The Animals are a Psychedelic and Hard Rock Band

The Animals are a Psychedelic and Hard Rock Band. They were one of the first British Invasion groups of the 1960s to stay in the US and achieve major success.

Introduction

The Animals are a Psychedelic and Hard Rock Band that was formed in the UK in the 1960s. The band members are Eric Burdon, Alan Price, Danny McCulloch, and Hilton Valentine. The band is known for their hits “House of the Rising Sun”, “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”, and “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”.

History

The Animals are a British 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 hard-edge boogie-woogie rhythm and wild stage performances.

Formation

The Animals were known for their gritty, hard-edged brand of rhythm and blues which often incorporated elements of jazz, country and gospel music. They were one of the flagship bands of EMI’s Parlophone label in the 1960s and one of the first British Invasion bands to land a major US record deal. The original lineup consisted of singer Eric Burdon, keyboardist Alan Price, guitarist Hilton Valentine, bassist Chas Chandler and drummer John Steel. The band underwent numerous personnel changes in its early years; Burdon would be the only member to appear on all their albums during their 1964-1968 incarnation.

The Animals suffered from poor business management, leading to financial difficulties and tensions within the group. Price departed in mid-1966 due to these issues, and was replaced by Mick Gallagher. Gallagher also left by 1968, and was in turn replaced by Dave Rowberry. Due to ongoing financial problems, the group disbanded in early 1969; they briefly reunited later that year for a farewell concert before finally calling it quits for good.

Early years

The Animals, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, in the late 1950s, were part of the British Invasion of rock music in the United States. Known for their gritty, raw interpretation of rhythm and blues, they became famous for hits such as “House of the Rising Sun”, “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”, “Sky Pilots”, and “It’s My Life”. The Animals had a sound that was harder and grittier than that of their British Invasion contemporaries; they were also influenced by American soul music and were one of the first popular bands to incorporate elements of it into their sound. They were beloved by American audiences but reviled by some in the British music press.

The original lineup was lead vocalist Eric Burdon, bassist Chas Chandler, organist Alan Price, guitarist Hilton Valentine, and drummer John Steel. The band’s loud, powerful sound was an important factor in their success on both sides of the Atlantic; however, they were perhaps best known for Burdon’s impassioned vocals and stage presence. The band was also noted for their sometimes explosive onstage interaction; following an altercation between Burdon and Price on-stage at a concert in Cardiff in 1965 (during which Price hit Burdon over the head with his organ), Chandler fired Price from the band. He was replaced by Dave Rowberry.

The Animals achieved considerable success in both Britain and America with hits such as “House of the Rising Sun”, “We Gotta Get Outta This Place”, “Sky Pilots”, “It’s My Life”, and “I’m Crying”. The band was beloved by American audiences but reviled by some in the British music press; NME critic Tony Styles famously called them “the most disgusting group in Britain”. In October 1966, they toured Australia and New Zealand with The Rolling Stones; this was their last tour with Chandler, who left the band shortly afterwards to become a producer (he would later produce Jimi Hendrix’s Are You Experienced?).

Following Chandler’s departure, keyboardistRowberry became a full-time member of the Animals; bassist Danny McCulloch joined shortly afterwards. The new lineup recorded 1967’s Winds of Change and 1968’s Every One Of Us; both albums received positive reviews but failed to match the commercial success of earlier releases. In 1969, Burdon abruptly left the band during a US tour (allegedly because he had been offered a better deal by another record label); he was replaced by Vic Briggs. Briggs had previously been a member of Eric Burdon & The Animals II (a short-lived incarnation of the band featuring Burdon, Briggs on guitar/vocals, McCulloch on bass/vocals, ex-Animal Steel on drums/percussion/vocals) and War (a group he co-founded with several former members of The Electric Flag).

Later years

The band continued to tour and release new albums throughout the 1970s, but their popularity began to decline. They experienced a resurgence in popularity in the 1980s and released a number of successful singles, but by the end of the decade their popularity had waned again. The band’s final studio album was released in 1996, and they disbanded shortly afterwards.

Members

The Animals is a psychedelic and hard rock band which was formed in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, in the early 1960s. The band had a number of hits in the United Kingdom and the United States. The band was led by singer Eric Burdon and included, at various times, musicians Hilton Valentine, Alan Price, Chas Chandler, John Weider, Danny McCulloch, Vic Briggs, and Zoot Money.

Current members

The current members of The Animals are:
-Eric Burdon – lead vocals (1962–1968, 1983, 1994, 1996, 1999–present)
-John Steel – drums (1962–1971, 1983, 1994, 1996), backing vocals (1962–1968)
-Danny McCulloch – bass (1962–1966), rhythm guitar (1964), backing vocals (1964)
-Hilton Valentine – lead guitar (1962–1969), sitar on “San Franciscan Nights”
-Alan Price – keyboards (1964–1966)
-Mick Gallagher – keyboards (1983, 1994), accordion on “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”
-Bobby Tench – guitars, harmonica, backing vocals (1994)
-Martin Grace – drums (1994)
-Andy Summers – lead guitar on tour in Japan only in 1994
In May 2019 the band announced that they would be joined by Australian singer and actor Jason Donovan for their UK summer tour.

Former members

Former members of the band include lead singer Eric Burdon, bassist Chas Chandler, drummer John Steel, keyboardist Alan Price, and guitarist Hilton Valentine.

Discography

The Animals are an English 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, raw live performances and were considered part of the British Invasion. They are best known for their hit singles “House of the Rising Sun” and “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”, both of which peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1965. The Animals released a total of five studio albums in their career.

Studio albums

1964 – The Animals
1965 – Animal Tracks
1965 – The Animals on Tour
1966 – Animalism
1966 – Animalization
1968 – Every One of Us
1983 – Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted

Live albums

The Animals were a Psychedelic and Hard Rock band who were popular in the 1960s. They released a number of live albums, which are listed below.

-Animalism (1966)
-The Animalization of Japan (1967)
-The BBC Sessions (2003)
-Live at the BBC (2014)

Compilation albums

In 2002, EMI released a two-disc retrospective compilation of The Animals’ work. The first disc, Retrospective, contained the band’s singles in chronological order from their first UK release in May 1964 through to their last in December 1968. The second disc, Rarities, contained previously unreleased recordings and alternate versions of released material.

Singles

“The House of the Rising Sun” is a traditional folk song, sometimes called “Rising Sun Blues”. It tells of a life gone wrong in New Orleans; many versions also urge a listener to avoid the same fate. The most successful commercial version, recorded in 1964 by the British rock group The Animals, was a number-one hit on charts in both the United Kingdom and the United States.

The band had been inspired to record their own version by singer Bob Dylan’s recording of the song, which he released as his first single in July 1963. Dylan’s ballad style differed significantly from that of previous renditions, and his success with it caused other artists to consider recording their own versions of the song. Shortly after Dylan’s single entered the pop charts in 1964, The Animals recorded their own hit version.

The song remains widely performed today and has been covered by many artists including Eric Burdon, who later led The Animals.

Filmography

The Animals is a 1968 American documentary film directed and produced by Dick Fontaine. The film follows the band The Animals during their American tour in 1966 and 1967. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

The Animals is a Psychedelic and Hard Rock Band that formed in 1968. The band members are Eric Burdon, Alan Price, Danny McCulloch, Vic Briggs, and John Weider. The band has released eight studio albums, four live albums, and twenty-five singles. The band’s most notable hits include “House of the Rising Sun”, “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”, “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”, and “It’s My Life”.

References

The Animals are a Psychedelic and Hard Rock Band from the 60’s. They have influenced many bands such as The Beatles, The Doors, and Jimi Hendrix. Psychedelic music is a style of rock that emerged in the mid-1960s. Hard rock is a form of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s.