Take Five: Must-hear Tracks featuring Eric Burdon

Acclaimed by Rolling Stone as No. 57 in their “100 Greatest Singers of All Time, Eric Burdon has has a fascinating career. First as lead singer with the Animals during the British Invasion, later with War and as a solo artist, Burdon has scored both with critics and the record-buying (and concert-going) public. Through his career, Burdon has demonstrated his mastery of many musical styles, from hard r&b to psychedelia, from funk and soul to blues and beyond. In celebration of his 84th birthday on May 11, here are five must-hear tunes featuring Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Eric Burdon.

“Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” from The Animals’ Animal Tracks (1965)
In their original run, the hard-edged band from Newcastle, England landed quite a few singles on the charts. Beginning with 1964’s “The House of the Rising Sun,” the Animals placed more than a dozen songs on the UK Top 40; in America, the group performed slightly better. The band’s sixth single, “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” was recorded only a month after Nina Simone released her original version, and earned the group a No. 15 hit in the U.S. and a No. 3 hit in England.

“Sky Pilot” from Eric Burdon & the Animals’ The Twain Shall Meet (1968)
As 1966 gave way to ‘67, the Animals had disintegrated; their distinctive keyboardist Alan Price had left as early as ‘65, and others would follow. Burdon formed a new group, adding “Eric Burdon &” to the front of the band name. The new group adopted a more psychedelic musical orientations. The band’s first single was the hit “San Franciscan Nights” (in which Burdon inexplicably characterizes said nights as “warm”). The anti-Vietnam war song “Sky Pilot” earned the band another hit: No. 14 in the U.S. A lengthy tune with progressive elements, “Sky Pilot” was split into two haves, forming both the A- and B-side of the 1968 single record.

“Spill the Wine” from Eric Burdon and War’s Eric Burdon Declares “War” (1970)
After the end of Eric Burdon & the Animals, Burdon hooked up with Long Beach, California American funk/soul band Nightshift, renamed War. After playing a number of gigs, the group went into the studio to cut their debut album. With a spoken interlude, the remarkable “Spill the Wine” made the Top 40 in eight countries, including claiming the top spot on the U.S. Cash Box chart.

“Home Dream” from Eric Burdon and Jimmy Witherspoon’s Guilty! (1971)
Burdon’s passion for American blues began early; it’s a defining characteristic of his work with the Animals and beyond. So his 1971 collaboration with jump blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon may not have come as a surprise to his most ardent fans. The two singers teamed up together on 1971’s Guilty!, backed by members of War. By that point, Witherspoon had already released some 30 albums, but Guilty! helped bring him to the attention of more rock-oriented listeners. The album featured a mix of covers and originals; a highlight was the Burdon composition “Home Dream.” Guilty! was re-titled Black & White Blues for subsequent reissues; those releases also replaced the original’s unappealing cover art.

“The Night” from The Animals’ Ark (1983)
Burdon’s work credited to Eric Burdon & the animals ended in late 1968, after which he recorded and performed variously under his own name, with War and with other projects. But various aggregations of the original Animals reconvened a number of times. Two of those reunions resulted in new studio album releases. In 1977, five original members (including Burdon) reunited for Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted; critics were divided, and the record sold poorly. The group got together again for the unmistakably MTV-era album Ark. The first single released from that record, “The Night” nearly made it into the U.S. Top 40 (No. 48 on Billboard’s Hot 100) and placed No. 34 on Billboard’s Top Rock Tracks chart.