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This
leading UK R&B band was formed in Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
England, in 1963, when vocalist Eric Burdon (b. 11 May 1941,
Walker, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne & Wear, England),
joined local R&B band the Alan Price Combo. The Animals
comprised Alan Price (b. 19 April 1941, Fairfield, Co. Durham,
England; piano), Hilton Valentine (b. 22 May 1943, North
Shields, Tyne And Wear, England; guitar), John Steel (b.
4 February 1941, Gateshead, Co. Durham, England; drums)
and Chas Chandler (b. Bryan James Chandler, 18 December
1938, Heaton, Tyne And Wear, England, d. 17 July 1996; bass).
Valentine had previously played with the Gamblers, while
Burdon had played trombone, together with Steel on trumpet,
in college jazz bands.
With
their raucous and exciting stage act, the Animals quickly
attracted the attention of several music business entrepreneurs.
R&B legend Graham Bond recommended them to his manager
Ronan O'Rahilly. The band became stars at the legendary
Club A-Go-Go in Newcastle. On one occasion they performed
with Sonny Boy "Rice Miller" Williamson (an album
of this explosive gig was released many years later). By
the end of 1963 they had moved to London and became an integral
part of the fast-burgeoning club scene. After signing with
producer Mickie Most, they debuted with the energetic "Baby
Let Me Take You Home" (a version of Eric Von Schmidt's
blues standard, "Baby Let Me Follow You Down"),
which became a respectable hit. Their next release was to
be both controversial and memorable. This four-and-a-half-minute
pop song, about a New Orleans brothel, was at first resisted
by their record company Columbia Records as being too long
for radio play. Upon release, the record, Josh White's "The
House Of The Rising Sun", leapt to the top of the charts
all over the world, and eventually sold several million
copies. The combination of Valentine's now legendary but
simplistic guitar introduction and Price's shrill organ
complemented Burdon's remarkably mature and bloodcurdling
vocal.
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