Burdon left also this band and run back to stardome in the mid-70s with The Eric Burdon Band producing heavy rocking songs. He went on forming short-living groups such as Eric Burdon's Fire Dept. in 1980, another Eric Burdon Band in 1981, especially for a motion picture-starring role in Comeback for which he made the soundtrack and a reunion band with The Animals in 1983 to get back to the Mainstream Charts. The 1980s saw Burdon in genres such as heavy metal, new wave, pop, reggae, disco, blues, rock and roll, punk, funk and rap. He also published his album "I Used To Be An Animal" as well as his autobiography with the same title. He went on touring in stadiums as well as in small clubs around the world.
In 1990 he formed the Eric Burdon & Robby Krieger Band who toured mainly in America. They recorded some demo tapes, but never released them. In 1991 he toured the world again as Eric Burdon & Brian Auger Band. They released a double-live album, "Access All Areas" in 1993, showing versions of Burdon's old hits in new musical outfits, once again as a blues, metal, reggae and fusion performer.
In 1994 they got disbanded, Burdon got introduced into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where he performed 1995 with Bon Jovi and created a new group of high-professional musicians, Eric Burdon's i Band. They disbanded in 1998 and he formed Eric Burdon & The New Animals. In 2003 they changed their name in Eric Burdon & The Animals, after some band changes. In 2004 the long awaited studio-album "My Secret Life" was released and brought him back into the mainstream charts and in late 2005 the live album "Athens Traffic Live" was released.
Burdon formed a new band-line-up, also touring as Eric Burdon & The Animals. In January 2006 he released "Soul of a Man", with good critics worldwide. He wanted to create an album who is dedicated to the blues and rnb. Since then he toured the world without a break, always looking for new material, performing with other famous musicians.
Recently, Burdon wrote a screenplay called "Twisted Oliver" and is working on a new studio album. He turned down tours with War and Linkin Park in the last year, but it seems that the new year is bringing many surprises.
Many of his bands also used elements of speed metal, thrash metal, grindcore and death metal.
He's definitely one of the most important people in music history, while recording the first #1 hit with a length more than four minutes, "House of the Rising Sun", the most popular anti-vietnam song "We Gotta Get out of this Place", the first song recorded in stereo, "Sky Pilot" and the first latin rap in pop music, "Spill the Wine". His self-written rock song "Year of the Guru" (1968) proves that he created the first rap rock-song. His political environment can be seen in his multi-racial project with the band War from late 1969 to early 1971. In 2008 he reunited with the band at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Without his experimental vocals, hip hop, rap, heavy metal, rock, pop and rnb would have a completely different face.
His singing style and music also influenced artists such as Joe Cocker, The Doors, Deep Purple, The Brute Chorus, Ted Nugent, Janis Joplin, The Sonics, Steppenwolf, Chester Bennington, Bruce Springsteen, The Black Crowes, Tom Petty, The White Stripes, Ryan Adams, John Mellencamp, The Compulsive Gamblers, The Vines, Julian Thome, The Hives, MC5 and many more.
In November 2008 the magazine Rolling Stone ranked him #57 on their list of the Best Singers of all Times.
Formations:
The Animals & Sonny Boy Williamson (December 30, 1963)
The Animals (1964 - September 1966, 1976, 1983/84)
Eric Burdon & The Animals (1967 - 1968)
Eric Burdon & War (1969 - 1971)
Eric Burdon & Jimmy Witherspoon (1971)
The Eric Burdon Band (1973 - 1975)
Eric Burdon's Fire Department (1980)
Eric Burdon, Robbie Krieger & Friends (1990)
Eric Burdon & Brian Auger Band (1991 - 1993)
Eric Burdon's I Band (1995 - 1998)
Eric Burdon & The New Animals (1999 - 2002)
Eric Burdon (1976 - ...)
Medley: When I Was Young
Eric Burdon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My father was a soldier then
And times were very hard
When I was young
I smoked my first cigarette at ten
And for girls, I had a bad yen
And I had quite a ball
When I was young, it was more important
Pain more painful
Laughter much louder
Yeah, when I was young
When I was young
I met my first love at thirteen
She was brown and I was pretty green
And I learned quite a lot when I was young
When I was young
When I was young
It was more important
Pain more painful
Laughter much louder
Yeah, when I was young
When I was young
My faith was so much stronger then
I believed in fellow men
And I was so much older then
When I was young
When I was young
When I was young
Eric Burdon’s song “When I Was Young” is a nostalgic journey back to the singer’s youth, where everything was more intense and meaningful. The lyrics describe the life of a young man growing up in a difficult time; his father was a soldier and times were very hard. The rooms were colder, and life was simpler, but everything seemed more important. The singer reminisces about his teenage years, when he had his first cigarette at ten and developed a crush on girls. Life was a lot of fun back then, and he had quite a lot of experiences.
The reflective lyrics reveal how different life was when the singer was young. Pain and laughter were more meaningful, and his faith in fellow men was much stronger. He met his first love at thirteen and learned a lot from the experience. The chorus repeats the themes of the song; when he was young, every experience was amplified, making the pain more painful and the laughter much louder.
The song's lyrics have been interpreted in different ways, with some suggesting that its message is about lost love or missed opportunities. However, Eric Burdon himself explained that the lyrics capture his longing for a time when life was less complicated and less burdensome. The song's nostalgia is relatable to many listeners who have experienced the same feelings about their youth.
Line by Line Meaning
The rooms were so much colder then
The rooms in my house used to be so much colder than they are now.
My father was a soldier then
My father used to be a soldier when I was young.
And times were very hard
Those were hard times that we had to go through when I was young.
When I was young
I'm referring to my younger days when I was still a child.
I smoked my first cigarette at ten
I had my first cigarette at the age of ten.
And for girls, I had a bad yen
I had a strong desire towards girls when I was growing up.
And I had quite a ball
I really enjoyed my childhood.
When I was young, it was more important
Back then, things used to matter more to me than they do now.
Pain more painful
When I used to experience pain, it used to be much more intense than what it feels like now.
Laughter much louder
When something was funny when I was young, we used to laugh much louder than we do now.
Yeah, when I was young
I'm reminiscing about my younger days.
I met my first love at thirteen
I fell in love for the first time when I was thirteen years old.
She was brown and I was pretty green
She was more experienced in love and I was naive about it.
And I learned quite a lot when I was young
I grew and learned many things from different experiences during my childhood years.
My faith was so much stronger then
My faith in humanity was much stronger back then.
I believed in fellow men
I trusted and had faith in people more than I do now.
And I was so much older then
I felt much more mature than I really was, back then.
When I was young
I'm repeating myself because the next line is the same, it's just an emphasis.
When I was young
I'm emphasizing the fact that I'm referring to my younger days.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management
Written by: Eric Victor Burdon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Merlin
I'm so glad someone else remembers this fine album! Thank you!
Don Molenda
you too ? super awesome
Scott Furtney
can't remember what I did last week but for some reason Sun Secrets popped into my head this morning.....When I was young...,.
John Evelyn
This album was a favorite on the old WNEW102.7 fm back in the day when they were the only Rock & Roll station to play full length records and very rarely repeated songs in a 24 hr. period as the music library was open to the DJ'S choices. R.I.P. Scott, Allison and the rest of the gang who are still alive.
Jeffrey Isler
I was a teenager listening to Alison Steele, the King Biscuit Flour Hour, on WNEW FM. 10 minute songs, albums, a time when corporations didn't rule what was played on the FM dial back in the 70s in the NY Metro area.
Darla Tidwell
I knew Eric Burton could easily outrange Jagger. I love Burdon's voice when he calmly but powerfully throws down that groovin' bluesy-ness! Love how he rolls.
clarissa Mora
cannot call it metal. but no way can call it blues. It is what it is GREAT MUSICAL GENIOUS.
Sandra Blum
Not metal, rock and close to hard rock but, not metal!! Love Eric Burdon and all his bands<3
Zappstitute
Love it!!!
Ice Bob
One of my very favorite albums