This was the swan song hit for Eric Burdon and The Animals, at least for American fans, although no one knew when this was released in the US and Canada in spring 1968 that Burdon would be forming the group War the following year. Eric Burdon and The Animals would have a final UK hit in 1969 covering Johnny Cash's "Ring Of Fire." Still, of all their hit singles, "Sky Pilot" has struck a nerve more than any other. The original video itself was excellent, even by today's standards. And it was clear on listening that this was not merely an anti-Vietnam War ballad ... it was anti-War itself in whatever form it took and regardless of who the combatants were. Audio effects were outstanding for 1968, the sounds of warfare captivating phonograph and jukebox listeners alike. My video does not take us all the way back to The Battle of Hastings and every war fought since, like the original video, but it does capture the period between World War I and when the song was released in the US and Canada, during the second phase of the Tet Offensive, a military campaign that by its conclusion in September 1968 would finally sway the vast majority of American public opinion against the war in Vietnam. "Sky Pilot" reached #16 on Cash Box and #14 on Billboard on August 10, 1968. It would peak at #7 on Canada's RPM chart.