What Are the 5 Biggest U.S. Hits by The Animals?

The Animals boasted one of the most powerful and identifiable vocalists of the British Invasion in Eric Burdon. Each of the instrumentalists in their original incarnation was a dynamo in their own way. Their changing lineup was mirrored by a willingness to adjust their music to the times, instead of staying with one tried-and-true formula.

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Their catalog of hits shows off this diversity. Let’s look back at the five songs recorded by The Animals that charted the highest in the United States.

5. “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” (No. 13 in 1965)

By the time this song was released, not even two years into their recording existence, The Animals’ lineup was already changing. Dave Rowberry had replaced Alan Price on keyboards. The most significant instrumental contribution to this track came from Chas Chandler, with his burrowing bass line. Written by Brill Building legends Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, the song came to restless, cathartic life once Eric Burdon got a hold of it with his vocals. “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” became an anthem for soldiers in Vietnam, as Burdon’s desperate cries gave voice to their own desire to leave the battlefield behind.

4. “Don’t Bring Me Down” (No. 12 in 1966)

Legend has it Animals producer Mickie Most secured the rights for the band to record “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” “It’s My Life,” and “Don’t Bring Me Down” during a single phone call to America. The Animals might not have liked relying on such pop-oriented material to get them their hits. But then again, by the time they were through with them, a bluesy edge roughed up a lot of the songwriting niceties. “Don’t Bring Me Down” is a Gerry Goffin-Carole King composition that could have been rendered quite elegantly. Instead, The Animals turn it into a gritty cry for romantic mercy.

3. “See See Rider” (No. 10 in 1966)

While the Brill Building material was clearly good to them, if you asked The Animals, they likely would have told you “See See Rider” was much more in their wheelhouse. Just a year before they included it on their 1966 album Animalization, this blues number, which was probably first played somewhere at the dawn of the 20th century, had been turned into a Top-10 hit by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. It says something about the sturdiness of the composition, as well as the comfort level Burdon and company had in performing it, that The Animals were able to bring it right to that same level on such a short turnaround.

2. “San Franciscan Nights” (No. 9 in 1967)

You have to hand it to Eric Burdon. The guy was resilient and savvy enough to navigate the rapidly changing musical tastes of the late ’60s and early ’70s, even as the original incarnation of The Animals fell by the wayside. The group he assembled in 1967 as Eric Burdon and the Animals sounded right at home in the flower-power era, especially with this fluttery single. Burdon had moved to San Francisco, so it was only natural that he pay tribute to a kind of utopian version of the place. Note how convincing he is as a singer for this track, even without having to belt.

1. “The House of the Rising Sun” (No. 1 in 1964)

You have to give credit to The Animals for somehow following up this colossal recording, just their second single, with other tracks that could stay in the ballpark with it. Supposedly, Bob Dylan stole the arrangement of the traditional from Dave Van Ronk, and then The Animals stole it from Dylan. The chief difference is they pumped it up with their instrumentation, from Hilton Valentine’s stoic guitar arpeggios to Alan Price’s frenetic organ. Those elements tee it up nicely for Eric Burdon’s monumental lead vocal, which makes you believe this poor soul is damned to an eternity in the sinister, titular residence.

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