Eric Burdon

From Wikipedia:

Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist of the original lineup of the R&B and rock band the Animals and the funk band War. He is currently the lead vocalist of the present day lineup of Eric Burdon & the Animals. Burdon is regarded as one of the British Invasion’s most distinctive singers with his deep, powerful blues-rock voice and is known for his intense stage performances.

In 2008, he was ranked 57th in Rolling Stone‘s list of “The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time”. […]

In his autobiography, Eric Burdon explained that Paul McCartney considered giving “Yesterday” to English singer Chris Farlowe, who declined because he considered the song as too soft.

One day [Chris Farlowe] phoned me at my Duke Street pad. ‘Hey Eric, how ya doin’, it’s Chris Farlowe here,’ he said in his hoarse voice. I asked how he was getting on. ‘Oh, I’m OK. ’ere listen, you’ll never guess what happened. Paul McCartney – you know Paul out of The Beatles?’ Yes, I had heard of him. ‘Well he came round to our house in the middle of the night. I was out doing a show, but me mum was in and he left her a demo disc for me to listen to.’ This was wonderful news. When was Chris going into the studio to cut this gift from the gods? ‘Ah,’ he growled. ‘I don’t like it. It’s not for me. It’s too soft. I need a good rocker, you know, a shuffle or something.’ ‘Yeah, but Chris,’ I said. ‘Anything to give you a start, man, I mean even if it’s a ballad, you should go ahead and record it.’

‘No, I don’t like it,’ he insisted. ‘Too soft.’

‘So what are you gonna do with the song?’

‘Well, I sent it back, didn’t l?’

‘What was the title of the song?’

‘“Yesterday”,’ he retorted.

Eric Burdon – From “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood: A Memoir” by Eric Burdon, 2002