War, Why Can’t We Be Friends? | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 189th edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” by War. 

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 189^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” performed by War.

Question: “Why can’t we be friends? / Why can’t we be friends? / Why can’t we be friends? / Why can’t we be friends?” Woo! “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” marks one of the biggest hits by the Grammy-nominated funk band, War.  “Why Can’t We Be Friends” is the ninth and final cut from the collective’s 1975 album, also named, Why Can’t We Be Friends?.  The classic, which peaked at no. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, is credited to numerous songwriters, something rarer in the 1970s.  Do you know what else makes “Friends” unique? Numerous members of the band sing the verses! Can you say, “Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh!”

The chorus, excerpted above, is the section to beat in all its friendliness.  However, the brief verses are also a blast.  In the first verse, “I’ve seen you ‘round for a long, long time / I remember you when you drank my wine.” Bonded by wine.  Word. Later, in the third verse, “I paid my money to the welfare line / I see you standing in it every time.” Hmm, is the singer judging this person for relying too heavily on welfare? It doesn’t stop there whether it is, “Sometimes, I don’t speak right / But yet, I know what I’m talking about” (verse six), or the wordplay of “I know you’re working for the CIA / They wouldn’t have you in the Mafi-A” (verse seven).  The songwriting is entertaining from start to finish, and all singers put their spin on their part.  Beyond the vocals and lyrics, the music is fabulous – F-U-N-K-Y.  Brilliant, “Why Can’t We Be Friends” fuses funk with a stellar reggae groove.  The rhythm section is tight, while the jubilant horns bite.  This ‘70s gem will forever be awesome!

War // Why Can’t We Be Friends? // Far Out Productions, Inc / Rhino Entertainment Company // 1975

War, Why Can’t We Be Friends?: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 189 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Far Out Productions, Inc / Rhino Entertainment Company; OpenClipart-Vectors, Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Speedy McVroom from Pixabay]