ERIC BURDON & THE ANIMALS San Franciscan Nights (1967) [HQ]

Eric Burdon & The Animals
"San Franciscan Nights"
Single, released August 1967
Label: MGM
Album: Winds of Change (Released: October 1967)

"San Franciscan Nights" is a 1967 song performed by Eric Burdon and The Animals. Words and music were composed by the group's members, Eric Burdon, Vic Briggs, John Weider, Barry Jenkins, and Danny McCulloch. A paean to San Francisco, it was the biggest hit that the new band – as opposed to the first-incarnation Animals of the mid-1960s – would have. It reached a peak position of number 1 on the Canadian RPM charts, number 9 on the U.S. pop singles chart, and number 7 on the UK pop singles chart.

The band wrote "San Franciscan Nights" themselves as a protest song against the Vietnam War. Looking back on the tune in a 2010 interview with Songfacts, Burdon said: "The 'Love Generation' helped the anti-war stance in the States. It certainly turned a lot of soldiers' heads around, making them wonder why they had to be out fighting a war when back home their girlfriends were frolicking around and it caused a lot of anguish on that level. Maybe it helped politically with the so-called enemy. I'm not sure."

At a concert in Naperville, Illinois in 2010, Burdon said the song was written about an evening with Janis Joplin in San Francisco.

Eric Burdon - vocals
Vic Briggs - guitar, piano, arrangements
John Weider - guitar, violin
Danny McCulloch - bass
Barry Jenkins - drums