Eric Burdon

The Animals from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, were part of the musical “British Invasion” of the mid-sixties, and responsible for some of that period’s greatest hits. The original lineup of Eric Burdon, Alan Price, Chas Chandler, Hilton Valentine, and John Steel, were only together for two years. Alan Price left in 1965 and Chas Chandler departed the group in 1966 after which he helped to establish the career of Jimi Hendrix as his manager.

Eric, the distinctive lead vocalist, would remain as the band’s leader and together with a successful solo career would continue to keep the group’s name alive.

Throughout the years there were several reunions of the original members and the final one occurred in 1983. They recorded a new album Ark, went out on tour, and visited my show on July 22, 1983 when I spoke with Eric about their biggest hit.

Nearly thirty years later in February 2013, I got to speak with Eric again. This time he was promoting a new solo album ‘Til Your River Runs Dry. On this latest project he’s performing mostly original compositions, but when he was recording with the Animals their earliest successes were written by others. He explained how one of them was actually intended for Nina Simone.

Click here to listen to the full interview.