By Syndicated Content
Erika Goldring/FilmMagic
The Animals, celebrates his 80th birthday today.
Burdon co-founded The Animals in 1963 in his hometown of Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K., with keyboardist
Alan Price, guitarist
Chas Chandler and drummer
John Steele. The band, which was heavily influenced by American blues artists, scored its first and only #1 hit on the
Billboard Hot 100 with its classic cover of the traditional folk song âThe House of the Rising Sun.â The single spent three weeks at the top of the chart in September 1964.
The Animals scored many more hits from 1964 to 1966, including âDonât Let Me Be Misunderstood,â âBring It On Home to Me,â âWe Gotta Get Out of This Place,â âItâs My Life,â âDonât Bring Me Downâ and âSee See Rider.