The Animals
1
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Year:
1994
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Inducted by:
Dave Pirner
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Category:
Performers
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John Steel -
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Hilton Valentine -
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Eric Burdon -
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Chas Chandler -
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Alan Price
Introduction
The Animals were at the front of the British Invasion, yowling to the top of the charts with hits like “House of the Rising Sun.”
Heavily influenced by American R&B, the Animals were master interpreters of existing songs, updating them with a working-class toughness and giving them new life.
Hall of Fame Essay
1994
From the somber opening chords of the Animals’ first big hit “House of the Rising Sun,” the world could tell that this band was up to something different than their British Invasion peers.
When the record hit #1 in England and America in the summer and fall of 1964, the Beatles and their Mersey-beat fellow travelers dominated the charts with songs like “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “Glad All Over.”
their sound was not only fresh but riveting
Photography: Kevin Mazur, WireImage
