Eric Victor Burdon is an American singer and songwriter of the well-known group "The Animals" during the heyday of rock 60-70s, who became its vocalist for many years. His name is in all rock encyclopedias and in the Rock and Roll Hall and Museum of Fame.
Thanks to Eric's vocals and musical arrangement by Alan Price, the song "The House Of The Rising Sun" became famous all over the world and is still the hallmark of the group and Burdon himself.
Childhood and youth
The boy was born in Newcastle, in 1941, on May 11. His childhood passed in wartime, and in his memoirs he repeatedly said that he was raised and raised by the war itself. He started working early and by the end of school he had already acquired several specialties, working in a mine and at a shipbuilding plant.
In his youth, Eric became interested in art and music and decided to get a professional education. He graduated from art school, where he was engaged in design and at the same time jazz and blues, which at that time became very popular among his peers.
A friend of the boy's family, who worked in the navy, often brought records from musicians already known at that time from his business trips, including the famous Chuck Berry and Ray Charles. Listening to music, Eric dreamed of singing just like them and making a successful career as a singer and musician.
At first, the young man tried to get a job in cinema or television, but he was not taken anywhere. However, Eric was lucky and in 1962 he became a member of the Enimals group, with which he performed his best musical compositions and became one of the most popular singers in the soul genre.
Creation
Having started performing with the group, Eric quickly rose to the top of fame and soon toured all over America. He is deeply impressed by the lives of ordinary Americans, to whom they perform in clubs, cafes and small neighborhoods inhabited by migrants. Eric sings about his experiences and impressions of his meetings with Americans and their way of life in his songs, which are enthusiastically received by the audience. This was until the moment of the band's breakup, which happened in 1966.
Eric decides to pursue his solo career, but all his attempts have failed. At that time, he still had a contract with the recording studio MGM, and thanks to this, Eric collects a new group, which became known as Eric Burdon & the Animals.
Fascinated first by meditation, and then by psychedelic music and LSD, Burdon begins to change both the style of the group and the lyrics of the songs performed in order to merge into a completely new atmosphere for him in those years where "love and universal happiness" preached by the hippie movement began to dominate. His new songs win the love of the American public, but are very restrainedly accepted in England.
A few years later, this group also disintegrated, and Bird began to perform with a new team, War. Soon their new album is released, where Eric performs solo compositions "Spill the Wine" and "Tobacco Road", which became his next hits.
In the 70s, Burdon again tried to start a solo career, then collected several more groups, with which he toured around the world and recorded new albums in the genres of blues, rock and folk.
He still has many fans, and Eric himself says that creativity and music have become his whole life.
Burdon is considered the most popular and famous white blues music performer, he made a huge contribution to the development of this musical direction.
Personal life
Not much is known about Eric's personal life. He tried to start a family twice, but both were unsuccessful.
The first wife is Angie King. They lived together for a year.
His second wife in the 70s was actress Rose Marks, who gave birth to a daughter to the singer. This marriage lasted just over 5 years and also fell apart.
