San Franciscan Nights

"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.

Background

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."