45s.com -- Recording Artist Information: The Animals

Date Formed	1958
Location	Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England
	Disbanded in 1968
Music	Rock
Charted Pop/Rock Hits	19
Period Active	August 8, 1964 to 1968
Biggest Hits	The House Of The Rising Sun, San Franciscan Nights, See See Rider
Music List and Data	Search Music List
Notable Information	The Animals were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
Original Members	Eric Burdon, Alan Price, Bryan Chandler, and John Steel.
Other Names	None
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The Animals were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.  The following information was obtained from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:

The Animals were part of the budding, homegrown U.K. blues scene of the early Sixties and one of the most noteworthy bands of the original British Invasion. Formed in Newcastle-on-Tyne, a port city and coal-mining hub in northeast England, the Animals reflected their earthy upbringing with hard-charging, blues-based rock and roll. The group derived its inspiration - and much of its early repertoire - from American blues and R&B sources, adapting them to a British working-class sensibility. Gruff-voiced Eric Burdon was a commanding blues singer, imparting rage and anguish to such anthems as "It's My Life" and "We Gotta Get Out of This Place." The band's sound was also heavily defined by Alan Price's organ playing, which provided dramatic accents and a blues-jazz atmosphere. The other founding members were guitarist Hilton Valentine, bassist Chas Chandler and drummer John Steel.

Originally known as the Alan Price Combo, the group changed its name to the Animals when Burdon joined in 1962. With the release of "House of the Rising Sun" in mid-1964, the Animals became the first British group after the Beatles to chart a Number One single in America. Their dark, brooding arrangement of "House of the Rising Sun" - a traditional folk song recorded by the likes of Josh White and Bob Dylan - became an early milestone in the British Invasion. The Animals followed that smoldering single with frenetic, R&B-based rock songs like "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" and "Don't Let Me Down."

The original membership lasted only until 1966, their disintegration commencing with Price's 1965 departure due to his fear of flying. Burdon continued with new recruits, and the band - now billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals - enjoyed several Summer of Love-era hits in a more psychedelic vein, such as "Monterey" and "San Franciscan Nights." After breaking up the Animals at the end of the decade, Burdon entered the Seventies as frontman with a black funk group from the streets of Los Angeles known as War. Eric Burdon and War recorded a hit single ("Spill the Wine") and two albums. War graduated to a successful career without Burdon, who continued as a solo artist, recording intermittently throughout the Seventies and Eighties. As for the other early Animals, Alan Price enjoyed a highly successful solo career in Britain, and bassist Chas Chandler discovered and managed Jimi Hendrix. The original Animals subsequently reunited on two occasions, in 1977 and 1983, to record and tour.