Although singer Edwin Starr is one of Motown's lesser-known performers, he released two singles that qualify as stone-cold soul/funk classics. The first, "25 Miles," is a stomping pleader more in the vein of Stax Records than Motown's mechanized pop grooves. The second, "War," is perhaps the most political song ever released on Motown. The furious and pounding number (originally written for the Temptations) is an urgent protest song for the ages, and forever guaranteed the singer's place in pop-music history. Starr passed away in 2003.