As part of 60's group The Animals, Eric Burdon sang lead on the #1 hit "The House Of The Rising Sun" and thirteen other Top 40 tunes. In 1970, he left the Animals and recorded "Spill The Wine" with War, a Latin band from Long Beach, CA who backed him until 1971. Producer Jerry Goldstein had seen the band at a gig in Hollywood and became enamored of their distinctive sound.


The original members were Howard Scott, Lee Oskar, Lonnie Jordon, Charles Miller, Thomas Allen, Morris Dickerson and Harold Brown and all shared lead vocals. After the success of "Spill The Wine", Eric left and the band soldiered on to spread their message of brotherhood and harmony and spoke out against social inequalities and gangs.


"Slippin' Into Darkness" was issued in 1973 and became a #16 hit and then "The World Is A Ghetto" peaked at #7 in early 1973. "The Cisco Kid" single peaked at #2 for two weeks, becoming their most popular single ever. "Why Can't We Be Friends" LP was issued in 1975 and held two top 10 singles, the title track and second single "Low Rider" both peaked at #7, but then "Low Rider" did one better by taking the #1 spot on the R&B chart for one week.


Howard explained that the song came about from the low rider culture, "We went to school with all the low riders and it seemed like a natural thing to write a song about the low riders". During the 50's and 60's, young Chicanos created a car style that expressed the pride and playfulness of the Mexican American culture by installing hydraulics that lowered the car's body closer to the ground and also allowed the car to bounce up and down. The style reached its peak in the mid 70's and became a symbol of Mexican/American pride, the cars decorated with rims with spinners, superior paint jobs, custom interiors with specialized steering wheels made of chain and extensive paint details.


At the jam session Charles Miller began singing about low riders after the band found a groove and played it until they felt it was solid, then edited it. The band finished the song adding the horn line and creating an enduring classic 70's tune that has transcended the years.