The Animals were one of the most important British rock bands which were at the forefront of the British invasion during the mid-late 1960s. Stemming from the north-east of England, more specifically from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, The Animals were fronted by the highly talented and charismatic lead singer Eric Victor Burdon and consisted of four other members, namely Hilton Valentine (guitarist and backing vocalist), Chas Chandler (bassist and backing vocalist), Alan Price (keyboardist and backing vocalist), and John Steel (drummer). The band was formed in 1963 and was initially active up until 1969. The original line-up of the band broke off in 1966, with Burdon subsequently performing with new band members under the alternative moniker ‘Eric Burdon and The Animals‘ for the remainder of the 1960s. The band was briefly active between 1975 and 1976 and then once more in 1983. The British group’s electric rock sound went as far as to influence Bob Dylan to go electric in 1965, starting to perform with musicians with electric instruments.
Black and white photograph of the original line-up of The Animals back in 1964 (photograph by MGM Records). Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Colour photograph of The Animals in September 1965 (photograph by MGM Records). Image source: Wikimedia Commons
During the late 1960s, The Animals relocated to California, United States, where they achieved commercial success, changing their sound from a blues- and rhythm-and-blues-based one to a psychedelic rock and progressive rock one. Nevertheless, the band is best remembered for their legendary and well known songs released during the mid 1960s, more specifically ‘The House of the Rising Sun’ (a cover of a traditional song), ‘We Gotta Get Out of This Place’, ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’, ‘It’s My Live’, ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’, ‘I’m Crying’, or ‘See See Rider’. Back in 1964, the band won the British Disc of the Year NME award with their well-known legendary song ‘The House of the Rising Sun’.
In total, the British classic rock group had 10 top-twenty hits both in the United Kingdom and in the United States. Throughout the 1960s, the band released 10 studio albums as follows (from 1966 up to 1969 the band was known as Eric Burdon and The Animals):
- The Animals (1964)
- The Animals on Tour (1965)
- Animal Tracks (1965)
- Animalisms (1966; also known as Animalization in the United States, an album with a similar track list as Animalisms which was released in the United Kingdom)
- Animalism (1966)
- Eric Is Here (1967)
- Winds of Change (1967)
- The Twain Shall Meet (1968)
- Every One of Us (1968)
- Love Is (1968)
During the 1970s and 1980s, the band released two additional studio albums, namely:
- Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted (1977)
- Ark (1983)
The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 (but Eric Burdon and the band did not perform for their induction ceremony). Fast forward during the 21st century, The Animals are still musically active nowadays, but in two incarnations, one led by Eric Burdon (still known as Eric Burdon and The Animals) and one led by original drummer John Steel known as ‘Animals and Friends’.
Below you can listen to my all time most favourite songs from the discography of the band (which are, naturally, some of their best known songs as well) via YouTube:
Bonus video material
The story behind the legendary song The House of the Rising Sun as told by highly charismatic and legendary Animals frontman and lead singer Eric Victor Burdon in an interview with Professor of Rock:
- The band’s page on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
- The band’s page on www.britannica.com (Encyclopædia Britannica online)
- British invasion on www.britannica.com (Encyclopædia Britannica online)
- The discography of the band on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
P.S. On a personal note, if I may, I need to underline the fact that Eric Victor Burdon and The Animals were a tremendous influence on me as I was growing up (especially during my teenage years back in the 2010s) as well as well into my young adulthood (especially abroad as an international student). I would often practice House of the Rising Sun on my acoustic Harley Benton guitar in my early 20s. To this day, The Animals are still a major influence on me as a person and also as an amateur musician, playing guitar (and other musical instruments) solely as a hobby in my spare time.