Eric Burdon’s life has been a musical journey matched by few other performers in rock music history. He has gone from the driving force of the grittiest British Invasion band, pioneering the San Francisco psychedelic rock scene, fronting WAR – the biggest funk band of the 1970s, back to reuniting his original band, The Animals.
Eric Burdon’s lengthy recording career began in Newcastle, England, where he first covered songs by his idols, such greats as Ray Charles, Chuck Berry and John Lee Hooker. He and The Animals quickly gained notoriety as England’s best R&B band.
Shortly thereafter, The Animals took the music world by storm when they recorded and released an electrified version of the traditional folk number, “The House of the Rising Sun.” They followed with such classics as “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” “It’s My Life,” “I’m Crying,” “Inside Looking Out,” The Story of Bo Diddley,” “Bring It On Home to Me” and “See See Rider.”
As the original Animals slowly disbanded, Eric Burdon completed a solo project backed by the Horace Ott orchestra.
Eric Burdon and the Animals quickly re-appeared in California with his new group at the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival, where he performed “Paint It Black,” “Hey Gyp,” “San Franciscan Nights,” and a soul-stirring cover of “Gin House Blues.”
The band went on to define the era musically with, in addition to “San Franciscan Nights,” such classics as “Colored Rain,” “When I Was Young,” “White Houses,” the fiercely anti-war song “Sky Pilot,” and the now famous homage to the festival itself, “Monterey.”
Eric Burdon disbanded the New Animals in favor of other artistic interests. However, shortly thereafter he and harp great Lee Oskar formed a new percussion-based outfit and quickly began touring as Eric Burdon & WAR.
Burdon subsequently left WAR and shortly thereafter joined up with jazz-blues great Jimmy Witherspoon, a fusion which ultimately led to the collaborative LP “Guilty!” (renamed “Black & White Blues” for CD release).
In 2001 Eric Burdon and the original members of The Animals were inducted into the Rock Walk of Fame. That was the last time The Animals played with Dave Rowberry before he passed away. With Dean Restum on guitars, Dave Meros on bass, Martin Gerschwitz on keyboards and Bernie Pershey replacing Aynsley Dunbar on drums, this group of Animals toured together very successfully until 2005. They released a CD together called “Athens Traffic Live,” recorded in Athens, Greece during the 2004 European tour. In 2004 Eric Burdon re-
leased his first solo studio album in many years called “My Secret Life.”
Throughout his career, Eric Burdon has made an impact in the film industry as well, as he appeared in and recorded movie soundtacks for several feature films.
This seasoned veteran of entertaining is yet again on another tour, maintaining his long, storied carrer in the music business.
Catch him at the Emerald Queen Casino at 8 p.m. Jan. 23. Tickets range from $20 to $50. Call (888) 831-7655 or visit http://www.emeraldqueen.
com for tickets. Must be 21 or over to attend.
