The Animals

The Animals are an English rock band formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1962. Their original lineup consisted of singer Eric Burdon, guitarist Hilton Valentine, bass guitarist Chas Chandler, keyboardist Alan Price, and drummer John Steel. Known for their gritty, bluesy sound, they balanced tough, rock-edged pop singles against rhythm-and-blues-oriented album material, and were part of the British Invasion of the US. The Animals rose to prominence with their signature song and transatlantic number-one hit single "The House of the Rising Sun", and continued this success with hits such as "I'm Crying", "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", "Bring It On Home to Me", "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", "It's My Life", "Inside-Looking Out", "Don't Bring Me Down", and "See See Rider". Price and Steel departed in mid-1965 and early 1966, respectively, while poor business management led the band to split up by the end of 1966. Burdon then assembled a mostly new lineup of musicians under the name Eric Burdon and the Animals; the much-changed act moved to California and achieved commercial success as a psychedelic and progressive rock band, with hits such as "Help Me Girl", "When I Was Young", "San Franciscan Nights", "Good Times", "Monterey", and "Sky Pilot", before disbanding at the end of the decade. The original lineup of Burdon, Price, Chandler, Valentine, and Steel reunited for a one-off benefit concert in Newcastle in 1968. They later released and toured in support of two reunion albums during 1975–1977 and 1983. Altogether, the band has had 10 top-20 hits in both the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100. The original lineup was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. There are currently two incarnations of the Animals in co-existence: Eric Burdon and the Animals with original singer Eric Burdon, and Animals and Friends with original drummer John Steel.