The Animals "Work Song" on The Ed Sullivan Show

[@jamestdawson]

Five guys, no autotune, no digital processing, minimal musical gear yet an extraordinary musical performance due to talent and skill.

[@recordguy4321]

yes key words TALENT and SKILL

[@Piggy-Oink-Oink]

Eric Burden never got the credit he deserved in later years for his vocals.. Can you believe he was LOWER on the top 100 Roll Stone vocalists of all time. They ranked "Nikki Minaj" and "Mary J Blige" above him. Time's are nuts lol

[@jamestdawson]

@@Piggy-Oink-Oink I recently watched a video by a young Blue Note Artist covering a Bill wither's tune. Nice voice. Had "the Look." No real emotion, no involvement more than to play a role. All dessert, no dinner. I think Rolling Stone and in the industry only cares about units sold, downloads, or social media likes. What a shame.

[@recordguy4321]

@@Piggy-Oink-Oink and Rolling Stone is relevant to you? it's a fashion rag

[@lightcaesar]

@@recordguy4321 And soul.

[@Seawa5]

I love everything about this performance by the Animals, and Eric Burdon is the best British blues singer.

[@biroodjegizond8176]

What a voice

[@elisabethaxelsson4736]

Yes

[@MurâtMadrolle.RocknRoll]

@@elisabethaxelsson4736 i hate you

[@brendawilliams4675]

Amazing performance by Eric. He sings this difficult song a capella -- and live!! Have you noticed the band give him no cues on what note to come in on, or when -- and he nails it!! Just pure talent and instinct.

[@VirreFriberg]

Great drumming from John Steel

[@elisabethaxelsson4736]

They was so great and Erics voice is outstanding , the best singer from the 60s and the best group .

[@elianaalegre5045]

Si el mejor 😊

[@elianaalegre5045]

Mejor que los beatles

[@calvinbealer7264]

My Favorite British Band of all time.

[@cassandra_bonnet]

Even better than the Beatles

[@mariejoseebrailly]

Me too with Queen

[@ChristopherRaymond-zs6wv]

The 60's were a magic time...and I was there...

[@josephlemko3027]

I remember seeing this performance back in the mid-60s.I loved The Animals' performance then & enjoyed even more now. These guys guys were great. PEACE0

[@lonestarfriend]

That was great. Their sound was ahead of their time.

[@bernicemoore5182]

You wanna talk about ahead of their time, listen to Eric do Year Of The Guru, the dude is literally rapping on the song back in the late 60s.

[@BrianRPaterson]

Just brilliant.The Animsls were a class act.

[@johnknottenbelt2727]

One of the best 'rock n blues' voices to have come out of the UK. Along with Steve Marriott & Paul Rogers still as rare as hen's teeth !

[@sess122]

Grew up listening to these guys and NEVER heard this! Very cool. Burden could sing his ass and for a UK group playing American blues/jazz, they really did it justice.

[@doughammond5032]

I saw this when I was about 24. Never could find a recorded version of it.

[@patrickrcleary]

Cool! Hilton Valentine playing a 1964 Rickenbacker Rose Morris guitar. Looking and sounding like a mod-blues-jazz combo.

[@JOHNWLOUCKS]

Spot on !!!

[@anthrax2525]

Rickenbacker 330 aka Rose Morris 1997

[@patrickrcleary]

@@anthrax2525 right, if you were in the UK, you got the British Rose Morris. There are slight differences, like the F-hole instead of the "cat's-eye".

[@eleetex]

@@patrickrcleary And the less skinny neck, 1/8" wider at the nut.

[@KarenBH]

Eric has personality, great stage presence and a great voice! ❤️

[@elisabethaxelsson4736]

O yes

[@joegausch]

Wow! That song is gear!!!

[@markthompson7727]

Eric Burdon was THE BEST frontman for ANY 60’s British Invasion Band! 😉🎸🎶

[@michaeltuz608]

You got _that_ right!!!

[@brucekuehn4031]

He really puts himself into it 100%. He is a raw force of nature!

[@bernicemoore5182]

Like Mark Thompson said, Eric was the best frontman.

[@BluesmanDizzy]

Yes! No doubt about that !

[@beatleshub4832]

@@dlaygtiariytt1423 The Beatles didn't have an assigned frontman.

[@Kaorichiin]

Personally, The Animals impress me far more than any other British Invasion band. 🥰

[@joegausch]

It really doesn't get any better!!!

[@patricklaporte6453]

Had no idea these guys were so good. And the lead. Wow!

[@kimberlyswader5140]

Cannot get enough of that voice. And he's not hard on the eyes either. 😍

[@toddbonin6926]

The baddest of the bad and the coolest of the cool … nobody beats Eric Burdon!!!

[@elisabethaxelsson4736]

True

[@anacaroline0609]

what a surreal voice 💙

[@YvonneJ10]

Always liked the Animals but just dug them on the Ed Sullivan show tricking this song out -- WILD! 👍👍👍👍

[@michaelrocke7917]

Wow 😲 Great performance.

[@rxbbielee]

It’s 8:29am, i’m at work. Saw this on my feed and just had to click and have a listen. So happy i did 😮

[@DillyguyVR6996]

this dude has an outrageous voice

[@bradknopp6502]

I can still see The Animals picture I cut out of a teen magazine and taped on my wall when I was young. Loved 'em, including! on the live TV special they starred in of 'Little Red Riding Hood.' ♡🎶♡

[@bernicemoore5182]

Happy 81st Birthday to drummer John Steel (2/4/1941)!!

[@quiteright623]

The British Precursor to The Doors .. Awesome Band !!

[@buckjohnson1119]

Eric, so talented. The Animals were Great! 👍.

[@majopolania4749]

God, i love Eric's voice

[@elisabethaxelsson4736]

Me too

[@hanno-erdmanntietz8424]

Fabulous Geordie band.

[@alfonsotamayo9978]

One of the Greatest R&B bands in the World. 67 years from Guayaquil,Ecuador.

[@ericburdon8628]

Fantastic Eric Burdon

[@sammcbride2149]

In that voice you can hear the agony of thousands of men breaking millions of rocks.

[@elisabethaxelsson4736]

So true Sam

[@groverbaker6404]

The ANIMALS!!! AWESOME CLASSIC!! Eric and company kick ass!!!

[@mr.scottpowell]

I was only familiar with Tijuana Brass cover of this. Also, nice drumming

[@erlsuni2337]

Paul Butterfield Blues band East-West album

[@Redwhiteblue-gr5em]

Me too

[@brucknerian9664]

This tells you why the Animals were and still are my favourite band of all time. No others come close except for maybe The Doors and the Rolling Stones; but even Burdon hit some notes Jagger and Morrison could never quite reach.

[@ColtraneTaylor]

The Doors and the Stones remain far, far, from the quality of The Animals. Especially the Schmolling Schtones.

[@barbaraszostak1224]

2:40 is the moment I fell in love with Eric ;-) ♥

[@Kaorichiin]

Me too❤

[@haileyblogsandmore16]

Good cover of this song. I love Dave’s bluesy/jazzy playing. Hilton’s little solo is good too!!

[@cassandra_bonnet]

Hilton's solo sounds like Surf music

[@pattibrooks1907]

I love 60s music and they are a really awesome 60s band ! My era of music is from 1967 through the 70s but love the early mid 60s too ! I was 9 years old when they did this song on The Ed Su;llivan Show !

[@jegarajramoo3873]

Some of the best music of all time were made between 1962 and 1970. Genres as diverse as rock,soul,jazz and the blues hit a creative peak during these years. Future genres like heavy metal,grunge,punk and others have their roots in bands like the animals, Beatles,the who , Jimi Hendrix and countless others. It was a magical era in 20th century music.

[@DavidHuertaLopez]

very good voice.. very full charge of rhythm and rock

[@crow-vz5lx]

Such power

[@elianaalegre5045]

I love❤The animals,

[@vincentb4659]

Excellent band. What a voice

[@YacheBerries]

Ah, gosh, always a good night when I get to see some great Animals content! It's a shame to not see Alan anymore, but Dave absolutely * nails * his little solo, along with Hilton - the instrumentation here (as well as Eric's singing), never fails to impress and make me groove along!! Classic Animals. 🐾💞

[@haileyblogsandmore16]

I was think what would ALAN do if he was here

[@recordguy4321]

@@haileyblogsandmore16 try to take songwriting credit LOL

[@haileyblogsandmore16]

@@recordguy4321 He probably would have the song as "arranged by Price" Laugh out loud!

[@whlrradio]

Epitome of cool.

[@BranMarPercussion]

Although The Animals' audience was primarily young, privileged Anglo-Americans, they were most interested in African-American music. Playing the Ed Sullivan Show must have certainly been an important professional opportunity for them. Yet rather than pandering to their teeny-bopper audience with some bubblegum pop ditty, they chose to perform a tune that has since become a jazz classic. Work Song was composed by cornet player Nat Adderley, who along with his alto saxophonist brother Julian led one of the hardest hitting bands of that decade. The lyrics were composed by Oscar Brown Jr., an interesting and original voice in African-American music in his own right. Eric Burden and The Animals clearly understood the profound origins of Rock & Roll in African-American music. If you are fans of Eric Burden and The Animals, I encourage you to learn more about the African-American music that was such a central influence and inspiration to them.

[@cassandra_bonnet]

Sometimes, I wish I lived in the 60's, just to hear their music in real life. Would be amazing

[@shivaumesh1129]

Incredible!! I’ve been a fan of the Animals for 12 years now and I just discovered this song because of this video.

[@SuperAranzabal]

Salud a todos vototros!! What to yell you, a suffering man of the 71!! God bless you!!!!

[@patrickstargazer]

Thanks for releasing this awesome music history!

[@amherst88]

They were really bold in the music they chose to do on these 'mainstream American' appearances (and yes, Eric Burdon is carrying something from other dimensions).

[@RKBarrett]

One hell of a song!!!

[@lutangclan2501]

Written by cornetist Nat Adderley, brother and bandmate of the legendary alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley. The tune was a mainstay of Cannonball’s sets. The lyrics were later added by Chicago’s own Oscar Brown, Jr. a singer, songwriter, playwright, poet, civil rights activist, and actor (he discovered the Jackson 5 from nearby Gary, Indiana). “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” (written by Cannonball’s pianist Joe Zawinul - later of Weather Report) was a hit for Chicago popsters The Buckinghams.

[@acewhite2591]

Wow! Great qualitty and with lyrics. Super💘!!!!!

[@bmw414141]

I always wonder why the Animals never put this song on a studio album. They play it so well here... the respective electric piano and guitar solos by Rowberry and Valentine are killer, and Burdon's voice is spot on as always.

[@Redwhiteblue-gr5em]

Probably because the words sympathize with a criminal who robs and beats up a grocery store employee. Not a good message to put on an album for teenagers

[@cassandra_bonnet]

​@@Redwhiteblue-gr5em Yeah but let's be honest, that song rocks Edit : Forgot to mention that it's the point of a "work song"

[@crazypainter56]

It's on BBC recordings with Alan Price on organ

[@randymillhouse791]

DAMN!

[@jesuscristo6393]

Esses caras foram incríveis ótimas músicas

[@michaeltuz608]

Nobody -- and I mean _nobody_ -- could sing the blues better than Eric Burden! Love The Animals!

[@elisabethaxelsson4736]

So True

[@recordguy4321]

not even his pal Jimmy Witherspoon. Or Percy Mayfield?

[@elisabethaxelsson4736]

@@recordguy4321 Jimmy Witherspoon yes he sings blues good too

[@recordguy4321]

@@elisabethaxelsson4736 Eric even recorded with Witherspoon. One of his idols

[@elisabethaxelsson4736]

@@recordguy4321 yes I knew

[@mariskaist]

big fans eric burdon 1964-2021

[@Stigggs]

Really nice!! Hell, the man screams on key! So cool

[@fernandodavidpadillatafur2535]

Brilliant

[@noe.pristina]

Amo tu voz Eric

[@ColtraneTaylor]

Not even The Complete Animals has this song. Talk about hiding a great song and performance for decades.

[@bobmcconn]

Totally; Animal Tracks was the first LP I bought, and followed up with the next few and didn't know about this cover until seeing it here. Really shows off their musical chops.

[@joegausch]

When time travel finally becomes real I know which decade I am going to!!!

[@andrewarthurmatthews6685]

What a voice and unequaled

In color! Dig it!! Show "It's my life."

[@finbarrsaunders]

Eric Burdon certainly had some pipes on him

[@LUISACAIN-db5vn]

This is a hard song to sing eric rocks it ❤

[@adriennerobinson1180]

Loved Eric,'s Singing voice

[@Thorny5718]

Pure talent! You never see anything like this nowadays. Mostly all manufactured, or rap crap….and yes that rhymed 😂🇬🇧

[@diannedavis2010]

Way above and beyond the rest!

[@marguskiis7711]

jazz rock

[@spyderlogan4992]

My high school band, The Beau Street Runners, Franconia, Virginia, covered every possible Animals song we could play all the way through without any mistakes at every after football game sock hop, backyard or pool party; this wasn't one of them...LOL. The Animals RULED my world in those days.

[@cguzelli1]

I hear you. Our band played Animals and Stones, our favorite 2 bands.

[@jthyme7940]

For the rehearsals of this show, The Animals did "It's My Life". Hoping you might be able to post that clip, too. Also on this show was Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs doing "Ring Dang Doo".

[@recordguy4321]

I've seen it on You Tube . maybe a different poster and channel

[@mkruup]

Ring Dang Doo should be great!

[@santiagomeza5155]

😀🥵 great song

[@that70sgirl90]

Work it... Those are some Animals!! Love, love the suits!! Thank you for sharing ! Happy Halloween! 🎃🕷☠👾

[@michaeltuz608]

Gotta agree! Those Mod styles in the mid sixties were fabulous!

[@that70sgirl90]

@@michaeltuz608 I agree... I love that they all matched! 🎃

[@cassandra_bonnet]

​@@that70sgirl90 Same, love their hairstyles too

[@that70sgirl90]

@@cassandra_bonnet Agree.

[@RawKnee1111]

It's only Rock and Soul .... But I fuckin' like it. WOW!!!!!

[@tomdonnelly1154]

Nothin like raw talent !

[@darkchurch7044]

Back from the dead 💀🔥🔥🪵

[@chrisphillips4389]

This is amazing....BTW.....this tune is very similar to "Inside Looking Out"- another rave up by Eric...

[@jerrytate9394]

WOW what a VOICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish they were better managed.

[@cassandra_bonnet]

Me too ☹️

[@allsortsaround]

Songwriter 1: What should we name this song? Songwriter 2: I’m working on it Songwriter 1: THATS PERFECT, YOU’RE A GENIUS

[@alanFconrad]

Eric was the coolest.....saw him many times

[@transtremm]

Chas Chandler on bass

[@Redwhiteblue-gr5em]

I didn’t know this was a song about a criminal who robbed and beat up a grocery store employee. From the instrumental versions I know by the Tijuana Brass I thought this song helped to motivate and energize people to do their job well. How ironic.

[@flynnlizzy5469]

I'm amazed Sullivan let them sing this song. Don't get me wrong, I give him all the props he deserved for having the Bit Invasion bands on his show, hell, he made my childhood but, he was such a stickler about lyrics supposedly. This is a blatant, flat out hardcore song about armed robbery (there was 'Inside Looking Out' also) - wouldn't you think Ed would have been just as squeamish about brining on this band 'for all you kids out there' ?

[@lechatel]

i suppose it was this or the one The Animals did in rehearsal (on KZbin as well I think, though the picture quality is bad to start, stick with it - it improves) which is It's My Life which is, of course about a guy telling his girlfriend he's going to be a gigolo to cold-bloodedly extract money from rich women. lol So i guess Ed thought this was the lesser of two evils.

[@frankcoffey]

Fantastic. Did anyone else notice the band aid on his finger at 2:58?

[@mjosemartinez1011]

Siempre❤

[@t4fnut]

I have listened to this song for years and years, and I never knew it had lyrics. Nat Adderley wrote it, but I have never heard his band, or his brother’s band, play it with a vocalist. Countless other jazz groups have recorded it, and again, I have never heard a vocalist sing lyrics. I wonder if Nat wrote the lyrics or if someone else decided to put lyrics to his tune. Anyway, this version is very cool! I love it. Burdon does an amazing job singing, and the solos, considering they are very short, are nonetheless very good. And I see drummer John Steel uses the traditional grip, not very common among rock band drummers, Charlie Watts and Neil Peart being notable exceptions.

[@VirreFriberg]

"Work Song" was initially composed as an instrumental by Nat Adderley. A year later, Oscar Brown Jr. wrote the lyrics for it.

[@ColtraneTaylor]

Great info!

[@raymondtonns2521]

Animals electrified blue collar Queens county in NYC Earthquake!!!

[@bryanr.2649]

After 1966 music would change forever and also marking the end of the invasion.

[@lonestarfriend]

And will we see that suit style return to being fashionable? 🙂

[@QueenFan12]

No

[@cassandra_bonnet]

I'd love this

[@dawnenglish2114]

It's in style 2023

[@cassandra_bonnet]

@@dawnenglish2114 That's good news

[@jorgeortiz6863]

Mis oídos están acostumbrados a esto :)

[@LUISACAIN-db5vn]

R i p ethel and gorden so brilliant and uplifting ❤❤❤❤❤

[@hak4890]

I wonder if these young men knew how incredibly talented and gorgeous they were. Makes me sad that Hilton and Chas are gone, and that Eric and Alan seemingly have not resolved their decades-long troubles with each other…

[@cassandra_bonnet]

Dave Rowberry really did a great job here. He's the keyboardist

[@GanaaGanaa-e3j]

Сайхан байна 60 аад онд. Очуулсанд. Баярлалаа

[@El_Chuncho]

Nat Adderley 🥂