Loading AI tools
1970 single by Eric Burdon and War From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Spill the Wine" is the debut single by singer Eric Burdon and the band War, released in May 1970. It was backed by the non-album track "Magic Mountain", and was War's first Billboard chart hit.[5]
This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2016) |
"Spill the Wine" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Single by Eric Burdon & War | ||||
from the album Eric Burdon Declares "War" | ||||
B-side | "Magic Mountain" | |||
Released | May 1970 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:51 (album version) 3:59 (promo single version) | |||
Label | MGM | |||
Songwriter(s) | Charles Miller, Howard E. Scott, B.B. Dickerson, Lonnie Jordan, Harold Ray Brown, Thomas "Papa Dee" Allen, Lee Oskar, Eric Burdon | |||
Producer(s) | Jerry Goldstein | |||
Eric Burdon & War singles chronology | ||||
|
This section needs expansion with: a more complete description based on standard rock sources. You can help by adding to it. (November 2016) |
"Spill the Wine" first appeared on the album Eric Burdon Declares War and runs 4:51. Its writing credits include the members of War: Papa Dee Allen, Harold Brown, Eric Burdon, B.B. Dickerson, Lonnie Jordan, Charles Miller, Lee Oskar, and Howard E. Scott.[6] The song was inspired by an accident in which keyboardist Lonnie Jordan spilled wine on a mixing board.[7] It features a prevalent flute solo, and the sound of a woman speaking Spanish—a friend of Eric Burdon—is heard in the background.[8] An edited version, released as a promo single for radio stations and subsequently included on most compilations, omits the middle spoken recitation, plus one chorus.[citation needed] The song was re-released as a single in 1996, after a remix by Junior Vasquez.[9]
"Spill the Wine" was War's first hit of two with Eric Burdon as vocalist.[10] It peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.[11] Billboard ranked the single the number 20 song of 1970.[12] It was also a top 3 hit in Canada[13] and number 2 in Australia in mid-November 1970.[14]
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA)[23] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
"Spill the Wine" has been used in the soundtracks of the following motion pictures:
The song was used in the sound tracks of the following television episodes:
"Spill the Wine" has been covered by:
In 2001, The B-Side Players included a cover on their album Movement.[31] The same year, Los Mocosos included a version on their album Shades of Brown.[32]
In 2004, flautist Alexander Zonjic performed a cover of "Spill the Wine" for his album Seldom Blues.[33][better source needed]
San Francisco band Vinyl covered "Spill the Wine" on their album Frogshack Music Volume II in 2009, in a track featuring Sugar Pie DeSanto and Marcus Scott.[citation needed]
The revival of the 1970s band The L.A. Carpool covered "Spill the Wine" with a Latin salsa flair in 2012, in a track that featured well-known Latin drummer Richie "Gajate" Garcia and other well-known Latin musicians.[citation needed]
On October 31, 2013, jam band Widespread Panic covered the song, opening the second set of their show at UNO arena in New Orleans, and again at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on New Year's Eve of 2013.[citation needed]
On February 23, 2014, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band opened their concert at the Hope Estate Winery in the Hunter Valley of NSW, Australia, with a nine-minute version of the song, the world premiere of their version.[34]
In 2019, the song was released by Michael Hutchence as the lead single from the compilation album Mystify: A Musical Journey with Michael Hutchence.[35][36]
In a 2008 interview, Lonnie Jordan referred to Eric Burdon as the first Latin rapper in pop music.[37]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.