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The Animals were a United Kingdom|British rock and
roll band of the 1960s, formed in
Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Comprising Eric Burdon
(vocals), Alan Price (organ (music)|organ and
musical keyboard|keyboards), Hilton Valentine
(electric guitar|guitar), John Steel
(drummer)|John Steel (drums), and Bryan 'Chas'
Chandler (bass guitar|bass).

==History==

Formed during 1962 and 1963 when Burdon joined the
existing Alan Price Rhythm and Blues Combo, the
Animals' moderate success in their hometown and a
connection with The_Yardbirds|Yardbirds manager
Giorgio Gomelsky motivated them to move to London
in 1964, in time to be grouped with the British
Invasion. They performed fiery versions of the
staple rhythm and blues repertoire (Jimmy Reed,
John Lee Hooker, Nina Simone, etc). A rocking
version of the standard "Baby Let Me Follow You
Down" (retitled "Baby Let Me Take You Home") was
their first single.  It was followed in June 1964
by the huge transatlantic hit "The House of the
Rising Sun|House of the Rising Sun". Burdon's
howling vocals and Price's dramatic arrangement
created arguably the first folk rock hit. 
(Whether the arrangement was inspired by Bob Dylan
(album)|Bob Dylan's version of the song or by
blues singer Josh White's remains a subject of
dispute, as does whether all five Animals deserved
credit for the arrangement and not just Price.)

The Animals' two-year chart career, masterminded
by producer Mickie Most, featured singles that
were intense, gritty pop covers such as "Bring It
On Home To Me" (a hit for Sam Cooke) and "Don't
Let Me Be Misunderstood" (from Nina Simone).  In
contrast their album tracks stayed with rhythm and
blues, with Hooker's "Boom Boom" and Ray Charles'
"I Believe to My Soul" being notable examples. 
Burdon's powerful, deep voice and the use of
keyboards as much or more than guitars were two
elements that made the Animals' sound stand out.

By May 1965 the group was starting to feel
internal pressures. Price left due to personal and
musical differences as well as a fear of flying on
tour; he went on to a successful career as a solo
artist and with the Alan Price Set.  Dave Rowberry
replaced him and was on hand for the hit
working-class anthems "We've Got to Get Out of
This Place" and "It's My Life".  In February 1966
Steel left and was replaced by Barry Jenkins; a
cover of Gerry Goffin|Goffin-Carole King|King's
"Don't Bring Me Down" was the last hit as the
Animals.

By this time their business affairs "were in a
total shambles," according to Chandler (who would
go on to manage Jimi Hendrix), and the group
disbanded.  Even by the standards of the day, when
artists tended to be financially naïve, the
Animals made very little money from their
successes, eventually claiming mismanagement and
theft on the part of their manager Mike Jeffery.  

A group with Burdon, Jenkins, and new sidemen John
Weider (guitar/violin/bass), Vic Briggs
(guitar/piano), and Danny McCulloch (bass) was
formed under the name Eric Burdon and the New
Animals (or sometimes just Eric Burdon and the
Animals) in October 1966, and changed direction.
The hard-driving blues was transformed into
Burdon's version of psychedelia, as the former
hard-drinking Geordie (who later said he could
never get used to Newcastle, "where the rain comes
at you sideways") relocated to California and
became a spokesman for the Summer of Love|Love
Generation.  Some of their hits included "San
Franciscan Nights", "Monterey" (a tribute to the
1967 Monterey Pop Festival), and the anti-war "Sky
Pilot".  There were further changes to this
line-up:  Zoot Money (keyboards) was added in
April 1968, and in July 1968 Andy Summers|Andy
Somers (sic) (guitar) – later of The Police
(band)|The Police – replaced Briggs and
McCulloch.
By 1969 these Animals had dissolved, and Eric
Burdon joined forces with a Latin group from Long
Beach, California called War (band)|War.

The original Animals line-up briefly reunited for
an album in 1977 and for an album and tour
(supplemented by other players, including Zoot
Money) in 1983.  Chandler died in 1996.

In the 2000s Burdon has toured with a new set of
musicians under the name "Eric Burdon and the
Animals".  Periodically during the 1990s and 2000s
Valentine, Steel, and Rowberry toured under the
name "(Hilton Valentine's) The Animals" and
Valentine and Steel under the name "Animals II". 
Rowberry died in 2003.

The original Animals were inducted into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.  Their influence
can be heard in artists as varied as Bruce
Springsteen, David Johansen, and Fine Young
Cannibals.

==Discography==

===Albums===

Animals album releases varied significantly
between the UK and the US; even those with the
same or similar names had different contents.  In
addition countless compilation and repackaging
releases have been made over the years.

====UK albums====
*The Animals (1964)
*Animal Tracks (1965)
*Animalisms (1966)
*Winds of Change (1967) (now Eric Burdon and the
New Animals)
*The Twain Shall Meet (1968)
*Love Is (1968)

====US albums====
*The Animals (1964)
*The Animals on Tour (1965) (not live)
*Animal Tracks (1965)
*British Go Go (1965)
*In the Beginning (Live, 1965)
*Animalism (album)|Animalism (1966)
*Animalization (1966)
*Wild Animals (1966)
*Eric Is Here (1967) (now Eric Burdon and the New
Animals)
*Every One of Us (1968)
*Love Is (1968)

====Reunion and later albums====
*Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted (1977)
*Ark (1983)
*Rip It to Shreds (Live, 1984) 
*Best of The Animals (Compilation album, 2000)
*Interesting Life (2003)
*Complete French EP 1964/1967 (2003)

===Singles===
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
|+Highest position reached in UK and US singles
charts
|-
! Year !! Title !! UK !! US
|-
! !! align="left" | The Animals !! !!
|-
| 1964 || "Baby Let Me Take You Home" || 21 || -
|-
| 1964 || "House of the Rising Sun" || 1 || 1
|-
| 1964 || "I'm Crying" || 8 || 19
|-
| 1965 || "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" || 3 ||
15
|-
| 1965 || "Bring It On Home To Me" || 7 || 32
|-
| 1965 || "We've Got to Get Out of This Place" ||
2 || 13
|-
| 1965 || "It's My Life" || 7 || 23
|-
| 1966 || "Inside Looking Out" || 12 || 34
|-
| 1966 || "Don't Bring Me Down" || 6 || 12
|-
! !! Eric Burdon and the New Animals !! !!
|-
| 1966 || "See See Rider" || - || 10
|-
| 1966 || "Help Me Girl" || 14 || 29
|- 
| 1967 || "When I Was Young" || 45 || 15
|-
| 1967 || "Good Times" || 20 || -
|-
| 1967 || "San Franciscan Nights" || 7 || 9
|-
| 1967 || "Monterey" || - || 15
|-
| 1968 || "Sky Pilot" || 40 || 14
|-
| 1969 || "Ring of Fire" || 35 || -
|-
| 1969 || "River Deep, Mountain High" || - || -
|-
|}

==References==
* Program notes by Keith Altham Publicity, The
Animals 1983 reunion tour
* Burdon, Eric (1986). I Used to Be an Animal, but
I'm All Right Now. Faber and Faber. ISBN
0571134920.
* VH-1 Behind the
Musichttp://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/behind_the_music
/51357/episode.jhtml : Eric Burdon & the Animals,
aired 13 June 1999

==External links==
* http://members.aol.com/TheAnimalsSite/ The
Animals Official Homepage