The first biography of the seminal music group WAR whose many hits include "Spill the Wine," "All Day Music," "Why Can't We Be Friends?" "Slippin' into Darkness," "The Cisco Kid," and - of course - "Low Rider." They combined rock, funk, soul, R&B, jazz, and a strong Latin vibe in their music, they have been awarded two Platinum and eight Gold records in their career. Their album "The World is a Ghetto" was the bestselling release of 1973 and was #444 on the list of "Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums" list. This unauthorized book follows the group from their early incarnations when Harold Brown and Howard Scott met to form the Creators and then the Night Shift, to their partnership with former Animals lead singer Eric Burdon, to a highly successful career on their own with the core original lineup of Brown, Scott, Lee Oskar, Lonnie Jordan, B.B. Dickerson, Papa Dee Allen, and Charles Miller. The story also follows the band through their later, leaner years, the tragic deaths of two members, and the conflicts that led to a fissure and a split of performing entities that continues to this day. Featuring original interviews, archival research, and musical analysis and commentary, "Slippin' Out of Darkness: The Story of WAR" tells the tale of one of the most unique bands in the history of Classic Rock-era music. BOB RUGGIERO has been writing about music, interviewing musicians, and reviewing concerts, records, and films for 25+ years, with a concentration in classic rock. He has been a freelancer for the alternative newsweekly The Houston Press since 1997 cover mostly music, but also books, theater, and film. Prior to that, he also covered much music as Editor of the Savannah, Georgia editions of Creative Loafing and Good Times Magazine. Bob's music journalism has also appeared in The Houston Chronicle, Texas Music, GT Metal, ClassicRockRevisited.com, CityPages.com, and Gritz, and is a contributing writer for the archival website rocksbackpages.com. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Journalism, and was both Entertainment Editor of The Daily Texan and Editor of Images magazine. He maintains a website of some of his writing at ClassicRockBob.com. He lives in Houston, Texas with his wife and two teenaged children.