The Animals are an English rhythm and blues and rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound and deep-voiced frontman Eric Burdon, as exemplified by their signature song and transatlantic No. 1 hit single, "House of the Rising Sun", as well as by hits such as "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", "It's My Life", "I'm Crying" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood". The band balanced tough, rock-edged pop singles against rhythm and blues-orientated album material and were part of the British Invasion of the US.
The Animals underwent numerous personnel changes in the mid-1960s and suffered from poor business management. Under the name Eric Burdon and the Animals, the much-changed act moved to California and achieved commercial success as a psychedelic and hard rock band with hits like "San Franciscan Nights", "When I Was Young" and "Sky Pilot", before disbanding at the end of the decade.[2] Altogether, the group had ten Top Twenty hits in both the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100.
The original lineup of Burdon, Alan Price, Chas Chandler, Hilton Valentine and John Steel reunited for a one off benefit concert in Newcastle in 1968. They later had brief comebacks in 1975 and 1983. There have been several partial regroupings of the original era members since then under various names. The Animals were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
Legacy
The original Animals were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, although Eric Burdon did not attend and the band did not perform. In 2003, the band's version of "The House of the Rising Sun" ranked No. 123 on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. Their 1965 hit single "We Gotta Get out of This Place" was ranked No. 233 on the same list. Both songs are included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.[25]
On 15 March 2012, in a keynote speech to an audience at the South by Southwest music festival, Bruce Springsteen discussed the Animals' influence on his music at length, stating, "To me, the Animals were a revelation. They were the first records with full-blown class consciousness that I'd ever heard." He said of "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" (written by two New York songwriters, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil): "That's every song I've ever written ... That's 'Born to Run,' 'Born in the U.S.A.,' everything I've done for the past 40 years including all the new ones. That struck me so deep. It was the first time I felt I heard something come across the radio that mirrored my home life, my childhood." Saying that his album Darkness on the Edge of Town was "filled with Animals," Springsteen played the opening riffs to "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" and his own "Badlands" back to back, then said, "Listen up, youngsters! This is how successful theft is accomplished!"[26]
Tony Banks, the keyboard player of British progressive rock band Genesis drew influence from Alan Price, whom he regarded as "[t]he first person who made me aware of the organ in a rock context".
The Animals discography
The Animals (1964; The Animals; US)/The Animals (1964; The Animals; UK)
The Animals on Tour (1965; The Animals; US)
Animal Tracks (1965; The Animals; UK)/Animal Tracks (1965; The Animals; US)
Animalisms (1966; The Animals; UK)/Animalization (1966; The Animals; US)
Animalism (1966; The Animals; US)
Eric Is Here (1967; Eric Burdon & The Animals; US)
Winds of Change (1967; Eric Burdon & The Animals)
The Twain Shall Meet (1968; Eric Burdon & The Animals)
Every One of Us (1968; Eric Burdon & The Animals; US)
Love Is (1968; Eric Burdon & The Animals)
Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted (1977; The Animals)
Ark (1983; The Animals)