Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood: A Memoir - Softcover

Burdon, Eric

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1560254483 ISBN 13: 9781560254485

Publisher: Da Capo Press, 2002

Synopsis

While Eric Burdon may be best remembered for his unforgettable vocals on the Animals' platinum hit, "House of the Rising Sun," this Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member has never stopped having adventures. Burdon was ripped off by unscrupulous agents, accountants, and record labels, hounded by the police, and framed for a crime he didn't commit. Yet through it all, he never became bitter. He was the first rocker to play behind the Iron Curtain. He sang with Jimi Hendrix, chased Jim Morrison out of his house with a .44, and introduced John Lee Hooker to the toughest venue Hooker ever played. Eric Burdon explains how he became the "Egg Man" in the Beatles' "I am the Walrus."

With the enthusiasm and good humor of his live shows, Burdon recalls the tense reunion between John Lennon and Lennon's long-estranged father; racing motorcycles across the California desert with Steve McQueen; picketing the offices of MGM Records for nonpayment of royalties; performing in wartime Sarajevo with a symphony orchestra; getting run out of Meridian, Mississippi for promoting black music, and singing his heart out year after year. A complete discography and fifty photographs, many never before published, are included in this unforgettable memoir.

"Burdon has lived like a real rocker." -New York Times Book Review

"Riveting and informative."-Los Angeles Times

"These reminiscences will delight Burdon's fans . . . in general."-Library Journal

About this title

About the Author:

Eric Burdon was the vocalist of rock band The Animals and funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, powerful blues-rock voice.

From Publishers Weekly:

If Burdon's life story accurately reflects the life of your average rock 'n' roller during the last 40 years, then readers will quickly understand exactly why many a young boy has come to his ruin by that route. Once and always the lead singer of the Animals (as well as the lead for Eric Burdon and the New Animals and Eric Burdon and War), he recounts riding the crest of the British Invasion, moving to L.A., and birthing San Francisco's psychedelic rock scene; getting drunk, laid and stoned; hanging out with the likes of Lennon, Hendrix and Morrison; and spotting Elvis. In one revealing (if not disenchanting) bit, Burdon tells the whys and hows of being the Eggman of the Beatles's song "I Am the Walrus." He also elaborates on his longstanding dismay with the recording industry eloquently captured in a low moment when he "drunkenly" tried to play a gold record he'd received ("It wasn't a chart-topping Animals album at all it was an old Connie Francis record") and gripes about getting ripped off for arrangement rights to the Animals' version of "House of the Rising Sun." This book is a celebration of tried-and-true music, but other new memoirs prove more engaging (see Gene Simmons bio, above). While this account is a primary source for the history of rock 'n' roll, readers may find this story of an overindulgent, middling rocker burdensome. Photos.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1560254483
• ISBN 13: 9781560254485
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 326