Eric Burdon's life has been a musical journey matched by few other performers in rock and roll music history. He has gone from the driving force of the grittiest British Invasion

Burdon’s lengthy recording career began in Newcastle, England, where he first covered songs by his idols such as Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, Josh White, Brownie McGhee, John Lee Hooker and Jimmie Reed. Eric and The Animals quickly gained notoriety as England’s best R&B band. They were a part of the first live R&B recording in the U.K. when they joined Sonny Boy Williamson for the now famous 1963 New Year’s Eve concerts. This raw performance was followed by a more polished outing when The Animals appeared with Jerry Lee Lewis & Gene Vincent on renegade Granada TV in 1964, for the Whole Lotta Shakin’ concert feature (released on film as Don’t Knock the Rock); the film showcased their rendition of Talkin’ Bout You. 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. Afterwards 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, Burdon completed a solo project backed by theHorace Ott orchestra. This venue, Eric Is Here, was featured On This Side of Goodbye, Losin’ Control and the title-track for the MGM film The Biggest Bundle of Them All. He then 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 soulstirring cover of Gin House Blues. Burdon & the New Animals can be found on both the edited concert footage, The Monterey Pop Festival, as well as in documentary-director D.A. Pennebaker’s Monterey Pop: The Film. The band went on to define the era musically with, the addition of San Franciscan Nights and 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.

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. The debut album Eric Burdon Declares WAR included two immediate classics: Tobacco Road, and worldwide hit, Spill the Wine. Burdon’s blues projects continued in a new vein when the original Animals regrouped to record two new studio albums. Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted, released in 1976, featured It’s All Over Now Baby Blue, Brother Bill and Fire on the Sun. The second Animals reunion in 1983 resulted in Ark, featuring The Night, My Favorite Enemy, No John No and Prisoner of the Light. The final reunion release was the live LP, Rip It to Shreds! Which was also released as Greatest Hits Live.

In 1994 he and the original Animals were inducted into Cleveland’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, and in 1995 he made a special guest appearance at the HBO Concert For The Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. The year was capped off by a 30-minute British documentary on Eric Burdon & The Animals, featured as part of the My Generation television series. On Eric’s 60th birthday, Eric and the original members of The Animals were inducted into the Rock Walk of Fame and had a birthday party at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles where Burdon for two nights joined musicians and friends on stage.

Where can you find Eric Burdon these days? As made explicit in his autobiographical song The Road, “I don’t live - if I don’t play this rock ‘n’ roll”. Albeit, the road is where he is. The proof of this is a world tour with a new group of Animals featuring Eric McFadden on guitars, Paula O’Rourke on bass, Red Young on keyboards and Tony Braunagel on drums.