Bruce covered the song 97 times :

 

"War" was performed in concert by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in 1985, added to the set list for the final few shows of their lengthy Born in the U.S.A. Tour. Springsteen and his manager Jon Landau were looking for a way to make these concluding shows, taking place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, a little different and special, and Landau suggested playing "War". A year earlier, he had suggested the same, as a loose protest against Reagan Administration foreign policy in Central America and elsewhere, but the band had been unable to come up with an effective arrangement. This time, however, they did. Springsteen taped the words of the song to his arm, prefaced the song with a spoken admonition not to blindly trust the government, leaders or anything else, and then he and the band performed a rock rendition. Springsteen released the September 30, 1985 performance as a part of his 1986 box set, Live/1975–85. "War" was chosen as the first single from the set, and it was again a big hit, reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The music video for the single was a straight concert filming of the same performance.

 

 

2003-03-26 Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia
2003-03-25 Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, Australia
2003-03-22 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia
2003-03-20 Telstra Dome, Melbourne, Australia
2003-03-10 Dunkin' Donuts Center, Providence, RI
2003-03-02 Frank Erwin Center, Austin, TX

1999-05-16 NEC Arena, Birmingham, England

 

1988-10-15 Estadio Antonio Vespucio Liberti, Buenos Aires, Argentina
1988-10-12 Parque Antártica, São Paulo, Brazil
1988-10-09 Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
1988-10-07 National Sports Stadium, Harare, Zimbabwe
1988-10-03 Olympiáko Stádio "Spyros Louis", Athens, Greece
1988-09-30 Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi, India
1988-09-27 Tokyo Domu, Tokyo, Japan
1988-09-23 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, CA
1988-09-21 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA
1988-09-19 John F. Kennedy Stadium, Philadelphia, PA
1988-09-17 Olympic Stadium, Montreal, QC
1988-09-15 Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON
1988-09-13 Estadio Nacional De Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
1988-09-10 Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain
1988-09-08 Stadio Comunale, Turin, Italy
1988-09-06 Népstadion, Budapest, Hungary
1988-09-05 Palais Omnisports De Paris-Bercy, Paris, France
1988-09-04 Palais Omnisports De Paris-Bercy, Paris, France

1988-09-02 Wembley Stadium, London, England

Amnesty International - Human Rights Now! tour

1988-08-03 Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain
1988-08-02 Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid, Spain
1988-07-30 Weserstadion, Bremen, West Germany
1988-07-27 Valle Hovin Stadion, Oslo, Norway
1988-07-25 Københavns Idrætspark, Copenhagen, Denmark
1988-07-22 Waldbühne, West Berlin, West Germany
1988-07-19 Radrennbahn Weissensee, East Berlin, East Germany
1988-07-17 Olympia-Reitstadion Riem, Munich, West Germany
1988-07-14 St. Jakob Stadion, Basel, Switzerland
1988-07-12 Waldstadion, Frankfurt, West Germany
1988-07-10 Bramall Lane, Sheffield, England
1988-07-09 Bramall Lane, Sheffield, England
1988-07-07 RDS Arena, Dublin, Ireland
1988-07-03 Stockholms Stadion, Stockholm, Sweden
1988-07-02 Stockholms Stadion, Stockholm, Sweden
1988-06-29 Stadion Feijenoord, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
1988-06-28 Stadion Feijenoord, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
1988-06-25 Wembley Stadium, London, England
1988-06-22 Villa Park, Birmingham, England
1988-06-21 Villa Park, Birmingham, England
1988-06-19 Hippodrome De Vincennes, Paris, France
1988-06-16 Stadio Flaminio, Rome, Italy
1988-06-15 Stadio Flaminio, Rome, Italy
1988-06-11 Stadio Comunale, Turin, Italy
1988-05-23 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
1988-05-22 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
1988-05-19 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
1988-05-18 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
1988-05-16 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
1988-05-13 Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, IN
1988-05-10 Met Center, Bloomington, MN
1988-05-09 Met Center, Bloomington, MN
1988-05-06 Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, WA
1988-05-05 Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, WA
1988-05-03 Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA
1988-05-02 Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA
1988-04-28 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA
1988-04-27 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA
1988-04-25 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA
1988-04-23 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA
1988-04-22 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA
1988-04-20 McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, CO
1988-04-17 St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, MO
1988-04-15 Frank Erwin Center, Austin, TX
1988-04-13 Summit (The), Houston, TX
1988-04-12 Summit (The), Houston, TX
1988-04-05 Capital Centre, Largo, MD
1988-04-04 Capital Centre, Largo, MD
1988-04-02 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
1988-04-01 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
1988-03-29 Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI
1988-03-28 Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI
1988-03-26 Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
1988-03-23 Omni (The), Atlanta, GA
1988-03-22 Omni (The), Atlanta, GA
1988-03-20 Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
1988-03-17 Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL
1988-03-16 Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL
1988-03-14 Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, OH
1988-03-13 Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, OH
1988-03-09 Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
1988-03-08 Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
1988-03-04 Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center, Chapel Hill, NC
1988-03-03 Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center, Chapel Hill, NC
1988-02-29 Centrum In Worcester, Worcester, MA
1988-02-28 Centrum In Worcester, Worcester, MA
1988-02-25 Centrum In Worcester, Worcester, MA
1985-10-02 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA

1985-09-30 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA 

 

1985-09-29 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA
1985-09-27 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA
  

"War" is a song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for the Motown label in 1969. Whitfield first produced the song with The Temptations as the original vocalists. The Temptations' version of "War" was much less intense than the Edwin Starr version. They delivered the song's anti-war, pro-peace message over a stripped-down instrumental track, with bass singer Melvin Franklin chanting a repeated recruit training-like "hup, two, three, four" in the background during the verses. After Motown began receiving repeated requests to release "War" as a single, Whitfield re-recorded the song with Edwin Starr as the vocalist, with the label deciding to withhold the Temptations' version from single release so as not to alienate their more conservative fans. Starr's version of "War" was a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1970, and is not only the most successful and well-known record of his career, but it is also one of the most popular protest songs ever recorded.