses	0
Draws	0
No contests	0

Edwin Valero (December 3, 1981 – April 19, 2010) was a Venezuelan professional boxer. He was born in Bolero Alto, and raised in El Vigía (both locations in Mérida, Venezuela).

Valero was an undefeated southpaw boxer and former two weight world champion who fought up to light welterweight. His professional boxing record was 27-0 (27 KOs, 19 of which occurred in the first round). Valero was a former WBA Super Featherweight champion and former WBC Lightweight champion who was known by boxing fans for his aggressive style and punching power. He is the only champion in the 30 years of the WBC to win every fight in his career by knockout.

Boxing career[link]

Valero started boxing at the age of 12, arguably compiling an amateur record of 86-6 with 57 knockouts. He was a Venezuelan amateur champion three years running, as well as Central and South American Champion (beating Francisco "Panchito" Bojado). It was during this time Valero started experimenting with drugs (mainly cocaine), drinking alcohol, starting fights with teenagers and even some adults. Valero grew to have a reputation in his home town as a fearless street thug.

On February 25, 2006, Valero set a new world record by winning his first 18 fights as a professional by first-round knockout. That record has since been broken by Tyrone Brunson, but most boxing experts and fans do not acknowledge Brunson's claim because of the extremely poor level of opposition he faced while making his way to the record. (In contrast to Valero's opponents, just one of Brunson’s 19 opponents had a winning record, and 6 had failed to win a single fight in their careers.)^[2] The previous record for consecutive first-round knockouts was 15 by Young Otto (record), who accomplished the feat in 1905. In Valero's nineteenth fight (March 25, 2006), Genaro Trazancos ended the first-round knockout streak by surviving until the second round.

Because of his punching power and perfect knockout ratio, he became the darling of boxing fans.^[who?] His biggest backers in the sport included Doug Fischer of RingTV.com (who, on the former boxing website he used to write for, Maxboxing.com, regularly covered Valero in his articles for the website which also aired videos of his workouts and sparring sessions) and Boxing Inside with Peter Palmiere. The Los Angeles local cable show also aired Valero's workouts, sparring sessions and interviews conducted by journalist Palmiere.

In his first attempt at a world title, Valero met WBA Super Featherweight champion, Vicente "El Loco" Mosquera, on August 5, 2006, in what would arguably prove to be both boxers' toughest contest. Valero started out the match in signature fashion, knocking down the champion twice in the first round, but Mosquera recovered and in the third round and delivered his own knockdown (Valero's first and only.)^[3] At this point in his 19-0 career, Valero's longest fight had only been two rounds,^[4] and the question remained whether the untested Valero had the stamina to go the distance. The answer came after ten grueling rounds when the ever-tenacious Mosquera finally started to wane under the challenger's continuous heavy-handed counters. Deciding Mosquera had received enough punishment, the referee called a halt to the match at 2:00 of the 10th round, making the 24-year-old Valero champion. Valero would go on to successfully defend the title four times before moving up in weight class, with his final defense a 7th-round TKO victory over Takehiro Shimada in Tokyo on June 12, 2008.

On September 3, 2008, Valero vacated his WBA title to fight in the lightweight division.^[5]

On April 4, 2009, Valero fought Antonio Pitalua for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) Lightweight title at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. The bout marked the first time Valero had fought in the United States since 2003. Pitalua came in to the fight with 14 consecutive knockouts on his 46-3 record, and with Valero's 24 consecutive knockouts (24-0), the stage was set for a decisive match between two heavy hitters. After an uneventful first round, Valero knocked Pitalua down just seconds in to the second round with a right hook. Pitalua managed to get up, but suffered two more knockdowns before the referee stopped the fight at 0:49 of round 2.^[6][7]

Valero's next fight came on his home turf of Venezuela (in La Guaira), where he successfully defended his new WBC Lightweight title by a TKO victory over Hector Velasquez in the 7th round. Valero's second and final defense of the belt came against Antonio DeMarco in Mexico on February 6, 2010. In the second round, Valero suffered a serious cut over his right eye after DeMarco landed an unintentional elbow.^[8] But Valero was able to continue the fight and went on to win by RTD when DeMarco failed to answer the bell for the 10th round. This would be Valero's last match.

In March 2010, Valero vacated his WBC Lightweight title in order to compete in the light welterweight division.^[9]

Valero's professional record at the time of his death was 27-0, making him one of the few world champions to finish his career undefeated (along with Rocky Marciano, Ji Won Kim, Terry Marsh, Michael Loewe, Ricardo Lopez, Pichit Sitbangprachan, Harry Simon, Sven Ottke, and Joe Calzaghe.)

Career roadblocks[link]

On February 5, 2001, Valero was involved in a severe motorcycle accident in which he wasn't wearing a helmet. He fractured his skull and had surgery to remove a blood clot. This injury was sustained prior to him launching his pro career, and it created roadblocks to major bodies sanctioning his fights. Valero claimed that his Venezuelan doctor cleared him to fight on January 17, 2002, and he turned pro that July with a first-round KO.

Valero appeared to hit the jackpot when he was signed after his 12th pro fight by Golden Boy Promotions. Valero was scheduled to appear on HBO's Boxing After Dark, but in January 2004, he failed an MRI due to brain scan irregularities in New York and thus was not allowed to fight in the United States. As a result, the fight did not take place. He continued to fight outside the US and on March 25, 2008, Valero was cleared to box in the state of Texas.^[10]

Allegations of assault[link]

It was reported on September 27, 2009, that Edwin Valero had been arrested on assault charges. A man alleged that the boxer attacked his mother and sister over a feud.^[11] Valero denied the allegations and considered them an attempt to harm his reputation. His mother came forward to tell the media that no foul play was involved.

On March 25, 2010, Valero was again accused of assault, this time by his wife, who was sent to hospital for bruises and a damaged lung.^[12] Valero denied any wrong-doing, stating his wife stumbled from a stairway but investigators doubted him.^[13] His wife later told authorities that her injuries were caused by an accident on some stairs, despite the fact that she had been treated for similar injuries twice before at the hospital.^[14] Because of the vicious personality he showed at the hospital where his wife was treated, Valero was sent for six months of psychiatric rehabilitation.^[15]

Murder charges and suicide[link]

On April 18, 2010, Valero was arrested after police found the body of his 24-year-old wife, Jennifer, in a hotel in the city of Valencia, Carabobo.^[16][17] Valero was considered a suspect and was taken to jail.^[18] Valero allegedly admitted to hotel security and police that he had murdered his wife.^[19] The following day he was found hanging in his prison cell, dead, at 1:30 AM.^[20]

Professional boxing record[link]

27 Wins (27 Knockouts), 0 Losses, 0 Draws[21]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Win	27-0	Antonio DeMarco	RTD	9 (12), 3:00	2010-02-06	Monterrey Arena, Monterrey, Nuevo León	Defended WBC Lightweight title.
Win	26-0	Héctor Velázquez	RTD	7 (12), 00:10	2009-12-19	Polideportivo José María Vargas, La Guaira	Defended WBC Lightweight title.
Win	25-0	Antonio Pitalúa	TKO	2 (12), 00:39	2009-04-04	Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas	Won vacant WBC Lightweight title.
Win	24-0	Takehiro Shimada	TKO	7 (12), 1:55	2008-06-12	Nippon Budokan, Tokyo	Defended WBA World Super Featherweight title.
Win	23-0	Zaid Zavaleta	TKO	3 (12), 1:18	2007-12-15	Plaza de Toros, Cancún, Quintana Roo	Defended WBA World Super Featherweight title.
Win	22-0	Nobuhito Honmo	TKO	8 (12), 1:54	2007-05-03	Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo	Defended WBA World Super Featherweight title.
Win	21-0	Michael Lozada	TKO	1 (12), 1:12	2007-01-03	Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo	Defended WBA World Super Featherweight title.
Win	20-0	Vicente Mosquera	TKO	10 (12), 2:00	2006-08-05	Figali Convention Center, Fort Amador, Panama City	Won WBA Super Featherweight title.
Win	19-0	Genaro Trazancos	TKO	2 (6), 1:48	2006-03-25	World Memorial Hall, Kobe, Hyōgo
Win	18-0	Whyber Garcia	TKO	1 (12), 2:57	2006-02-25	Centro Recreacional Yesterday, Turmero	WBA Super Featherweight title eliminator.
Win	17-0	Aram Ramazyan	KO	1 (8), 0:20	2005-12-05	Palais Omnisports, Paris
Win	16-0	Hero Bando	TKO	1 (6), 1:56	2005-09-25	Yokohama Arena, Kanagawa
Win	15-0	Jose Hernandez	KO	1 (10), 0:41	2005-08-13	Circulo Militar, Maracay
Win	14-0	Esteban de Jesus Morales	KO	1 (10), 1:15	2005-07-01	Gimnasio Roberto Duran, Panama City
Win	13-0	Hernan Abraham Valenzuela	TKO	1 (10), 2:10	2005-05-21	Caseros, Buenos Aires
Win	12-0	Tomas Zambrano	TKO	1 (10), 1:45	2003-12-18	Marriott Hotel, Irvine, California
Win	11-0	Alejandro Heredia	KO	1 (10), ?	2003-10-27	Gimnasio Don Jose Beracasa, Caracas
Win	10-0	Roque Cassiani	TKO	1 (8), 2:21	2003-08-28	Marriott Hotel, Irvine, California
Win	9-0	Emmanuel Ford	TKO	1 (6), ?	2003-07-19	Activities Center, Maywood, California
Win	8-0	Dairo Julio	TKO	1 (8), ?	2003-05-23	Hotel Tamanaco Intercontinental, Caracas
Win	7-0	Edgar Mendoza	TKO	1 (8), ?	2003-05-17	Centro Recreacional Yesterday, Turmero
Win	6-0	Danny Sandoval	KO	1 (8), ?	2003-03-22	Centro Recreacional Yesterday, Turmero
Win	5-0	Julio Pineda	KO	1 (6), ?	2002-11-30	Caracas
Win	4-0	Luis Soto	TKO	1 (6), ?	2002-11-30	Caracas
Win	3-0	Angel Alirio Rivero	TKO	1 (4), ?	2002-10-26	Centro Recreacional Yesterday, Turmero
Win	2-0	Danny Sandoval	TKO	1 (4), ?	2002-09-23	Caracas
Win	1-0	Eduardo Hernandez	TKO	1 (4), 2:02	2002-07-09	Parque Naciones Unidas, Caracas	Valero's professional debut.

Professional championships[link]

See also[link]

• List of current world boxing champions
• List of Venezuelans
• List of WBA world champions
• List of left-handed boxers

References[link]

External links[link]

• Edwin Valero - Daily Telegraph obituary
• Article "Edwin Valero was Murdered"
• Edwin Valero Open Workout Photo Gallery

Edwin Starr (January 21, 1942 – April 2, 2003) was an American soul music singer. Starr is most famous for his Norman Whitfield produced singles of the 1970s, most notably the number one hit "War".

Biography[link]

Starr was born Charles Edwin Hatcher in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1942. He and his cousins, soul singers Roger and Willie Hatcher, moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where they were raised.

In 1957, Starr formed a doo-wop group, The Future Tones, and began his singing career. Starr lived in Detroit, Michigan, in the 1960s and recorded at first for the small record label Ric-Tic, and later for Motown Records after the latter absorbed Ric-Tic in 1968.

The song which began his career was "Agent Double'O'Soul" (1965), a reference to the James Bond films popular at the time. Other early hits included "Headline News", "Back Street", a cover of The Miracles "Way Over There", and "S.O.S. (Stop Her On Sight)". He recorded more soul music for the next three years before having an international hit in "25 Miles" (1968), which peaked at #6 in the United States the following year.

The biggest hit of his career, which cemented his reputation, was the Vietnam War protest song "War" (1970). Starr's intense vocals transformed a Temptations album track into a #1 chart success, which spent three weeks in the top position on the US Billboard charts, an anthem for the antiwar movement and a cultural milestone that continues to resound in movie soundtracks and hip hop music samples. It sold over three million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.^[1] "War" appeared on both Starr's War and Peace album and its follow-up, Involved. Involved also featured another song of similar construction titled "Stop the War Now", which was a minor hit in its own right.

Moving to England in 1973, Starr continued to record, most notably the song "Hell Up in Harlem" for the 1974 film Hell Up in Harlem, which was the sequel to Black Caesar, an earlier hit with a soundtrack by James Brown. In 1979, Starr reappeared on the charts with a pair of disco hits, "(Eye-To-Eye) Contact" and "H.A.P.P.Y. Radio". "Contact" was the more successful of the two, peaking at #65 on the US pop charts, #13 on the R&B chart, #1 on the dance chart, and #6 on the UK Singles Chart. By now he had joined the well-established disco boom, and had further singles on 20th Century Records. Over the years he released tracks on many labels, including Avatar, Calibre, 10 Records, Motown (a return to his former label for a 1989 remix of "25 Miles"), Streetwave and Hippodrome.

In 1985, Starr released "It Ain't Fair". Despite garnering the attention of many in the soul and dance clubs, it fell short of becoming a hit. Starr appeared on the charity number one single "Let It Be" by Ferry Aid in 1987. Later that year, Starr teamed up with the Stock, Aitken and Waterman production company for the club hit "Whatever Makes Our Love Grow". In 1989, a number 17 UK hit by the Cookie Crew called "Got to Keep On" sampled a portion of "25 Miles".^[2] This track was then featured on a 1990 dance medley made for the BRIT Awards, which made number 2 in the UK Singles Chart.^[3] A club mix of various artists, it included the previous years remix of "25 Miles".

In 1989, Starr also joined Ian Levine's Motorcity Records, releasing six singles and the album Where Is the Sound, as well as co-writing several songs for other artists on the label. Starr resurfaced briefly in 2000 to team up with the UK band Utah Saints to record a new version of "Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On". He appeared again in 2002 to record a song with the British musician Jools Holland, singing "Snowflake Boogie" on Holland's compact disc More Friends; and to record another track with Utah Saints, a so-far-unreleased version of his number one hit "War" — his last-ever recording.

Starr remained a hero on England's Northern Soul circuit and continued living in England for the remainder of his life.^[4]

On April 2, 2003, at the age of 61, Starr suffered a heart attack^[5] and died while taking a bath at his home in Bramcote near Nottingham.^[4] He left a wife, Annette Mary Hatcher, a son André Hatcher, and two grandchildren Alonté Renfroe and Maryah Hatcher.

His brother Angelo Starr is now fronting the Team, the band Edwin Starr had been touring with for over 20 years. His previous band, Total Concept Unlimited, became the band Rose Royce after adding a female singer.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Soul Master (1965)
• 25 Miles (1969) (#73 US) (#9 R&B)
• War and Peace (1970) (#52 US)(#9 R&B)
• Involved (1971) (# 178 US)(# 45 R&B)
• Hell Up in Harlem (1974)
• Free to Be Myself (1975) (#43 R&B) (#210 US)
• Clean (1979) (#80 US) (#22 R&B)
• Happy Radio (1979) (#115 US) (#44 R&B)
• Stronger Than You Think I Am (1979) (#203 US)
• For Sale (1983)^[6]

^[7]

Singles[link]

• "Agent Double-O-Soul" (1965) (#8 R&B) (#21 Pop)
• "Back Street" (1966) (#33 R&B) (#95 Pop)
• "Headline News" (1966) (#84 U.S.) (#39 UK)
• "I'll Love You Forever" (1966) with The Holidays (#7 R&B) (#63 Pop)
• "Lonely Summer" (1966) (written by Starr and performed by The Shades Of Blue)
• "S.O.S. (Stop Her On Sight)" (1966) (#9 R&B) (#48 Pop) (#11 UK)
• "I Want My Baby Back"
• "I Am The Man For You Baby" (1968)
• "Grits Ain't Grocery" (1968)
• "25 Miles" (1969) (#6 R&B and Pop) (#36 UK)
• "Oh How Happy" (1969) (#92 U.S.) with Blinky Williams
• "I'm Still a Struggling Man" (1969) (#27 R&B) (#80 Pop)
• "Way Over There" (1969)
• "Time" (1970) (#39 R&B) (#117 Pop)
• "War" (1970) (#3 R&B) (#1 Pop) (#3 UK)
• "Stop the War Now" (1970) (#5 R&B) (#26 Pop) (#33 UK)
• "Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On" (1971) (#6 R&B) (#64 Pop)
• "My Sweet Lord" (1971)
• "There You Go" (1973) (#12 R&B) (#80 Pop)
• "Big Papa" (1974)
• "Easin' In" (1974)
• "Hell Up in Harlem" (1974)
• "I Just Wanna Do My Thing" (1978)
• "Contact" (1979) (#65 U.S.) (#6 UK)
• "H.A.P.P.Y. Radio" (1979) (#79 U.S.) (#9 UK)
• "Tell-A-Starr" (1979)
• "It's Called The Rock" (1979)
• "Twenty-Five Miles (Remix)" (1980)
• "Get Up-Whirlpool" (1980)
• "Stronger (Than You Think I Am)" (1980)
• "Smooth" (1983)
• "I Wanna Take You Home" (1983)
• "Marvin" (1984)
• "It Ain't Fair" (1985) (#56 UK)
• "Missiles" (1985)
• "Grapevine" (1985)
• "Soul Singer" (1986)
• "Whatever Makes Our Love Grow" (1987)
• "Got To Keep On" (1989) (#17) with the Cookie Crew
• "25 Miles" (Remix) (1989)
• "Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On" (2000) (#23 UK) with Utah Saints
• "Snowflake Boogie" (2002) with Jools Holland
• "War" (2002) with Utah Saints
• "25 Miles 2001" (2001) (UK #36) with The Three Amigos

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official site
• Edwin Starr at the Internet Movie Database
• Edwin Starr interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' 10/92
• Edwin Starr at Allmusic
• Film of Edwin Starr career made in UK 1995 / Windrush Productions
• "Edwin Starr". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7322959. Retrieved September 3, 2010. 

Edwin L. Birdsong (born August 22, 1951)^[1] is a keyboard/organ player who was known in the '70s and '80s for his experimental funk/disco music. He never achieved chart success, but developed a strong fan base, and has also been sampled by other artists many times, most famously by Daft Punk who sampled "Cola Bottle Baby" in "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger", and Gang Starr who sampled his single "Rapper Dapper Snapper" for their song "Skillz".

Biography[link]

Birdsong was the son of a minister and grew up in a strict fundamentalist environment. [1] He joined the Los Angeles Community Choir for a period before serving in the Vietnam War. He then went on to play in clubs in Germany, and then moved to New York to pursue his music career. There he headed a jazz and blues trio but with little success. While he was in New York he also attended the Manhattan School of Music and Juilliard as a composition major.

In 1971 he signed a record deal with Polydor. Under Polydor, he issued his first 2 full length albums, What It Is and Supernatural. Birdsong then issued one album for Bamboo, Dance of Survival, in 1975, then recorded Edwin Birdsong for Philadelphia International in 1979, which included the single "Phiss-Phizz." Edwin had also worked extensively with Roy Ayers; he co-produced 3 of his albums and wrote "Running Away" and "Freaky Deaky" with him.

Birdsong slowly stopped making his own music, but carried on playing session work for many well known artists, including Stevie Wonder.

Served as a mentor early in the career of Hip-Hop Artist/Producer Funkghost.

Discography[link]

• What It Is (1972, Polydor)
• Supernatural (1973, Polydor)
• Dance of Survival (1975, Bamboo)
• Edwin Birdsong (1979, Philadelphia International)
• Funtaztik (1981, Uni Records, Salsoul)

References[link]

1. ^ U.S. Public Records Index, Vols 1 & 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010.