Formed
in 1964 in Newcastle, England
Disbanded
in 1968
Styles
- Rock & Roll, Electric British
Blues,
British Invasion, Psychedelic, British Blues
One of the most important
bands originating from England's R&B scene during
the early '60s, the Animals
were second only to the Rolling Stones in influence among R&B-based
bands in the first wave
of the British Invasion. The Animals had their origins in a Newcastle-based
group called
the Kansas City Five,
whose membership included pianist Alan Price, drummer John Steel, and vocalist
Eric Burdon. Price exited to join the Kontours in 1962, while Burdon went
off to London. The Kontours, whose membership included
Bryan "Chas" Chandler,
eventually were transmuted into the Alan Price R&B Combo, with John
Steel joining on drums. Burdon's return to Newcastle in early 1963 heralded
his return to the lineup. The final member of the combo, guitarist
Hilton Valentine, joined
just in time for the recording of a self-produced EP under the band's new
name, the Animals. That record alerted Graham Bond to the Animals; he was
likely responsible for pointing impresario Giorgio Gomelsky to the group.
Gomelsky booked the band
into his Crawdaddy Club in London, and they were subsequently signed by
Mickie Most, an independent producer who secured a contract with EMI's
Columbia imprint. A studio session in February 1964 yielded
their Columbia debut
single, "Baby Let Me Take You Home" (adapted from "Baby Let Me Follow You
Down"), which rose to number 21 on the British charts. For years, it has
been rumored incorrectly that the Animals got their next single,
"House of the Rising
Sun," from Bob Dylan's first album, but more recently it has been revealed
that, like "Baby Let Me Take You Home," the song came to them courtesy
of Josh White. In any event, the song -- given a new guitar riff by
Valentine and a soulful
organ accompaniment devised by Price -- shot to the top of the U.K. and
U.S. charts early that summer. This success led to a follow-up session
that summer, yielding their first long-playing record, The Animals. Their
third single, "I'm Crying,"
rose to number eight on the British charts. The group compiled an enviable
record of Top Ten successes, including "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
and "We've Gotta Get Out of This Place," along with a second
album, Animal Tracks.
In May of 1965, immediately
after recording "We've Gotta Get Out of This Place," Alan Price left the
band, citing fear of flying as the reason; subsequent biographies of the
band have indicated that the reasons were less psychological. When
"House of the Rising
Sun" was recorded, using what was essentially a group arrangement, the
management persuaded the band to put one person's name down as arranger.
Price came up the lucky one, supposedly with the intention that
the money from the arranger
credit would be divided later on. The money was never divided, however,
and as soon as it began rolling in, Price suddenly developed his fear of
flying and exited the band. Others cite the increasing contentiousness
between Burdon and Price over leadership of the group as the latter's reason
for leaving. In any case, a replacement was recruited in the person of
Dave Rowberry.
In the meantime, the
group was growing increasingly unhappy with the material they were being
given to record by manager Mickie Most. Not only were the majority of these
songs much too commercial for their taste, but they represented a false
image of the band, even if many were successful. "It's My Life," a number
seven British hit and
a similar smash in America, caused the Animals to terminate their association
with Most and with EMI Records. They moved over to Decca/London Records
and came up with a more forceful, powerful sound on their
first album for the new
label, Animalisms. The lineup shifts continued, however -- Steel exited
in 1966, after recording Animalisms, and was replaced by Barry Jenkins,
formerly of the Nashville Teens. Chandler left in mid-1966 after recording
"Don't Bring Me Down" and Valentine remained until the end of 1966, but
essentially "Don't Bring Me Down" marked the end of the original Animals.
Burdon reformed the group
under the aegis of Eric Burdon and the New Animals, with Jenkins on drums,
John Weider on guitar and violin, Danny McCulloch on bass, and Vic Briggs
on guitar. He remained officially a solo act for a time,
releasing a collection
of material called Eric Is Here in 1967. As soon as the contract with English
Decca was up, Burdon signed with MGM directly for worldwide distribution,
and the new lineup made their debut in mid-1967. Eric
Burdon and the New Animals
embraced psychedelia to the hilt amid the full bloom of the Summer of Love.
By the end of 1968, Briggs and McCulloch were gone, to be replaced by Burdon's
old friend, keyboard player/vocalist Zoot Money, and his longtime stablemate,
guitarist Andy Summers, while Weider switched to bass. Finally, in 1969,
Burdon pulled the plug on what was left of the Animals. He hooked up with
a Los Angeles-based group called War, and started a subsequent solo career
that continues to this day.
The original Animals reunited
in 1976 for a superb album called Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted,
which picked up right where Animalisms had left off a decade earlier and
which was well received critically but failed to capture the
public's attention. In
1983, a somewhat longer lasting reunion came about between the original
members, augmented with the presence of Zoot Money on keyboards. The resulting
album, Ark, consisting of entirely new material, was well received by critics
and charted surprisingly high, and a world tour followed. By the end of
the year and the heavy touring schedule, however, it was clear that this
reunion was not going to be a lasting event. The quintet split up again,
having finally let the other shoe drop on their careers and history, and
walked away with some financial rewards, along with memories of two generations
of rock fans cheering their every note.