Eric Burdon is a living legend, known for his groundbreaking work as lead singer for the Animals and WAR, as well as his deep involvement with the protest and counterculture movements of the 1960s and ’70s. Rolling Stone Brian Jones called Burdon the best blues singer to ever come out of England; he toured with Chuck Berry, partied with Jim Morrison and Keith Richards, rode motorcycles with Steve McQueen, and was one of the last people to see Jimi Hendrix alive. His work has influenced artists ranging from Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen and Nina Simone to the Police, while his words helped shape an entire generation’s ideas on war, race relations, and social justice.

Now 67, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member hasn’t slowed down a bit, touring virtually non-stop and releasing albums at a faster pace than many younger acts. Currently working on a new live album and a follow-up to his 2006 studio release Soul of a Man, Burdon also just finished an extensive US and Canadian tour with Hippiefest, which he has headlined for the last two years, and is now doing a series of additional shows in cities across North America. He took a break from this busy schedule recently for a revealing discussion on his life, his work, and his plans for the future.

Born in working-class Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England during World War II, Burdon says he first fell in love with American blues and rock after a chance encounter with Muddy Waters, who was in Europe on tour with the Chris Barber Jazz Band. “In the heart of my hometown there’s the city hall,” he explains. “It’s the premier performance place in North East England. One summer’s eve, I was coming home from exams to enter art school, and the doors leading to the stage were wide open. From a city block away, I heard this sound that went straight to my inner self—it turned out to be Muddy Waters doing a sound check.”

Burdon was hooked, and soon started jamming with local musicians on cover versions of songs by American artists such as Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, and John Lee Hooker. In 1962, he joined a Newcastle group called the Alan Price Combo, featuring organist Alan Price, guitarist Hilton Valentine, bassist Chas Chandler, and drummer John Steel. The band changed their name to the Animals, moved to London, and quickly found international success with the 1964 release “House of the Rising Sun”, which was a chart-topping hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

“Fame is not all it’s cracked up to be,” Burdon says, noting that before joining the Animals he also considered enlisting in the Merchant Marine. “The adjustment to fame was a nightmare, but it was a way to the red carpet treatment to the US—to the world, in fact. But I may have found that the route of being an able-bodied seaman could have delivered the answer to my travel-lust, plus peace of mind.”

The Animals continued their success, releasing the hits “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”, “The Story of Bo Diddley”, and “It’s My Life” before organist Alan Price left the band to pursue a solo career in 1965. More hits followed, including the singles “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”, “Don’t Bring Me Down”, and “See See Rider”, but by late 1966, the original group had completely disbanded. Guitarist Hilton Valentine and drummer John Steel both went on to start new bands, while bassist Chas Chandler went on to manage Jimi Hendrix. Ironically, Hendrix would jam with Eric Burdon and WAR at a London jazz club on the night of his death.

Burdon soon resurfaced in California, forming a new version of the Animals and becoming an important part of San Francisco’s growing psychedelic rock scene. After a classic performance at the now famous 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, this new group released a string of successful hits including the song “Monterey” and the anti-war anthem “Sky Pilot.”

“During the Vietnam years, without any plan or plot, the community of international youth came together in a magically unexplainable way,” Burdon says of his involvement with the anti-Vietnam war effort. “I was proud to be a part of it. The collective enemy of Vietnam are still today what they were before the Gulf of Tonkin attack. The US wasted a generation of young bodies and minds—was it a real war or just an experiment in terror?

“Even the good and righteous wars like the Spanish Civil War and World War II, if you dig deep enough, it’s all got to do with economics,” he adds. “It just becomes clearer with the passage of time. The same scenario happens over and over again. I’ve learned that some of my music gave aid and comfort to combatants in ’Nam. Of this, I’m proud.”

Burdon is also against the current US conflict in Iraq, which he says is the “wrong war at the wrong time for the wrong reasons.”

“We’ve been mistreating the people in the Middle East for a long time,” he explains. “Same thing as [what] happened with the Vietnamese. They kicked our asses, and they’re still there and they’re still communists. We lost 70,000 people and what was it all for?

“War is a big business,” he says. “I was born amidst war and we’re still at war. There’s more wars today than back then.”