First Time Hearing The Animals - House Of The Rising Sun Reaction - ANOTHER GREAT BRITISH BAND?!

[@johndavids4780]

The bassist Chaz Chandler became a producer and is the man who discovered Jimi Hendrix. Their hit We've Gotta Get out of this Place was a major theme song in Vietnam. We sang it all the time.

[@suecook1326]

Sky Pilot was another Animal's song about the war in Viet Nam. Oops, I was wrong. It was about WW2, after watching it again. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o2GtfnaXgNyCi7s

[@janetsilverhawk7204]

Sky pilot is my favourite song by the Animals

[@johnord684]

And it was about living on Tyneside in the UK

[@thatsthat2612]

​@@johnord684makes sense 😂

[@gordowg1wg145]

I think many people's first exposure to that was on the China Beach soundtrack - the albums then released under that title had some awesome music on them.

[@gordonduke8812]

Eric's voice made this tune pure fire, but that organ solo made it legendary.

[@pjg58x]

Yup. Incredible solo.

[@tinapatterson5022]

I Agree 100% !!!

[@lewisner]

I looked up the Vox Continental that Alan Price was playing and a dealer recently sold a 1966 one for £ 2480

[@raywickert4581]

I totally miss organs in music. Guess it’s too “old fashioned” for today’s kids…

[@lewisner]

@raywickert4581 Greta Van Fleet have an organ in all of their music. Intro here kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKWamKZnf5Wkb9Usi=MVS0d1Jcotb3inbp

[@deannajones3849]

Eric Burdon's voice was so powerful at such a youg age! He looks like he's just walking around simply telling a story but so much power looking effortless.

[@RoundingThirdBase-mz2mf]

Powerful? Loud for sure.

[@modawg1111]

There’s something haunting about this. The singer is like an Old Soul, a young man, boyish really with an old man inside. So cool 😎

[@dagmar.6954]

Love Eric Burdon & The Animals. They were part of the British Invasion along with The Beatles, Rolling Stones & others. People are always shocked that Eric has such a different unique deeper voice. The Animals had a lot of great hits in the 60's such as "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place", "Baby Let Me Take You Home", "I'm Crying", "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", "Bring It On Home to Me", "It's My Life", "Don't Bring Me Down", "See See Rider", "Monterey", "Sky Pilot" etc. Eric later joined the funk rock band "War" & they had a few hits "Spill the Wine" & "Tobacco Road".

[@Gort-Marvin0Martian]

"It's my life and I'll do what I want..." Oooohhhh yeah!!! As we say in Texas; y'all be safe.

[@raymo6795]

...I have nothing to add...except, no one knows who wrote this song, or how old it is

[@rickwelch8464]

I wasn't aware that Eric Burdon was in War. Thank you for that tidbit.

[@tonyfleck3029]

The 'Animals ' a hard rocking Northern England band, their concerts were absolutely wild!!! Eric was is an incredible voice!!! Did some great music with the band 'War ' out of LA early 70s!!!!

[@gliebzeit]

Great song choices! This from a 72 year old Eric Burdon & the Animals fan.

[@eddieevans6692]

The Animals had been performing this song live while touring with Chuck Berry. It was so popular with audiences, they decide to record it. On May 17, 1964, they drove down from Liverpool to London where they recorded the song in one take. No overdubs, no second chances, nothing! A few weeks later it was #1 around the world.

[@stevejoshua9536]

They may have recorded it in the studio, but this video was lip-synced. You can tell that Eric wasn't really singing, and moments where he almost forgot the lyrics.

[@eddieevans6692]

Yes, as was common at the time, the video was recorded much later and they lip-synced their performance to the studio recording.@@stevejoshua9536

[@johnd8892]

Mimed from their one take 1964 recording. This clip was filmed in 1964 or 65 as part of a UK colour film called Pop Gear for paying theatre release. This explains the early high quality color images we luckily have for this mimed from the record performance and also a few other top UK only music artists from when the film was made. KZbin has quite a few segments from this UK movie Pop Gear with the US contribution being to re title it Go Go Mania and add a few intro segments to satisfy the US audience. A KZbin search for Pop Gear Go Go Mania shows the segments : kzbin.info?search_query=pop+gear+go+go+mania The intro by TCM explains the background of the film. While some of these segments were likely to be shown on US Colour TV much later , the source would originally be this high quality film. Rising Sun is the standout, but the Honeycombs with Have I the Right is a landmark too, In 1964 images not recorded on film would be much lower quality videotape, not the notable quality images used here. Especially with the inferior US NTSC standards often called Never The Same Colour. So lucky the film was made instead of relying on low standard video tape recordings that were usually taped over anyway to save tape cost money or made by filming a TV screen with poor quality results. I would be amazed to see any video recording from 1964 up to this standard of image quality. A better sound source can easily replace or lesser quality film track early source in KZbin postings these days. These films mainly used mimed performances as the vast majority of theatre audiences wanted to hear the music performance as they knew it from the records. Hope this helps people who have the colorized and vidoetape theories that usually pop up.

[@johnd8892]

A reliable source says they took the train down from their home town of Newcastle to do the one take recording between gigs. Early on in their career they could not afford a car. Same for most UK people then

[@ukdnbmarsh]

Burdons powerful voice is absolutely effortless

[@johndoe-gt6gp]

This is a one take wonder. They had booked the studio for their lunch hour when they were on tour with an American blues man, Muddy Waters, or someone like him, being the opening act. They thought they needed a better sound so they booked the studio. Stopped off there, set up, recorded this in one take, packed up and got back on the road. Now that’s talent and musicianship. Alan Price’s organ break, one take. The whole song, one take.

[@les.gilfilan7200]

Nearly right they got early mail train from Newcastle to London borrowed the trolly to transport equipment to Studio they did 1 take they packed gear up got train back to Newcastle and got £68 to share 😮.

[@johndoe-gt6gp]

@@les.gilfilan7200 Thanks for the clarification. I knew it was a complicated process.

[@gordowg1wg145]

Unfortunately, Alan Price totally screwed them out of their royalties - you should check it out, andfolks should remember it as a warning when working with 'friends'. Goes to show brilliance in one aspect of one's life doesn't automatically mean excellence elsewhere.

[@cdfdesantis699]

This band has a TON of hits. Lead singer Eric Burdon has one of the most distinctive voices in rock 'n' roll. Thanks for your reaction.

[@barsandbarbells2022]

Our pleasure!

[@ian8241]

This is literally one of the most iconic songs 🎵 of the 1960s, Eric Burdon the lead singer is much revered, he's 82 and still alive, great reaction to the song:) The organ provides such a haunting melody:)

[@distantlands]

My daughter had this song in her set list. Imagine my surprise when I contacted ASCAP for the royalty agreement only to find out there wasn’t one because the song was written over 400 years ago in Britain as an old bar song !!!

[@freeandretired]

In a time when the Beatles were all over the map, the Animals poked their noses in with this gem of a song. Great tune and reaction. Thank you.

[@corawheeler9355]

Keep in mind that at this time, the Beatles were singing "I Want To Hold Your Hand".

[@jacob45415]

This isn’t there song

[@northnsouth6813]

This was recorded in only 30 mins as Micky Most the producer didn't like the song and thought it would be a flop...he was proved wrong.

[@josephinemonahan915]

Yes...Chas Chandler, the bassist discovered Jimi Hendrix playing in a club in New York....brought him to England...put him up in a hotel and then became Jimi’s manager.....this is an old New Orleans song....about a brothel run by Madame Marianne Le Soleil Levant...translated, her last name means “The Rising Sun”....by the way the singer, Eric Burdon was 23 years old when this was recorded🤩

[@bwilson5401]

60 years old and still sounds cool.

[@savemyplace235]

Eric Burdon's vocals! I also love his command of performing this song for this video.. He was a natural, with the way he moved in and out of frame. Just beautiful.

[@janicestoll834]

Saw them in person. They're unbelievable and Eric voice is so powerful!❤

[@Sammylu-greenbeatsred]

Love The Animals! "It's My Life" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" are other huge hits by them. The lead singer Eric Burdon did some work later on with the group War that was great and the bass player Chas Chandler managed Jimi Hendrix at the beginning of his popularity.

[@nancytabet8481]

THIS SONG IS A MASTERPIECE

[@calemobrien1139]

This song is such a vibe!!! I've always loved it! Honestly nothing is as funky & powerful as this performance

[@marcbagwell6109]

People still argue about the meaning of the lyrics but there’s no doubt it’s referring to a Brothel. Here is some info from the New Orleans Historical Society.: In 1821, L.S. Hotchkiss and Co. purchased an advertisement in the Louisiana Gazette for a “Rising Sun Hotel”. They purchased ads in the paper where they promised…. “Gentlemen may here relay upon finding attentive servants.” Another add let patrons know they were now open for a lunch and offered a buffet as well as rooms that could be rented by the hour for those gentlemen who indulged too much and needed a rest. This leaves little doubt as to what the song is referring too. If anyone is still in doubt then they should by-all- means travel to New Orleans and ask the Historical Society. The song is also known as: RISING SUN BLUES

[@jonathanwright9613]

He was 23 when this was recorded.....what a set of pipes!

[@goukenslay7555]

Just as young as aerosmith's singer when they did dream on i believe

[@rosesilveira344]

Recorded in one take!

[@HerMaj0509]

I was lucky enough to work in an office in Liverpool that was literally just around the corner from the Cavern. I was there pretty much every lunchtime. The Animals had a gig there just about the time they started to become known. I had a spot about six feet away from the band. It was clear then what an extraordinary voice he had. No dubbing, just raw talent.

[@guitarman8462]

The orig artist from this song was a guitarist named : Leadbelly

[@jimwilcox2964]

The Vox keyboard he was playing had just recently come out so it was a new sound only a very few other bands had. Also check out the Eric Burdon and War song Spill the Wine

[@danielhjelmberg1173]

The animals is one of my favorite British band from the 60’s

[@carolcoker9862]

I’m 65 and the Animals were so far ahead of their time that keyboard is insane ❤

[@mikeconway9849]

Great reaction Sam and Phil! As a teenager back in the 60s (yeah, i'm an OG), this is one of the songs that really got me listening to rock and roll. The Animals have a lot of British blues in their catalog also.

[@RayDavies-zv5ic]

You two are getting really good at this - keep going. I was lucky enough to be a teenager in the 1960s (I will be 75 tomorrow) and The Animals were my favourite group. I still have a vinyl LP (album) of theirs which I bought back then Other comments have listed their hit list. My personal favourite is "It's My Life". Their songs generally contained a grittiness. As a complete contrast I suggest you investigate the songs of Ray Charles. Again my favourite is "Teardrops in my Heart". If you react to it have a box of tissues to hand.

[@terri2494]

Happy Birthday! 🎉🎂🎁🎈🎊

[@barsandbarbells2022]

Happy birthday!!

[@TZ61]

Sam mentioned the walking around which is exactly what a funeral procession was way back in the day; the family and friends would carry the casket around the town or village. I realize that this is not the" preferred method " to make a song suggestion, but I really think you would dig "Spill the Wine" (original video) which is a song Eric Burdon recorded later with the R&B, funk band War. That amazing organ player, Alan Price, always has some noteworthy solo material, particularly his soundtrack for the 1973 film "O Lucky Man" which is one of my favorite film soundtracks. I'll shut up now, but thanks for this upload.

[@CardiacCat]

This song will always remind me of my mom. She liked it a lot. But my favorite is "We gotta get out of this place" and "Don't let me be misunderstood"

[@richhahn2443]

I remember when this first hit radio. Nothing like it and Beatles were still trying to find their mature sound.

[@gordonwaldner9792]

The musicality of this group was unparalleled.

[@allanboyer2769]

It is an old AMERICAN folk song from the civil war era. The Animals were a British invasion band from Newcastle, England. Thus song topped the charts in England, the U.S., and Canada when it was released in 1964.

[@gwydion56]

I remember when this song was first hitting the radio, and for quite a while it was my favorite song. Definitely a heavy blues influence in there, but truly a unique sound. They have a solid list of hits well worth listening to.

[@BaronVonGreenback1882]

The lead singer was from Newcastle in England, Eric Burden, a long way from New Orleans.

[@juliepage4382]

It makes me feels so old when people have never heard the Animals sing this song.

[@GentleRain21]

It's hard to believe Eric Burdon was only 23 or 24 when this was recorded. What a voice.

[@TheCornishCockney]

yet ANOTHER great British band.

[@Russ-gy7tx]

Great Reaction Guys! The Animals had more hits, Please check out "When I Was Young," "We Gotta Get Out of This Place," "Don't Bring Me Down" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." Find the studio versions because the sound quality of the videos is not good.

[@musicairplanes4884]

The Animals were my first concert as a 15 year old at the Hollywood Bowl in the mid 60's. They were amazing.

[@RobertJones-ux6nc]

This was from the Ed Sullivan Show which featured entertainers from all over. Ed had The Beatles, The Animals, The Doors, Elvis, The Mamas and The Papas, and very many others appear on his show. It came on TV on Sunday Nights for many years.

[@joelmoreno4223]

This was actually an old American ('delta') blues song, about a house of....can't you quess...'ill-repute', the old blues men sang it about a boy/man. Alan Price (on organ) formed his own 'progressive' well-regarded rock band "The Alan Price Project", and Chas Chandler (bass guitarist) became a very well-regarded and successful record producer. Eric Burdon, continued to sing for decades, he's still performing occassionally.

[@msmrsro]

I had a cassette of Eric Burden when in college in the late 80s. Listened on my Walkman. 😂😂 I love how reactors are often surprised at such a voice coming from such a small, young looking guy.

[@pamelariker5525]

I was lucky enough to grow up in the 60's in the UK. Absolutely amazing music back then.

[@TheInsecureChef]

Old garage band drummer from the 60s. (I'm 73 now). Saw the Animals in 1967 at the Fillmore East in NYCity. Have a bunch of good stuff. Check 'em out. Good show.

[@robertwalegir8677]

The bass player was best friends with Jimi Hendrix and helped him start his career and be discovered

[@BeauBerry13]

Need to also look at Eric Burdon with War. -- "spill the wine" and "Tobacco Road."

[@Gulicktheemu]

Watching one of your reactions sent me down a nostalgic rabbit hole of my youth. Cruising your catalog, looking for songs of that era. I am learning that there are so many epic tunes you have not yet experienced. I hope they find their way to your reaction channel. #hangovergang forever 🤙🏽.

[@TennTimes]

Eric is incredible, as are the Animals individually and as a group. Eric has always had such an old soul. The interviews with him over the years are so interesting and inspiring.

[@ericanderson8886]

One of the first organ solos in rock music, and Eric Burdons voice is commanding.

[@dlmullins9054]

I was about 13 when this came out. I was living in Manassas, Virginia. My Dad was a coal miner way down in Buchanan county Virginia but moved up North to make a better living in construction. I was from so far back in the mountains, they had to pipe in sunshine and i felt so awkward starting middle school with city kids. I grew to love it and i really thought this song was the coolest ever. I still love it. Thank you guys for playing this and all the other great oldies.

[@ronaldriis1023]

Eric sang the S out of this! That and Alan Price’s keyboard work is what captivated everyone back in the day. But I think that this is what they used to term a “traditional “ song, meaning a country blues song from the American south. A musicologist might know the author.

[@jaybourne1185]

great reaction guys... although before my time, "house of the rising sun" is one of my all time favorites. the vocals and band are superb and the styling, colors, etc of the video represent that time period so well and remind me of the culture that followed from bob dylan, the carpenters to tv shows like the partridge family, brady bunch, etc. haley reinhart also does an amazing cover of this song capturing all the deep soul of original while reinterpreting in very different slowed down bluesy jazz way... similar to what she did with “creep”. it considered one of the best performances ever on american idol (search paul fromMN trueHD for best quality)… it is stunning!😎

[@papamac2590]

I like your reactions because they seem genuine. You’ll remain successful as long as you are genuine or can, at least, maintain the illusion of being genuine. 🙂.

[@maxmoore9955]

65000 people at a Green day concert in Hyde Park London. Were waiting for the band to come on when someone played a Queen track over the speakers Hio boy the crowd new every word and Tone .just watch it .just Love at sport events in the UK. The crowd always chants.

[@markpendred74]

This video is great, they literally walk around in circles! Great track, if you have seen Casino it was used at the end of the film.

[@Zentrix-24]

Eric Burden, the lead singer along with the other Animals were a British treasure, I have all their albums. A song written by Eric in 67' , released in 68' called "Sky Pilot", a war song about military chaplains and the role they play in supporting and perpetuating war is a long time fav. The long version is 7 min. 29 sec long. They did do a shorter version but I like the long one. Prob would never react to it but thought I'd mention it.

[@jeannejorgensen1230]

My favorite song when it came out when I was in high school.

[@marilynbrockington8213]

I first heard this song when I was 12 in 1964 and I still love it.

[@djt8518]

I was 11 in 64

[@brianmarsh4498]

The organist Alan Price went on to form his own group, I think it was called The Alan Price Set.

[@sabrebabe2738]

It's a Very Old Blues song, earliest recording was from around 1905(?). Pretty much about the evils of Addiction (gambling, drink, drugs, and prostitution). The singer is following in his father's footsteps back to NOLA, with the ball and chain reference is the addiction he's going back to.

[@larsholzke8475]

This Song ist magic. Coming Out on 1964 it still pushing Up until today as even it is starting on.

[@sarita423]

This version of The House of the Risng Sun is considered one of, if not the first folk rock song. Also, at over 4 minutes it clocked in as one of the longest singles recorded at the time. It was frequesntly cut tio 3 minutes air play. This rcirding was done on 1964 but the video is from a 1965 film called Pop Gear.

[@jackempson3044]

The bass player Charkles Chandler, got jimi hendrix started , he found him in a club and was hiis manager and producer.

[@nanayoung3932]

So much good music so little time 😍

[@WillBerens]

Thanks for keeping it clean. Dude is so polite

[@kenhellberg7973]

the lore is that Dylan claimed that this was the 1st folk rock song. He, of course owned the genre after that. Credit where do by Bob

[@johnd8892]

Mimed from their one take 1964 recording. This clip was filmed in 1964 or 65 as part of a UK colour film called Pop Gear for paying theatre release. This explains the early high quality color images we luckily have for this mimed from the record performance and also a few other top UK only music artists from when the film was made. KZbin has quite a few segments from this UK movie Pop Gear with the US contribution being to re title it Go Go Mania and add a few intro segments to satisfy the US audience. A KZbin search for Pop Gear Go Go Mania shows the segments : kzbin.info?search_query=pop+gear+go+go+mania The intro by TCM explains the background of the film. While some of these segments were likely to be shown on US Colour TV much later , the source would originally be this high quality film. Rising Sun is the standout, but the Honeycombs with Have I the Right is a landmark too, In 1964 images not recorded on film would be much lower quality videotape, not the notable quality images used here. Especially with the inferior US NTSC standards often called Never The Same Colour. So lucky the film was made instead of relying on low standard video tape recordings that were usually taped over anyway to save tape cost money or made by filming a TV screen with poor quality results. I would be amazed to see any video recording from 1964 up to this standard of image quality. A better sound source can easily replace or lesser quality film track early source in KZbin postings these days. These films mainly used mimed performances as the vast majority of theatre audiences wanted to hear the music performance as they knew it from the records. Hope this helps people who have the colorized and vidoetape theories that usually pop up.

[@jimmymcintyre7944]

This is their most popular. I was 8 when it came out.

[@l.p.7826]

What a Mega voice!!!😍

[@mikefetterman6782]

After the success of the Beatles, and them being shuffled to the US in February of 1964. Instantly, Brit pop agencies were dressing their bands and presenting them like the Beatles to capture the wave. The Animals were the 2nd band in the British invasion. Later that fall, the world would be introduced to Herman's hermits and The Rolling Stones.

[@MrNormaltoo]

and the Dave Clark 5

[@MrNormaltoo]

and the Dave Clark 5

[@geecee310]

This song always reminds me of Casino and the post courtroom ‘clear up’ scene

[@lastedain450]

We've Gotta Get Out of This Place should be the next Animals song you do if you go that route of another song. I'm curious if you ever did the Zombies, another somewhat unappreciated band of the British Invasion.

[@therealhotdog]

and don't forget there is so many funny songs that came out like Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp Grenada) or anything from Ray Stevens,

[@gordonhutchison9647]

Alan price the keyboard player, is a great jazz pianist, he formed a bad called the Alan price set.

[@windymiller6908]

A great, but often overlooked song by them is the more laid back 'San Fransiscan Nights'.

[@sleepinggiant8150]

I think you guys would absolutely love The Doors!!

[@davidhill7234]

Now yall HAVE to do Five Finger Death Punch's version of this! Official video please 🙏

[@beatriceskelton52]

I was just going to say this. Speaking of Five Finger Death Punch, if you haven’t reacted to some of their songs, there are a few that really get to a person. Wrong Side of Heaven, Gone Away and Blue On Black and be sure to watch the video that features Brian May from Queen, Kenny Wayne Shepard and Brantley Gilbert. Most of Five Finger Death Punch’s songs are about those who have and are serving in the military.

[@lars-oleeifler4448]

Animals were a t-shirt, jeans and leather jackets band from Newcastle - working class from Northern England. The television company demanded the suits for tv performance. Eric Burton - the singer - is about 24. Looks like he is 16 years old. Sounds like a 60 years old.

[@ericlewis217]

Eric Burdon had a voice like no other. The bass guitarist, Chas Chandler, later managed Jimi Hendrix.

[@christianhoneyman9001]

Great reaction to a great song and band. My mom and Aunt were born in England and used to see the Animals play in the clubs in England. A friend and I took them to see Eric Burdon and The Animals in concert at Casino Rama in Orillia Ontario Canada about an hour from me. It was an awesome concert and my mom and Aunt were up dancing in the ilse. I got an Eric Burdon T-shirt and Eric Burdon's Solo album. 😀😃😄😁

[@metalmark1214]

One of my favorites from the 1960's. Yes, this is their most popular song. Alan Price just kicking butt on the keyboard and Eric Burdon with great vocals. This song dates back a very long time. Even though the origins are unknown the earliest American version was said to have been known by American miners in 1905. The oldest published version of the lyrics is that printed by Robert Winslow Gordon in 1925. The oldest known recording of the song, under the title "Rising Sun Blues", is by Appalachian artists Clarence "Tom" Ashley and Gwen Foster, who recorded it on September 6, 1933, on the Vocalion label. Next Animals song to do - We Got to Get Out of This Place or Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood.

[@christeasdale1910]

I don’t know a lot but I know that Eric burdon (the front man) was from not far from where I grew up in a place called benwell. And had a fairly rough childhood. The school he went to had some terrible goings on. Personally I feel like I can hear the pain in his voice sometimes. Burdon became good friends with John Lee hooker and wrote a song inspired by him called ‘can’t kill the boogieman’. He was also friends with the likes of jimi Hendrix, Steve McQueen, Paul McCartney and John Lennon to name a few. Johnny rotten once told burdon in a bar that he and the animals were a bunch of boring old farts. A remark that started a fist fight between Johnny, the members of the sex pistols and burdon. The band were once forbidden to play in Mississippi as they were considered by the locals to be ‘n’ word lovers. They were driven out of town in an armoured car by the sheriff. This song was originally written for a woman’s perspective. It was re written by all the members of the animals. Unfortunately, not all their names could fit on the record. So it was suggested Alan prices name should have been used. Which it was. Because of this, Price ended up with all the royalties from a record that sold millions of copies. That’s about it for me. I hope anyone that reads this found it interesting. No doubt there’s a lot more interesting things from the lives of the band. I should probably read more about them. They are, after all, a famous band from Newcastle and we don’t get too many of those round here.

[@elisabethn.16]

The song is an American folk-style song that was covered by blues singers. It's sung by a woman who regrets her choices; she's an addict working out of a New Orleans brothel, House of the Rising Sun. She's made an escape- maybe to her home?- but now it's " one foot on the platform, the other on the train. I'm going back to New Orleans to wear that ball and chain." She can't break away from that life. The Animals loved American blues music and changed these lyrics a bit to suit a male. Incredible cover.

[@LoveBandit1000]

I like how Burdon has "Bed-Head" on TV.....LOL

[@tjaartvanderwalt5864]

Suggestion.The kinks with Lola.Great beat with a sting in the tail.

[@cschwad559]

Yes, a very transformative song. Many considered it the bridge to hard rock.

[@cynthiastrawson3316]

People ask what were the favourite songs of your youth. Silly questions because there were just so many! So much musical quality and so much innovativness. So priviledged to be there in that time!

[@alricaneshama]

This is the most popular song because it was the song played for me as a kid. Because, even metalgeads loved this song because it's a dar rock song. It's the only song by them I heard on the radio ALL THE TIME! It's my life was the second song and I only heard that about a handful of times. But I could tune to the oldies station and it was usually this, staylin alive, or one of the many other popular songs. So, this is their most popular song.

[@deb8442]

You've mentioned a couple of times that you like story tellers. Jim Croce was a wonderful story teller, playing his guitar and singing story You may also be interested in Carole King. Her whole first album was awesome The song Tapestry is a story, done beautifully

[@georgeralph8031]

Most bands, including mine, played this song at the teen club dances, back in the day, yet none of us, could precisely replicate this amazing sound...

[@johnlund2036]

It was great being a teenager in the early 60s with all the music that came out in those years.

[@MrJohnw2454]

From their top 10 this was #1. #2 was "Please don't let me be misunderstood".

[@aryastark772]

One of the best songs ever made. I can’t believe you’ve never heard it before. I don’t know a single person who’s never heard it!

[@wheredidthetimego8087]

So much history in these old bands to the present

[@emerald1805]

The House of the rising Sun is referring to an opium den. (Opium being from the east). Dens were legal a couple of hundred years ago in Britain. Somehow, this song was changed to being about New Orleans when it came to America, where they also had opium dens. It came full circle, and The Animals heard the 20th century Americanized version. Listen to the lyrics from that point of view and it will make a lot of sense.

[@hous2tim964]

I often say, if there was a time machine, I would have gone for a ride back in time.

[@DougRayPhillips]

From the U.S. perspective, The Animals were part of the 1964 British Invasion. Not top tier, but they had several hits, plus Eric Burdon released some solo stuff. The Beatles were obviously the most famous. And The Rolling Stones stood out for their special grunginess and because they tended to play Blues. The Animals were similar to The Stones. Then there were The Searchers, The Dave Clark Five, Gerry and The Pacemakers, and the duos Chad and Jeremy and Peter and Gordon. A bit later, we got The Kinks and The Who on the gritty side, and Herman's Hermits, Manfred Mann and Freddy and The Dreamers on the light or novelty side. And then, American bands like The Byrds and The Lovin' Spoonful developed a sound and presentation modeled after the British bands. That was what the mid-Sixties was like.

[@bluebird3281]

The Animals are top tier, the beatles and the stones had more "pop" appeal to sell and had top tier song writing teams like Lennon & McCarthy and Jagger & Richards. Musically the Animals are top tier. Listen to the Stones version of "Round and Round" and the Animals version of "Round and Round"

[@DougRayPhillips]

@@bluebird3281 Yes, I was referring to top tier in terms of popularity and success in the Invasion era. Talking about who was top tier in terms of actual talent would be an endless discussion.

[@coinneachmaclellan3121]

You left out the Yardbirds, the Who, Spencer Davis, Them, and the Small Faces, a few of the most innovative and influential bands to emerge from Britain...

[@Teresa7087]

He's singing about a brothel and gambling house in N O where he ruined his life. The ball and chain he refers to is a metaphor for his addiction to that lifestyle. Just like his father.