For Eric Burton, the lead singer of the Austin, Texas-born soul rock band the Black Pumas, writing songs is like praying. This idea makes sense given that Burton first fell in love with music in church as a young person. But in another way, for the celestially talented singer, making music is as personal as it can get. While that can mean his life can be fodder for content, more accurately for Burton, it’s about connecting to that granular thing called self.
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In today’s era of constant stimuli, digitally or otherwise, there can be an immense push for individuals to be followers, whether on social media, as sports fans, or as consumers of celebrity culture. But the real job—and this is something Burton knows keenly—is to connect with yourself in a clear and specific, even laser-like manner. How do you feel about a given subject? And then, how do you feel about how you feel about it? For Burton, being closely and deeply connected to himself is the impetus for his songs. And all of this can be felt and heard on his band’s new LP, Chronicles of a Diamond, out Friday (October 27).
“Regardless of what it sounds like coming out of you,” Burton tells American Songwriter, “or whatever instrument you’re playing, I learned at a very early age that if you are doing so with the diligence of someone who has belief and a great passion behind that belief to communicate something—when the intention is right, there’s no way that I doesn’t reach the heavens.”
Along with church, Burton discovered music early on, largely through family. His mother was a dancer and his uncles played. One also wrote novels and screenplays. So, Burton was always surrounded by the craft of creativity. He remembers being about nine years old in a recording studio in Baldwin Hills, California, eating hot Cheetos and being told not to touch anything because of the Cheetle on his fingers. Even then as a kid, when he cared about skateboarding and playing outside, music was everywhere. One of his uncles, who helped raise him, would sometimes pose songwriting games to Burton and his siblings, like creating a melody with just a few notes.
“I remember competing with my siblings for the last popsicle in the refrigerator,” Burton says. “by way of coming up with a melodic hook out of seven notes. That was just how I was raised.”
He also remembers receiving a cassette tape that taught vocal inflections. As a kid, he learned how to manipulate his voice, even coming up with characters. Nevertheless, Burton didn’t start writing songs in earnest until he was 18. For his birthday that year, his youngest brother gifted him a guitar. And as he started to write, he saw that his tunes made family members smile. They were personal offerings that helped a room of kin light up. Even then, Burton didn’t know that he would soon be a Grammy-nominated artist. In college, he thought he would be a primary school teacher for kids. But over time, he started hanging out with his peers who studied music and the arts.
“I naturally would gravitate to those communities,” he says, “for how much I enjoyed expressing myself by way of writing songs.”
Burton ended up leaving college and moved home to California. The reason was two-fold, to get back to a place that prized art and music and to help support his mother. “It was time for me to get on a horse and get out there,” the musical cowboy says. Burton busked his way home, making money along the way. At that time, it was the easiest and most efficient way to bring in some dough. It also helped him hone his songs and performance style. Learning that he adored busking, Burton later did a busking tour up the West Coast. That led him to do more street shows, landing in Austin, where he met his Black Pumas co-founder, Adrian Quesada, some 18 months later. Now the two are like Velcro, making sticky hits.
“We just work well together,” Burton says, succinctly.
Together, the two have helped bring a sense of both rock and soul to popular music, thanks to their self-titled 2019 release and now their new LP some four years later. Burton and Quesada have a symbiotic relationship. They teach each other, are open to one another, and change roles at any given time. One day Quesada may bring in the “canvas” of a song and Burton may supply the musical image. On another, that process may flip. And as the band has become more popular and more successful, garnering hundreds of millions of streams, Burton’s own confidence has ballooned. Now, the two are simply a pair of the coolest cats on the charts.
“I feel like it’s a great validator and I’m very grateful,” says Burton, a former school prom king, when asked what it’s like to be thought of as cool. “I’ve always felt cool. I’ve always been someone who has a certain level of charisma that points to a love of connecting with people and a love for expressing myself as honestly and unapologetically as possible. It’s just the best way.”
And this is Burton’s secret sauce. He adds, speaking about all people, not just he and his bandmate, “If we allow ourselves to be individuals and allow us to be honest to our own rhythmic patterns, it’s the coolest thing. It’s the most genius thing, the most brilliant thing for the simple fact that we are individuals.” Despite the fact that many might be tempted, Burton says he doesn’t want anyone to “follow” him. He wants to inspire, yes. But to inspire others to be the fullest and best versions of themselves. Not inspire them to be another Eric Burton. “To see how cool they are,” he says.
Anyone who hears Burton today will likely be reminded of other soul giants like Otis Redding, Al Green, Sam Cooke, and Curtis Mayfield. Burton is part of their lineage. But he’s not aiming to copy any of them, just as he hopes no one tries to copy him directly. The metaphor he uses has to do with the beach. Bring your own surfboard, but share the wave. The result of his philosophy is an excellent sophomore record from the Black Pumas that includes emotive hits like the endearing “Angel” and unparalleled “Gemini Sun.”
“For me,” Burton says, “writing songs is like praying. That’s how serious I am about the songwriting and about what I’m saying and how I’m feeling.”
Photo by Jody Domingue, Courtesy of BT PR
