The Animals
The Animals were an English music group, who were most popular in the 1960s. They were known for their bluesy sound, and their heavy-voiced singer Eric Burdon.
The Animals | |
|---|---|
 The Animals in 1964: from left to right, Eric Burdon (vocals), Alan Price (keyboards), Chas Chandler (bass), Hilton Valentine (guitar), John Steel (drums) | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Eric Burdon and the New Animals |
| Origin |  Newcastle upon Tyne, England |
| Genres | Rhythm and blues Blues rock Rock Psychedelic rock, Progressive rock, Punk rock, R&B |
| Years active | 1963–1969, 1975-1976, 1983 |
| Labels | Columbia Graphophone, Decca, MGM |
| Past member(s) | Eric Burdon Alan Price Chas Chandler (deceased) Hilton Valentine (deceased) John Steel Dave Rowberry (deceased) Barry Jenkins and more |
One of their first hit songs, "The House of The Rising Sun", was an old American folk song, which they performed with a rock and roll beat. Folk musician Bob Dylan was impressed by the Animals version of the song.
Other Animals hits included "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place", "Don't Bring Me Down", "It's My Life", "See See Rider", "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", and "I'm Crying". The original Animals disbanded, and Burdon moved to the United States in 1967, where he formed a new version of the band. They made more records, like "San Franciscan Nights", "Sky Pilot", "When I Was Young", "Paint it Black", "River Deep Mountain High", "Gratefully Dead" and "Monterey".
The original Animals reunited in later years, to perform concerts, and Burdon performed Animals songs with other bands. Bass guitarist Chas Chandler became a music producer, with artists like Jimi Hendrix and Slade.
Keyboardist Alan Price left the band in early 1965 and went on an successful solo career in Europe. Guitar player Hilton Valentine and drummer John Steel left the music business for many years until they reunited. John Weider, guitar and violin player of the second Animals went on an solo career and was a member of the rock band Family. Guitar player of the second Animals Vic Briggs became Antion Vikram Singh and released a few solo records including Hawaiian music. Lead singer Eric Burdon went on with the funk rock band War, formed the hard rock/heavy metal group The Eric Burdon Band and went on an solo career with many ups and downs.
Studio albums
change- The Animals (1964)
- The Animals on Tour (1965)
- Animal Tracks (1965)
- Animalisms (1966)
- Animalism (1966)
- Eric Is Here (1967)
- Winds of Change (1967)
- The Twain Shall Meet (1968)
- Every One of Us (1968)
- Love Is (1968)
- Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted (1977)
- Ark (1983)
Other websites
change- The Animals Official Homepage Archived 2003-07-25 at the Wayback Machine
- An Animals discography from Music City Archived 2007-07-08 at the Wayback Machine
- The Animals at Rollingstone Archived 2009-05-11 at the Wayback Machine
- Hear The Animals (music and interviews) on the Pop Chronicles (1969).