Eric Burdon, singer of The Animals, now 82, later pursued acting and wrote two highly entertaining books: I Used To Be An Animal, But I’m All Right Now; and Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood: A Memoir. He still tours occasionally. This interview was conducted between gigs just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, parts of which ran previously.

Fifty years ago this month, WAR’s classic album The World Is a Ghetto was released, hitting number one on the Billboard chart and going on to become the bestselling album of 1973. Now there’s a whole new way to listen to it. Avenue/Rhino has released a new Dolby Atmos mix of the album, which features the top-10 title track and the number-two hit “Cisco Kid.” The World Is a Ghetto was WAR’s fifth album. The band was first formed in the late ’60s by ex-Animals frontman Eric Burdon and producer/songwriter Jerry Goldstein.