There was an enormously successful televison show called China Beach that was the number one show in the country and paid homage to the war and sacrifices made in Vietnam. They received a request from the show's producer, Gino Escarado, to have Katrina and the Waves do a cover version of a classic song that was time specific and would fit the episode perfectly.
I received a call from the great head of A&R for SBK, Don Rubin, who asked if I would be up for producing a version of the Animals classic song , "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" that was chosen to be used in a few episodes of the show for the upcoming season going forward.
Well if you know me, I am decisive in my actions and therefore, I jumped at the chance to do this and also had the idea that it may be really hip to ask Eric Burdon, who was residing in the UK countryside at that time, to do it as a duet with her. Well under dreams do come true and to my great surprise and pleasure Eric said, "Yes, I'd love to!".
We recorded the track in Cambridge, England just minutes away from renown University at a studio owned by the band and where we did all the recording with my engineer, Gary Hellman.
Katrina was an outstanding vocalist and such a professional as was the iconic Eric Burden, who sounded the same and was more than a helpful, willing and wonderful associate. The results spoke for themselves and were perfect as the song was well received and became a great success for the show and the for Gino Escarado, who later asked me to do more songs for him and the show and has become a friend to this very day!
So to celebrate that moment in time for me and provide you with a reflection on a time in my life where I was so honored to be working with such an amazing bevy of talent, I decided that I would provide you with a Mental Glass of Water from Katrina and Eric Burdon as they dig down deep in their souls and brought this great song new life and an emotional lift.
Here are Katrina and the Waves along with Eric Burdon performing, "We Gotta Get Out Of this Place".
Enjoy the song and the rest of our week!