"Don't Bring Me Down" is a song composed by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and recorded as a 1966 hit single by the Animals. It was the group's first release with drummer Barry Jenkins, who replaced founding member John Steel as he had left the band in February of that year.
"Don't Bring Me Down" was one of a series of Animals renditions of Brill Building material, following the 1965 hits "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" and "It's My Life". According to one account, all three came out of one call in 1965 that the Animals' then-producer Mickie Most made for songs.[2]
The Animals had always had a somewhat contentious relationship with such songs, knowing they gave them hits but preferring the more straightforward R&B numbers they used for album tracks.[citation needed] Moreover, now they were performing a Goffin and King selection; although the couple was already legendary for their pop songwriting prowess, Animals lead singerEric Burdon had previously seemingly mocked Goffin-King's "Take Good Care of My Baby" in the Animals' 1964 stream-of-consciousness rock history "Story of Bo Diddley". Furthermore, they were now using Tom Wilson as a producer, who promised them more artistic freedom than they had had under Mickie Most.[citation needed]
before sliding into a loud, pleading voice on the chorus:[3]
Oh oh no!
Don't bring me down
No no no no
Oh babe oh no
Don't bring me down
Billboard called the song an "emotional ballad wailer."[4]
Rolling Stone later wrote that "Don't Bring Me Down" represented one side of the Goffin-King "boy-girl, loneliness-togetherness" duality.[5]Allmusic considers "Don't Bring Me Down" an exemplar of the Animals' "brutally soulful inspiration."[6]
Chart performance
"Don't Bring Me Down" was a solid hit, reaching the Top 10 (#6) in the UK pop singles chart, and falling just short of that on the U.S. pop singles chart, reaching number 12 during June and July 1966. It was also popular in Canada, reaching number 3 on the CHUM Chart. It was also one of their most popular singles in Germany, reaching number 17.
Later versions
New York Dolls singer David Johansen's Animals medley from his 1982 live album Live It Up gained considerable MTV exposure; "Don't Bring Me Down" was in the middle, following "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" and before "It's My Life".
The Guess Who did this song on the bootleg live album "Live in Winnipeg" in 1967.
Some websites erroneously claim the song has earlier been recorded by Pretty Things in 1964; in fact, that "Don't Bring Me Down" was a different song, written by Johnny Dee, manager of British band The Fairies, that was a Top 10 hit in the UK.
The Animals are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The Animals are known for their deep-voiced frontman Eric Burdon and for their gritty, bluesy sound, exemplified by their signature song and transatlantic number-one hit single "The House of the Rising Sun" as well as by hits such as "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", "It's My Life", "Don't Bring Me Down", "I'm Crying", "See See Rider" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood". They balanced tough, rock-edged pop singles against rhythm-and-blues-oriented album material and were part of the British Invasion of the US.
Carole King Klein is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has been active since 1958. One of the most successful female songwriters of the latter half of the 20th century in the US, she wrote or co-wrote 118 pop hits on the Billboard Hot 100. She also wrote 61 hits that charted in the UK, making her the most successful female songwriter on the UK singles charts between 1962 and 2005.
Eric Victor Burdon is an English singer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist of the R&B and rock band the Animals and the funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, powerful blues-rock voice. Burdon is also known for his intense stage performances.
Gerald Goffin was an American lyricist. Collaborating initially with his first wife, Carole King, he co-wrote many international pop hits of the early and mid-1960s, including the US No.1 hits "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", "Take Good Care of My Baby", "The Loco-Motion", and "Go Away Little Girl". It was later said of Goffin that his gift was "to find words that expressed what many young people were feeling but were unable to articulate."
"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" is a 1967 song by American soul singer Aretha Franklin released as a single by the Atlantic label. The words were written by Gerry Goffin from an idea by Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler, and the music was composed by Carole King. Written for Franklin, the record was a big hit reaching number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and became one of her signature songs. It made history on the UK Singles Chart a week after her death, finally becoming a hit almost 51 years after it was first released, entering at No. 79. Franklin also included a live recording on the album Aretha in Paris in 1968.
"Will You Love Me Tomorrow", sometimes known as "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow", is a song with words by Gerry Goffin and music composed by Carole King. It was recorded in 1960 by the Shirelles at Bell Sound Studios in New York City, and hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song was the first by an African-American all-girl group to reach number one in the United States. It has since been recorded by many other artists including a 1971 version by co-writer Carole King.
"Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" is a song written by Bennie Benjamin, Horace Ott and Sol Marcus for American singer-songwriter and pianist Nina Simone, who recorded the first version in 1964. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" has been covered by many artists. Two of the covers were transatlantic hits, the first in 1965 by the Animals, which was a blues rock version; and in 1977 by the disco group Santa Esmeralda, which was a four-on-the-floor rearrangement. A 1986 cover by new wave musician Elvis Costello found success in Britain and Ireland.
Rhymes & Reasons is the fourth album by American singer-songwriter Carole King. Released in 1972, the album features a single "Been to Canaan", which topped the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and peaked at number 24 on the Pop chart. The album itself also became a hit, reaching number two on the Billboard 200 chart.
The discography of the Animals, an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne, contains 20 studio albums, six compilation albums, five EPs and 25 singles. Featuring a gritty, bluesy sound and a deep-voiced frontman in Eric Burdon, they are best known for their rendition of an American folk song "House of the Rising Sun", which is described by many as their signature song. This single had worldwide sales of nearly 5 million and became a Number One hit in both the UK and US in 1964. Overall, the group balanced tough, rock-edged pop singles such as "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" and "It's My Life" against rhythm and blues–oriented album material. The Animals released separate UK and US albums, a practice common to other British Invasion bands of the time such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
"We Gotta Get Out of This Place", occasionally written "We've Gotta Get Out of This Place", is a rock song written by American songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and recorded as a 1965 hit single by English band the Animals. It has become an iconic song of its type and was immensely popular with United States Armed Forces G.I.s during the Vietnam War.
"It's My Life" is a song written by New York City songwriters Roger Atkins and Carl D'Errico. The song was originally performed by English R&B band The Animals, who released it as a single in October 1965.
The Best of The Animals is the first greatest hits collection by the British rock group the Animals. MGM Records released the album in February 1966 in the United States. It showcases the Animals' tough-edged pop hits combined with their more devoted blues and R&B workouts. The album has been reissued with some different tracks and a similar collection, The Most of Animals, was released in the United Kingdom in 1966.
"Up on the Roof" is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and recorded in 1962 by The Drifters. Released late that year, the disc became a major hit in early 1963, reaching number 5 on the U.S. pop singles chart and number 4 on the U.S. R&B singles chart. In the UK it was a top ten success for singer Kenny Lynch, whose version was also released in 1962.
Eric Is Here is a 1967 album billed to Eric Burdon & The Animals, although the actual bands with Burdon are the Benny Golson orchestra and the Horace Ott Orchestra.
Access All Areas is a live album by the Eric Burdon and Brian Auger Band recorded at the Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach, California on 10 May 1993.
The Most of the Animals is the title of a number of different compilation albums by the British blues rock group the Animals. Although track listing varies, all feature only songs from 1964 and 1965. The title is derived from the name of their then producer Mickie Most.
Absolute Animals 1964–1968 is a compilation album of The Animals, released in 2003 and which features many of their hits. It was also the first compilation to feature songs from their Columbia, Decca, and MGM albums.
"The House of the Rising Sun" is a traditional folk song, sometimes called "Rising Sun Blues". It tells of a person's life gone wrong in the city of New Orleans. Many versions also urge a sibling or parents and children to avoid the same fate. The most successful commercial version, recorded in 1964 by the British rock band The Animals, was a number one hit on the UK Singles Chart and in the US and Canada. As a traditional folk song recorded by an electric rock band, it has been described as the "first folk rock hit".
Live It Up, released in 1982, was the first live album released by David Johansen as a solo artist. Johansen did release a limited and promotional live album, The David Johansen Group Live in 1978, but the album was not officially released until 1993. Additionally, by the time Live It Up was released, various bootlegs of Johansen's first band, the New York Dolls, were being heavily traded. The impact of the New York Dolls, as both an influential band and as a live act, was becoming a legend in the late-1970s and early-1980s when Johansen was trying to start his solo career. However, his three previous solo albums were not selling as well as expected, therefore, Johansen turned to touring and selling his stage show.
Greatest Hits Live (Rip It to Shreds) is a live album by the original members of The Animals. It was released in 1984.
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