Lee Oskar is a Danish harmonica player notable for his rock-fusion playing with War. His Mother was a Holocaust Survivor. WAR band members accepted him with open arms and didn't care if he was a White Guy from a Nordic Country. War just wanted to play great music - and they damn sure did. Thanks, Guys, for playing WAR and for the fantastic commentary. I appreciate it.
I just found out that the harmonica player, Lee Oskar, lives 25 miles from me in Everett, Washington and he's still playing with the band. He's Danish and came to New York when he was 18 years old with no money. He was playing on the street for change.
@@324cmac Yes, sadly that is true. Not many original members are left. I think Lowrider Band has 3 original members left. They play really good shows, I highly encourage you to check out their live shows.
Also born in 1954, but lived in a tiny town in Michigan, and didn't discover this music until my 20's. Been trying to catch up with everything I missed every since.
I know this band personally. My wife me them about 10 yrs ago in a bar at a local casino they played in. Now whenever they play locally we get free passes and backstage passes to hang out with them. They are awesome. Lonnie Jordan is the original member and was there in 1961. That was the year I was born! Have met them many times!
Every band wanted to play the Midnight Special, but you had to play live, so the bands practiced. Everything exposed. No place to hide your flaws. I loved this show. War was a brilliant band.
War could always get straight to the point and bring the soul when they did... The 70's were full of bands who attempted to get this sound and this connection in their songs with no where near this ability. War was just fantastic...
Just a great band! Low Rider, Why Can't We Be Friends?, Slippin' Into Darkness, The World is a Ghetto, and The Cisco Kid are all classics! Thanks for the reaction.
The members of WAR seemed to have a humble, dare I say a kind of inferiority complex about their success that was mind blowing. They often said they were a collection of friends just trying to figure out how to play with each other, finding things they all could play. I still don’t believe they know how bad ass their catalog still is, to so many of us. 🤘😎
@@ronaldelliott4373 Maybe the fact that they didn't easily fall into a musical category made the callous music business give them an inferiority complex. I'm glad they never changed in order to be more famous. They are superior to most even to this day.
My husband and I used to put War’s greatest hits on the turntable every time we moved into a new house. I love this song and this live version is fire! All Day Music and Summer are great choices to react to.
I always felt War was one of the most unique bands with their vocals backed by funk with some of the smoothest, coolest jazz vibes around. They quickly immerse the listener to this soulful rhythm then accentuate it with great sax, vocals, and funky bass and rhythm guitars. The vocal/musical chorus transitions are impeccable, always leaving you wanting more.
The sax and harmonica players were so in sync in this band. I was puzzled when I first heard them, as I couldn't recognize what instrument it was. I had to see a recording of them live to see what was what.
Ned from Spain saying thank you La n Che for a sincerely smokin version of this classic. From when there used to be real respect for music and time set aside for it to be heard. By showing the band and the awesome Midnight Special you're saving something precious for those who remember it and those discovering it for the 1st time
i was in 8th grade when this song came out and it was my first year in public school and hanging with a lot of Black kids. We all loved these guys along with Curtis Mayfield and the Temps. Great memories of good times. thanks for playing this.
Wikipedia describes the band as funk/rock/soul/Jazz/Blues/Reggae/and Latin. I just remember growing up with all those wonderful hits: The World is a Ghetto, The Cisco Kid, Why Can't We Be Friends, and Low Rider were ALL OVER THE RADIO back in the 70s and that is what led me to purchasing thier music. Thier album "The World Is A Ghetto" was Billboards best selling album in 1973. Great reaction, TY.
To be honest I have only heard "Why cant we be friends and Low rider from War. This was a pleasant surprise. Incredibly soulful harmonies. Great track!
Yes, they are fantastic and criminally underrated. A lot like Tower of Power with the funk and horns. Equally great tracks: “ All Day Music”, “Slipping Into Darkness” & “Nappy Head (Theme from Ghetto Man)”. Glad you like ‘em! 👍
War was 'keeping it real' about street life before there was even such an expression! One of a kind. That was the 1960s-70s, when I grew p. Many more songs to hear. Cisco Kid!
Nice tune! War is incredibly polymorphic. Every song seems to be completely independent of each other. Ballero, too, is a good tune from them. Watching the Soul Train Line of it is even better. Hope you react to it and it doesn't get blocked.
The late BB Dickerson on bass. Keyboards and lead guitarist (Harold Brown and Lonnie Jordan)also sing lead at times. Lee Oskar is the harmonica player.Charles Miller on sax...Papa Dee Allen(percussionist ) is missing for some reason.He passed away on stage, but that should have been a few years in the future.....War was so talented, so cool and so deep...
Yeah, War went through many changes with musicians coming in and going out. What's amazing is they always had quality music no matter who was in the band. Also, their group is huge! I was fortunate to see them live and what a show! They have a ton of great songs, including big hits. One of my favorite bands. One of my favorite songs! Definitely do more! Btw The Midnight Special is one of the few shows that was actually live. I have every episode.
Great Bay Area Summers in the 70's... my mind is full of these memories I saw Santana, Tower of Power, Malo and War before I graduated high school in '73 ... I'm a rock bass player like JPJ but my roots are in th Bay thumbs up for this one guys!👍
@@GTLyons I saw Santana three times and Tower of Power about ten times. The other groups I usually saw (often on the same bill) at the same time and place were Boz Scaggs, Steve Miller, and Elvin Bishop.
Great great reaction La/Che. War a very underrated band. This band is full of spectacular musicians in this band. Saw them 5 times they never disappoint. Thank you for reacting to this song. One of my favorites from them along with Sleeping into Darkness…
I also thought they were a bigger band, and I had , evidently wrongly, believed that the depth and texture of the layers in their music was achieved in studio 😅 Thanks for such an enthusiastic reaction ❣️😇
War was one of my favorite bands growing up. Lee Oscar on harmonica. He has a few of his own that you should hear. War had different lead singers on different songs. The White dude who you might be thinking of was Eric Burton.
So many Hits! Sisco Kid & of course Low Rider are my favorites. Eric Burdon of the Animals was the singer for Spill the Wine (Metaphor for losing her virginity). The group that tours as War today contains only one original member but the remaining members tour as the Low Rider Band.
They had split with former Animals lead singer Eric Burdon by then. That's the late great B. B. Dickerson on bass. His uncle, Howard Scott is on guitar, Lonnie Jordon on keys. Any of those three would sing lead on War songs. The sax man is Charles Miller, the harmonica player is Lee Oskar, And on drums is Harold Brown. Missing in this clip is percussionist Papa Dee Allen.
I think it's the sound of the harmonica and the organ in conjunction with the saxophone that fools us into thinking there are more horns. These guys are extremely talented musicians. Very creative.
War is one of the FEW if ONLY groups if you'd never heard the song before, you would know for sure it was them. There is no other group that could do what they did and their style was so unique. The East LA Lowrider Afro Latin sound...!!
I loved War for many years but ever since the Movie Straight Outta Compton I just remember NWA’s soon to be manager Jerry trying to impress saying something to Eazy- E “ I have worked with WAR” Eazy- “ have you worked with anybody this decade?”
This was the 70s - the best decade of music in my opinion! This was real SOUL. The one doing the lead on this one I believe was a part-time lead. They've had different folks on that band, and there was a White Man, Eric Burden who was there for some time... but they've been around for sure.
Love Love Love WAR!!! Beautiful voices and music! The harmonizing!!! The lyrics! My kids went to a school briefly whose policy was no country music. They taught that it was super bad. So I decided to play WAR fairly loud from the car instead. 😊 Kids especially loved Why Can’t We Be Friends! No country music! 😊
The band had 7 members. The majority of the lead vocals of their songs are mostly done by Lonnie Jordan, however, B. B. Dickerson does do some lead vocals as well, as seen here on this song The World is a Ghetto. The Band Members include Lonnie Jordan/singer/keyboardist, Howard Scott/guitars/ vocal, Lee Oskar/harmonica, B.B. Dickerson/bass guitar/vocals, Harold Brown/drums/ vocals, the late Thomas “Papa Dee” Allen/congas/timbales, and Charles Miller/Saxophonist. But Charles plays a lot more instruments than just saxophone. He also plays flute, clarinet, keyboards and guitar.
Such a stellar band. Saw them years and years after they were big at a very small venue in the San Fernando Valley. Even then they were tight and perfectly in tune with one another. All Day Music, Summer, Low Rider and where would Eric Burdon's Spill the Wine have been without War? Can't say enough good about their music.
Every song on the 1972 album that the studio version of this song is on are fantastic songs. It was perfect music to chill out to stoned and with headphones on.
Don't you know, that it's true - That for me, and for you - The world is a ghetto. Powerful. And this is such a great performance, better than the album cut. Raw and strong.
Slippin’ Into Darkness is another masterpiece.
Omg YES! Great song 😍👍
Great song!
Gots to
That whole album is fabulous. Soul/Funk/R&B/Gospel all in a stew.
Great song. Both this song and Slippin' into Darkness has that smooth harmonica.
Eric Burdon is white, and he was singer with War in early years. “Spill the Wine”, etc..
Scandal!
Eric Burdon I think you mean.
BANGER!!!
He wasn't the singer. It was a collaboration between them. Eric burden was in the Animals.
@@pumasgoyaya he per formed with war and was lead singer on some songs .
Thanks for this reaction! This performance is everything to me. It touches my heart and soul. War is far too underrated.
Criminally underrated!
@@13terapyn The frickin' Rock n Roll Hall of Fame will not induct them for some reason.
Yes ma'am
@@324cmac A long line of groups ignored by the hall
@@realbser1956 Yeah. I'm glad singer, Paul Rodgers, turned them down.
Why aren't these guys in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame yet? They singlehandedly defined East L.A. Latin / Funk in the '70s.
Lee Oskar is a Danish harmonica player notable for his rock-fusion playing with War. His Mother was a Holocaust Survivor. WAR band members accepted him with open arms
and didn't care if he was a White Guy from a Nordic Country. War just wanted to play great music - and they damn sure did. Thanks, Guys, for playing WAR and for the fantastic
commentary. I appreciate it.
Thanks Clifton!!
This entire album is hot even today!
Loved this album, always had it close to my turntable. Nice to see them live here
Lee Oskar is an amazing harmonica player.
I still have a Lee Oscar album. Time to dig it out.
I just found out that the harmonica player, Lee Oskar, lives 25 miles from me in Everett, Washington and he's still playing with the band. He's Danish and came to New York when he was 18 years old with no money. He was playing on the street for change.
He plays with the Lowrider Band, which is the real version of War.
@@ryanking6335 Well, the real version of War would be if BB Dickerson (bass, vocals) and Charles Miller (sax) were still alive.
@@324cmac Yes, sadly that is true. Not many original members are left. I think Lowrider Band has 3 original members left. They play really good shows, I highly encourage you to check out their live shows.
@@ryanking6335 I know that Lonnie (keyboards) is still alive. They had him on TV last year for the 50th anniversary of The World is a Ghetto.
@@324cmac Yeah, I don't mess with Lonnie. He really backstabbed the other members of the group.
War was soo underrated
Hi La and Che… I’m so glad I was born in 1954 …. In my 20’s in the 70’s … amazing time for music…
Also born in 1954, but lived in a tiny town in Michigan, and didn't discover this music until my 20's. Been trying to catch up with everything I missed every since.
@@gl15col Thank God for UA-cam.
War is one of the most underrated bands of all time.
So true.
I know this band personally. My wife me them about 10 yrs ago in a bar at a local casino they played in. Now whenever they play locally we get free passes and backstage passes to hang out with them. They are awesome. Lonnie Jordan is the original member and was there in 1961. That was the year I was born! Have met them many times!
That’s awesome. Who is that pitching in your picture?
i thought that was you singing with them that day you sound Great.
Every band wanted to play the Midnight Special, but you had to play live, so the bands practiced. Everything exposed. No place to hide your flaws. I loved this show. War was a brilliant band.
The German performance with Eric Burdon singing Spill the Wine is great too. Love this band.
Another great song! 😍👍
War could always get straight to the point and bring the soul when they did... The 70's were full of bands who attempted to get this sound and this connection in their songs with no where near this ability. War was just fantastic...
An amazing song from the 70’s , so much wonderful music came from these times. Thank you for playing this one guys , have a good day.
Just a great band! Low Rider, Why Can't We Be Friends?, Slippin' Into Darkness, The World is a Ghetto, and The Cisco Kid are all classics! Thanks for the reaction.
Yes, Summer is another good one
B.B.Dickerson plays bass and sings. R.I.P.
The members of WAR seemed to have a humble, dare I say a kind of inferiority complex about their success that was mind blowing. They often said they were a collection of friends just trying to figure out how to play with each other, finding things they all could play. I still don’t believe they know how bad ass their catalog still is, to so many of us. 🤘😎
@@ronaldelliott4373 Maybe the fact that they didn't easily fall into a musical category made the callous music business give them an inferiority complex. I'm glad they never changed in order to be more famous. They are superior to most even to this day.
@@324cmac Absolutely true.
It was a white guy when Eric Burden sang with them. :) Love this band, this song.
My husband and I used to put War’s greatest hits on the turntable every time we moved into a new house. I love this song and this live version is fire! All Day Music and Summer are great choices to react to.
That whole album with the same title is killer. Four Cornered Room, Cisco Kid, City Country City - all magic
Agreed!
City Country City is an instrumental masterpiece!
Very underrated group of the 70's. I have all of their albums.
This and All Day Music are my favorite War songs. Smooth and jazzy
The entire studio album of The World is a Ghetto is dope, the cut City Country City especially.
I checked out that cut and it blew my mind!
I always felt War was one of the most unique bands with their vocals backed by funk with some of the smoothest, coolest jazz vibes around. They quickly immerse the listener to this soulful rhythm then accentuate it with great sax, vocals, and funky bass and rhythm guitars. The vocal/musical chorus transitions are impeccable, always leaving you wanting more.
The sax and harmonica players were so in sync in this band.
I was puzzled when I first heard them, as I couldn't recognize what instrument it was. I had to see a recording of them live to see what was what.
War in concert back in the day was always a great time ❤
Ned from Spain saying thank you La n Che for a sincerely smokin version of this classic. From when there used to be real respect for music and time set aside for it to be heard. By showing the band and the awesome Midnight Special you're saving something precious for those who remember it and those discovering it for the 1st time
War was just a fun(ky) band to jam along with on the drums.... brings back good memories of driving the neighbors crazy
@@jimmoore8951 And they were making hits with those long numbers too.
HEAR, HEAR!!! AGREE!!
"Summer" is their best song. Rock on.
Brilliant song, so evocative of the times. Man War is a great band.
I f'n love love LOVE this band!!! Greatness.
Midnight Special. What a series.
I never missed an episode.
First time i have heard this song by this great band! Wow!
Me too, it was fantastic!
Probably thinking of when Eric Burden was the lead singer for a while. He was with the Animals previously.
B.B. Dickerson is the Bassist ,lead singer on this track,he passed away 3 years ago in Long Beach,Ca. @ 71 years old....RIP B.B.
Amen RIP.
Great group
i was in 8th grade when this song came out and it was my first year in public school and hanging with a lot of Black kids. We all loved these guys along with Curtis Mayfield and the Temps. Great memories of good times. thanks for playing this.
Midnight special was one of a kind show! The performances were so good. Nothing ever matched it.
Wikipedia describes the band as funk/rock/soul/Jazz/Blues/Reggae/and Latin. I just remember growing up with all those wonderful hits: The World is a Ghetto, The Cisco Kid, Why Can't We Be Friends, and Low Rider were ALL OVER THE RADIO back in the 70s and that is what led me to purchasing thier music. Thier album "The World Is A Ghetto" was Billboards best selling album in 1973. Great reaction, TY.
This is a pocket full of soul.
They are great in concert. I’ve seen them 2 times.
Great melodies in this song, fantastic vocals and harmonies. Nice choice !
Oh man, I remember when this was on the radio when in first came out. Spell binding. Love it. Times were rough, and bands like war reflected that.
These guys were ubiquitous for us growing up in so-cal in the 60's 70s. So great.
I'm loving this group for 50 years now and still listen to them a few times a week 🎶💜🎶
To be honest I have only heard "Why cant we be friends and Low rider from War. This was a pleasant surprise. Incredibly soulful harmonies. Great track!
Saw War live 4 or 5 times in the 70's. Never got tired of their music. Loved it. With or without Eric Burdon. This band was legit!
You guys should check out their song -Me And Baby Brother (Midnight Special) and War with Eric Bourdon performing Spill The Wine live (1970).
I'd forgotten about "Me and Baby Brother," another GREAT song!
Give George Benson’s version a spin. 😊 I think it’s from his In Flight album.
If my old man memory serves, War was also on Hollywood Squares. A great band they only got better after Eric Burton left.
Saw them in Detroit in the early 80's...they were AWESOME!!
Yes, they are fantastic and criminally underrated. A lot like Tower of Power with the funk and horns. Equally great tracks: “ All Day Music”, “Slipping Into Darkness” & “Nappy Head (Theme from Ghetto Man)”. Glad you like ‘em! 👍
War was 'keeping it real' about street life before there was even such an expression! One of a kind. That was the 1960s-70s, when I grew p. Many more songs to hear. Cisco Kid!
Thanks for reacting to War--not done enough these days.
Nice tune! War is incredibly polymorphic. Every song seems to be completely independent of each other. Ballero, too, is a good tune from them. Watching the Soul Train Line of it is even better. Hope you react to it and it doesn't get blocked.
God. This slowed down version is so damn good
Wow, this takes me back. California was bumpin fantastic tunes back in the day.
The late BB Dickerson on bass. Keyboards and lead guitarist (Harold Brown and Lonnie Jordan)also sing lead at times. Lee Oskar is the harmonica player.Charles Miller on sax...Papa Dee Allen(percussionist ) is missing for some reason.He passed away on stage, but that should have been a few years in the future.....War was so talented, so cool and so deep...
Amazing performance! I saw them three times throughout the years; early seventies, eighties and finally around 2000. Always stellar performers.
Yeah, War went through many changes with musicians coming in and going out. What's amazing is they always had quality
music no matter who was in the band. Also, their group is huge! I was fortunate to see them live and what a show! They
have a ton of great songs, including big hits. One of my favorite bands. One of my favorite songs! Definitely do more!
Btw The Midnight Special is one of the few shows that was actually live. I have every episode.
Great Bay Area Summers in the 70's... my mind is full of these memories I saw Santana, Tower of Power, Malo and War before I graduated high school in '73 ... I'm a rock bass player like JPJ but my roots are in th Bay thumbs up for this one guys!👍
We might have been at the same shows. I lived in the same area and graduated from high school the same year.
@@324cmac may...be
@@GTLyons I saw Santana three times and Tower of Power about ten times. The other groups I usually saw (often on the same bill) at the same time and place were Boz Scaggs, Steve Miller, and Elvin Bishop.
Low rider is one of their songs that is still playing on classic rock radio
Another great group from the 70's. Low Rider, Me and Baby Brother, this one. So many great tracks w an unmistakable sound.
This song was also used in “trillmatic” by asap mob and method man, dope hip hop joint, best hip hop song of 2013 in my opinion
Midnight Special Cisco Kid. So good. War is a great band. So underrated. This performance is fantastic.
War was an awesome band!! I was lucky enough to grow up with their music. This song was a jam!!!!❤
Lee Oskar is the official armonicist since the beginning of WAR.
Great great reaction La/Che. War a very underrated band. This band is full of spectacular musicians in this band. Saw them 5 times they never disappoint. Thank you for reacting to this song. One of my favorites from them along with Sleeping into Darkness…
WAR "Four Cornered Room" 🔥♥️🔥
I also thought they were a bigger band, and I had , evidently wrongly, believed that the depth and texture of the layers in their music was achieved in studio 😅
Thanks for such an enthusiastic reaction ❣️😇
War was one of my favorite bands growing up. Lee Oscar on harmonica. He has a few of his own that you should hear. War had different lead singers on different songs. The White dude who you might be thinking of was Eric Burton.
So many Hits! Sisco Kid & of course Low Rider are my favorites. Eric Burdon of the Animals was the singer for Spill the Wine (Metaphor for losing her virginity). The group that tours as War today contains only one original member but the remaining members tour as the Low Rider Band.
My other favorite is Don't Let No One Get You Down. I believe BB Dickerson sings that one too. What a voice!
All Day Music!
@@jimmoore8951 Love it! It is the soundtrack of my teen years. That's how it felt to be 15 years old in the SF Bay Area.
They had split with former Animals lead singer Eric Burdon by then. That's the late great B. B. Dickerson on bass. His uncle, Howard Scott is on guitar, Lonnie Jordon on keys. Any of those three would sing lead on War songs. The sax man is Charles Miller, the harmonica player is Lee Oskar, And on drums is Harold Brown. Missing in this clip is percussionist Papa Dee Allen.
I think it's the sound of the harmonica and the organ in conjunction with the saxophone that fools us into thinking there are more horns. These guys are extremely talented musicians. Very creative.
If you haven't already ... "Low Rider" is a must.
Such a great group! What a performance! This is almost progressive soul.
War is one of the FEW if ONLY groups if you'd never heard the song before, you would know for sure it was them. There is no other group that could do what they did and their style was so unique. The East LA Lowrider Afro Latin sound...!!
I saw them twice. Once as a Freshman at Michigan State and once in Central Park, NYC. They were a brilliant band. Great catalog.
Great tune from a great band! Midnight Special was awesome!
It warms my heart to read all the appreciation War is getting in these Comments!🥰
I loved War for many years but ever since the Movie Straight Outta Compton I just remember NWA’s soon to be manager Jerry trying to impress saying something to Eazy- E “ I have worked with WAR” Eazy- “ have you worked with anybody this decade?”
Little did he know that War would still be the shit for many more decades.
First time seeing this performance.
Daym.
This was the 70s - the best decade of music in my opinion! This was real SOUL. The one doing the lead on this one I believe was a part-time lead. They've had different folks on that band, and there was a White Man, Eric Burden who was there for some time... but they've been around for sure.
As SOON as I saw the thumbnail I HAD to click on!!!!
I haven't heard this song in SO long!!!
❤❤❤❤
I'm thankful I'm just old enough to remember hearing this on the radio. Some good memories. They had some good songs with Eric Burden too.
War was my groove back when I was a teen in the 70's. Love the band and their music.
And war is one of the top bands of touring over 50 years plus and still going just played last Friday night at the LA County fair. Great concert.
Love Love Love WAR!!! Beautiful voices and music! The harmonizing!!! The lyrics! My kids went to a school briefly whose policy was no country music. They taught that it was super bad. So I decided to play WAR fairly loud from the car instead. 😊 Kids especially loved Why Can’t We Be Friends! No country music! 😊
The band had 7 members. The majority of the lead vocals of their songs are mostly done by Lonnie Jordan, however, B. B. Dickerson does do some lead vocals as well, as seen here on this song The World is a Ghetto. The Band Members include Lonnie Jordan/singer/keyboardist, Howard Scott/guitars/ vocal, Lee Oskar/harmonica, B.B. Dickerson/bass guitar/vocals, Harold Brown/drums/ vocals, the late Thomas “Papa Dee” Allen/congas/timbales, and Charles Miller/Saxophonist. But Charles plays a lot more instruments than just saxophone. He also plays flute, clarinet, keyboards and guitar.
The original white singer was Eric Burdon, who sang with War until leaving for a solo career in 1971. Their song Spill The Wine is a must reaction!
One of the best songs out there 👍🏻
Damn, always felt they were so underappreciated back in the day. They can do it all, even got me moving with " Me and Baby Brother".
They blessed us with some amazing music.
Damn after all these many years I had forgotten this song and how damn good it was.
real music real voices real instruments....check
Vocals are killer.
An amazing live performance, especially by the lead vocalist. Great reaction as always, guys! Thanks so much!
Such a stellar band. Saw them years and years after they were big at a very small venue in the San Fernando Valley. Even then they were tight and perfectly in tune with one another. All Day Music, Summer, Low Rider and where would Eric Burdon's Spill the Wine have been without War? Can't say enough good about their music.
Every song on the 1972 album that the studio version of this song is on are fantastic songs. It was perfect music to chill out to stoned and with headphones on.
Don't you know, that it's true - That for me, and for you - The world is a ghetto.
Powerful. And this is such a great performance, better than the album cut. Raw and strong.
“Smell the funk through the screen”! Fantastic line and observation!!!