War ~ Low Rider 1975 Funky Purrfection Version

As part of 60's group The Animals, Eric Burdon sang lead on the #1 hit "The House Of The Rising Sun" and thirteen other Top 40 tunes. In 1970, he left the Animals and recorded "Spill The Wine" with War, a Latin band from Long Beach, CA who backed him until 1971. Producer Jerry Goldstein had seen the band at a gig in Hollywood and became enamored of their distinctive sound.

The original members were Howard Scott, Lee Oskar, Lonnie Jordon, Charles Miller, Thomas Allen, Morris Dickerson and Harold Brown and all shared lead vocals. After the success of "Spill The Wine", Eric left and the band soldiered on to spread their message of brotherhood and harmony and spoke out against social inequalities and gangs.

"Slippin' Into Darkness" was issued in 1973 and became a #16 hit and then "The World Is A Ghetto" peaked at #7 in early 1973. "The Cisco Kid" single peaked at #2 for two weeks, becoming their most popular single ever. "Why Can't We Be Friends" LP was issued in 1975 and held two top 10 singles, the title track and second single "Low Rider" both peaked at #7, but then "Low Rider" did one better by taking the #1 spot on the R&B chart for one week.

Howard explained that the song came about from the low rider culture, "We went to school with all the low riders and it seemed like a natural thing to write a song about the low riders". During the 50's and 60's, young Chicanos created a car style that expressed the pride and playfulness of the Mexican American culture by installing hydraulics that lowered the car's body closer to the ground and also allowed the car to bounce up and down. The style reached its peak in the mid 70's and became a symbol of Mexican/American pride, the cars decorated with rims with spinners, superior paint jobs, custom interiors with specialized steering wheels made of chain and extensive paint details.

At the jam session Charles Miller began singing about low riders after the band found a groove and played it until they felt it was solid, then edited it. The band finished the song adding the horn line and creating an enduring classic 70's tune that has transcended the years.

[marcjacobs]

Cool cool cool! Hot hot hot! The world is a ghetto, but there are some bright spaces in it, like this cat's YT-channel ;-)

[jamestate]

I'm 68yrs. old. This song brings back good memories. Going to grab my pipe and put the good stuff ing it. Smiling,

[raymondtunez]

Best driving song ever, I'm 64 years old and I crank it up and lower the windows and my wife says grow up" she doesn't feel the Timbales and congas and bass.

[griffitz]

my mom gave me and my brother a dollar each and said we could go to the record store (remember those?) and buy whatever song we wanted. 45s cost 99 cents back then. my brother bought love rollercoaster and i bought this!!! i still have it 45 years later!!!

[jackferriday]

I taught high school art for 37 years - whenever this song came on the radio or the internet, the kids would sing along - no matter what year it was - 1985 - 1995 - 2005 - 2015. GREAT SONG!!!

[paulbanales]

Im 563 years Old 🗝️🧩🌱, Thv Music 🎵🎶🎶 from The 1970s is thv Golden Age Of Modern pop Music 🎵🎶

[jerrybaber]

RIP B.B. Dickerson. Still one of the funkiest bass lines ever laid down!

[TTownTim]

another reason i am so glad i was a 70's teen!!..🎶🎵🎼🎧🎷🎺🎸🎙

[johnhallam]

The Low Rider is a real goer, 50 years and counting, epic

[jerrymitchell]

This song reminds me of my best friend who had a low voice that sounded like the lead singer of this song. I think of him often he passed away at 28 from cancer. I played this at my wedding in his honor.

[daleleisenring]

White guy 63 grew up in East LA in the 60s. All my friends knew the lowrider!
This song would be heard EVERY time I stepped outside. "Take a little trip, take a little trip, take a little trip with me" So I did. 45 minutes laters and we went around the same block 3 times! And yeah, the car had the little bobble head dog facing out the rear window! It even had a little fabric headband!

[pulusiafiliaga]

WOW, this was the groove back in the 70's awesome 👍😍🎼 ALOHA from Hawaii 🌺 mahalo nui Braddahh 🤙😎🤣🇺🇸 loving it!! on the beach hanging out! Awesome 👍😊🎼🎶🎼 ALOHA from Hawaii 🌺😎 Braddahh.

[stevehensley]

Most people don’t know that the rhythm is played with a harmonica. The guy who’s playing it is named Lee Oscar. Hohner Harmonicas made a
signature series with a plastic body making them the easiest and least painful to play for long periods.

[jeffvirosztko]

When first saw "Up in Smoke" the moment Ceech comes out the house and the track came while he gets in the car, the perfect song and the perfect moment. I live in the South Side of Tucson in the late 70s, the low riders were everywhere...

[geronimodeloscielos]

War Takes Me Back to a Simpler Time... So Many Excellent Memories!!!

[garyreid]

Low Rider, Cisco Kid and We Can’t We Be Friends? were part of my boyhood memories. WAR was and still is one of the greatest bands. Period. They were a band that was all about the music. Ego was not included.

[jasonjohnston]

Just found this version didn’t think it could get better 👍👍👍👍

[hbtowks]

Got my black 1995 Lac. The wood is jammin this tune. The spliff is being hotboxed. The streets are in The Rock. Little Rock AR march 2024.

[riccom]

Ahhh this song is so awesome, that even almost 50 years later, it has that feel good value as you drive, and makes you smile, top song of all time from L.A.

[franklindermody]

One of THE best bass lines EVER! EVER!