The Animals surgió a principios de los años 60 en Newcastle, Inglaterra. Eric Burdon, con una voz potente y distintiva, fue el líder del grupo. Junto a él estaban Alan Price en los teclados, Chas Chandler en el bajo, Hilton Valentine en la guitarra y John Steel en la batería. Con su formación, se consolidaron como una de las bandas más influyentes de la British Invasion.
En 1964, The Animals lanzaron su versión de "House of the Rising Sun", una balada tradicional estadounidense que se convirtió en un éxito instantáneo. El sencillo se disparó al número uno en las listas británicas y estadounidenses, catapultando al grupo a la fama internacional. Otros éxitos como "It's My Life", "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" y "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" consolidaron su estatus en la escena del rock y el R&B.
The Animals se destacaron por su capacidad para fusionar el blues, el rock y el R&B. Influenciados por artistas estadounidenses como Nina Simone y John Lee Hooker, lograron captar la esencia cruda y emotiva de estos géneros. La voz inconfundible de Eric Burdon y el característico órgano Hammond de Alan Price se convirtieron en los sellos distintivos de su sonido.
A pesar de su éxito, el grupo no estuvo exento de dificultades. En 1965, Alan Price dejó la banda debido a diferencias personales y profesionales. Fue reemplazado por Dave Rowberry, pero la
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'Stood with my kid on the lonely windswept beach
The winter sun was on the horizon
And we were both out of reach
She ran ahead of me looking for the next surprise
Our souls were wet, yes Lord
From the incoming tide
She stopped and turned and looked at me
Lord, tears in her eyes
It's only a dead bird
And its soul has gone to the sky, yeah, yeah
Don't you know he's free
Not like you and me
That bird is free
Not like you and me
I never ever thought you would be so out of reach
And the lonely times have been like poison, child
I wish I could practise what I preach
Then I can release these feelings that I've been
Holding deep inside
I been missing you so much, baby
We only hear, there can be time
By then you will have forgotten
The little dead bird on the beach
But please don't forget your father, child
Because he's out of reach
I got a dream, baby
And my dream is
To be free
Freedom for you and me
I'm talking about freedom
Freedom for you and me
You hear my music in the wind
Hearbeat like the rolling tide
One thing you can be sure of my love
Wherever you go, I'll hold your love inside
And I told her, look baby
Even if he was living
And you could hold him in your hands
You'd still have to open up one of these days
And let that bird fly, free
She stopped and turned and looked at me,
Lord, with tears in her eyes
It's only a dead bird and its soul has gone to the sky
Don't you know he's free
Freedom for you and me
I'm talking about freedom, freedom
Freedom for you and me
To be free
It's all I need baby
It's all I dream about baby
To be free
(Burdon)