All hail the electric violin

"When I Was Young" by Eric Burdon and the Animals remains one of the most disturbing songs in rock 'n' roll history, with its thundering fuzz intro and the wailing electric violin of John Weider. It demands to be played loudly. Mr. Burdon's transformation from blues shouter to psychedelic shaman was shocking even at the time, but the New Animals he had put together for the trip were a stunning musical outfit.

While they produced at least three major hits with "San Franciscan Nights," "Monterey" and "Sky Pilot" and three highly eclectic albums, nothing Mr. Burdon and the New Animals recorded matched the power of the band's debut single. From the moment I heard "When I Was Young" on AM radio, I was forever a fan of the electric violin.

Mr. Weider, of course, went on to the legendary English band Family, taking the place of bassist/violinist Ric Grech who had joined Blind Faith.

Next on the scene was perhaps the most famous rock violin song of all, "White Bird" by San Francisco late bloomers It's A Beautiful Day. Violinist David LaFlamme built his entire career on that one song, which is all most people have ever heard of his band. Unlike the sonic blast of the Animals' song, "White Bird" took the listener aloft, hypnotically swooping and soaring for several minutes. The song from the moment of its release has been a '60s standard.

Unfortunately for the members of It's A Beautiful Day, the unforgettable character of their first song also eclipsed several other strong entries in their catalog, including the rocket-ride instrumental "Don and Dewey" that opened their second album.

The English version of It's A Beautiful Day, if you will, was the remarkable folk-rock unit Curved Air which debuted in 1970. This time the electric violin was in the capable hands of Darryl Way, and his tour de force was entitled "Vivaldi" after the master violinist of nearly three centuries earlier.

Like Mr. LaFlamme's work with It's A Beautiful Day, Mr. Way's contribution to Curved Air was omnipresent and equally hypnotic, especially with lead singer Sonja Kristina's gypsy-like vocals (no parallel to Stevie Nicks intended). The band's first three albums are indispensible for any fan of the era's music.

Of course, there are countless other examples from the period, especially when one factors in the rise of country rock. Even blues perennial John Mayall drew on the talents of the fantastic Sugarcane Harris to put a little electric violin in his sound, and it was around that time that Jimmy Page started drawing a bow across his electric guitar for extraordinary results.

Now if you'll excuse me, it's time to cue up "When I Was Young" one more time. A little more volume, please.