In the late ‘60s, California funk legends War started out as a backing band for singer Eric Burdon after his iconic rock band, The Animals, broke up. Soon, the group emerged from Burdon's shadow as purveyors of fierce grooves. As the inventors of multicultural Southern California funk, War mixed a wild array of sounds into their music, including blues, Latin ballads, jazz, and psychedelic rock. It was a sound that was tough and unique, but still managed to reach listeners far outside their native California, reaching gold status for each of their releases after 1971.