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.
Nina Simone was an African American singer, songwriter, pianist, composer, arranger and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and pop.
Eric Victor Burdon is an English singer and songwriter. He was previously 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.
Alan Price is an English musician who first found prominence as the original keyboardist of the English rock band the Animals. He left the band in 1965 to form the Alan Price Set; his hit singles with and without the group include "Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear", "The House That Jack Built", "Rosetta" and "Jarrow Song". Price is also known for work in film and television, taking occasional acting roles and composing the soundtrack to Lindsay Anderson's film O Lucky Man! (1973). He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a member of the Animals.
Blood & Chocolate is the eleventh studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello, released in the United Kingdom as Demon Records XFIEND 80, and in the United States as Columbia 40518. It is his ninth album with his long-standing backing band known as 'The Attractions'. After his previous album King of America with producer T-Bone Burnett and different musicians, this album reunited him with producer Nick Lowe and his usual backing group the Attractions. It peaked at No. 16 on the UK Albums Chart, and No. 84 on the Billboard 200. In The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics poll for the year's best albums, Blood & Chocolate finished at number 9. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2000 it was voted number 475 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.
Claude August "Bennie" Benjamin was a Virgin Islands-born American songwriter. He had particularly successful songwriting partnerships with Sol Marcus, with whom he wrote "I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire", "When the Lights Go On Again ", and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"; and with George David Weiss, with whom he wrote "Oh! What It Seemed to Be" and "Wheel of Fortune". Most of his songs were in the traditional pop idiom.
"I Put a Spell on You" is a 1956 song written and composed by Jalacy "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins, whose own recording of it was selected as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It was also included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings—published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981)—and ranked No. 313 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The selection became a classic cult song covered by a variety of artists and was his greatest commercial success, reportedly surpassing a million copies in sales, even though it failed to make the Billboard pop or R&B charts.
Santa Esmeralda is a French-American disco group formed in the 1970s. The group had hits with its remake of the 1960s hits "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" and "House of the Rising Sun". Santa Esmeralda featured original lead singer Leroy Gómez in 1977-1978 and singer Jimmy Goings from late 1978 until 1983. Gómez rejoined the group in the 1990s.
"You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" is a 1966 hit recorded by English singer Dusty Springfield that proved to be her most successful single, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart and number four on the Billboard Hot 100. It is the cover of a 1965 Italian song by Pino Donaggio and Vito Pallavicini, titled "Io che non vivo (senza te)". Elvis Presley recorded another cover version in 1970 which was a hit in both the US and the UK. Other covers have charted in the UK, Ireland, Italy and Finland.
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.
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.
Raymond Donnez, or Don Ray, was a French disco producer, arranger and performer.
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.
"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".
Sun Secrets is an album by the Eric Burdon Band recorded in 1973 and released in December 1974.
Desde El Principio is the twelfth studio album by Spanish duo Azúcar Moreno, released on Sony International in 2004.
"(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea" is a song written by new wave musician Elvis Costello and recorded by Costello with his backing band the Attractions. The song appeared on Costello's 1978 second album, This Year's Model. Written by Costello while working as a computer programmer, the song was lyrically inspired by films Costello had been watching as well as childhood trips to Chelsea. Musically the song featured influence from bands such as the Who and the Kinks and is notable for Bruce Thomas's prominent bassline.
Horace Ott is an American jazz and R&B composer, arranger, record producer, conductor and pianist, noted for his work since the late 1950s with a wide variety of artists including The Shirelles, Don Covay, Nina Simone, Houston Person, and the Village People.
Sol Marcus was an American songwriter and pianist.
"This Year's Girl" is a song written by new wave musician Elvis Costello and performed by Costello and the Attractions for his 1978 album This Year's Model. Inspired by the Rolling Stones song "Stupid Girl", the song's lyrics criticizing fashion saw some critics allege misogyny, a theme which Costello strongly denied was present in the song in subsequent interviews.
