Started: 1964
City and Country of Origin: Newcastle, England
Music Training:
Awards:
Top Recordings: "House of the Rising Sun," "We've Gotta Get Out of This Place,"
The Animals Biography: The Animals had its roots in the Newcastle based band Kansas City Five. The group was comprised of pianist Alan Price, drummer John Steel, and vocalist Eric Burdon. Price left to join the Kontours and Burdon left for London. Burdon returned to Newcastle and rejoined the group in 1963 along with the return of Alan Price. Guitarist Hilton Valentine was the final member to join the band. Giorgio Gomelsky booked the band into his Crawdaddy Club in London, and the group signed with Mickie Most an independent producer who secured a contract with EMI's Columbia Imprint. Their debut single "Baby Let Me Take You Home" rose to number 21 on the charts. Their next effort "House of the Rising Sun" topped the charts in both Britain and the U.S. This success led to the release of their first album the self titled The Animals. Their next single "I'm Crying" cracked the top ten on the charts as did "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" and "We've Gotta Get Out of This Place." The group began to experience internal friction especially between lead singer Eric Burdon and Alan Price. Price had been credited with the arrangement on "House of the Rising Sun" even though it was a collaborative effort. The idea was that a name was needed for the records, and that the group would divide the royalties later. However, once the money started rolling in Price left the band stating his fear of flying as the reason. The group underwent a transformation and moved to Decca/London Records where they released the next album Animalisms. Further shifts in personnel marked the end of the original Animals. Burdon reformed the band in 1967 as Eric Budon and the Animals releasing a collection called Eric Is Here later that year. After further shifts in personnel Burdon disbanded the group joining a Los Angeles based group War.

Music by the Decade:

Sounds of the Fifties

Sounds of the Sixties

Sounds of the Seventies

Sounds of the Eighties

Sounds of the Nineties