The Animals

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  • Year:
    1994
  • Inducted by:
    Dave Pirner
  • Category:
    Performers

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

Seymour Stein

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.”

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Program 1994
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Dave Pirner inducting The Animals into the Hall of Fame
their sound was not only fresh but riveting
Dave Pirner

Photography: Kevin Mazur, WireImage