On this day in 1946, Harold Ray Brown, founding member, drummer, and vocalist for the funk band War, was born in Long Beach, California.
Brown and vocalist/guitarist Howard Scott formed War in 1969, (they also went by Night Shift), in New Orleans. They played until 1983, when Brown went back to school to pursue his other passion, history. (He even became a professional tour guide in New Orleans.) Brown’s still active on the drums, however.
Due to legal hullabaloo, they can’t use the name War in promos, but Brown and his former War bandmates Lee Oskar (harmonica), Scott, and B.B. Dickerson (bass) got around it by forming the Lowrider Band, an homage to their signature song (featured above). The Lowrider Band still plays, though not as often as they used to.
Enjoy some dancey, hypnotic beats from the funkmaster and three-time Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame nominee below.