Album: Animalization (1966)

Charted: 6 12

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Songfacts®:

• While The Who, The Beatles and The Kinks wrote most of their own material when they came to America in the British Invasion, The Animals producer Mickie Most looked to the New York songwriters in the Brill Building for material, and this was one of the songs he was pitched. Written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, it's about a guy trying real hard to make a relationship work, and pleading for understanding with his girl.
  
  With Eric Burdon's growling, echoed vocals and a prominent organ, it didn't sound like a Goffin/King composition by the time The Animals were done with it. Heck, even Burdon didn't know. He told us: "I didn't realize that it was a Goffin, King song until I was in a doctor's office in Beverly Hills and Ms. King came in and sat next to me. I didn't know it was her, I was just reading a magazine and she turned to me and said, 'You know, I hated what you did to my song.' I didn't know what to say, so all I said was, 'well, sorry.' and then as she got up to go into the doctor's office, she turned around and said, 'but I got used to it.'" (Read more in our interview with Eric Burdon.)

Comments: 7

• Sam from Sherman OaksI was listening to a very special interview Carole King did with her daughter Louise Goffin and a published songwriter/author writer about songwriting (Paul Zollo, who I happen to know personally) on their podcast The Great Song Adventure, and in that, Carole casually mentions that this song and “Just Once In My Life” were songs where the lyrics to those two tunes were written by Gerry directly about Carole and the songs were very much confessions about their relationship/marriage which at the time as you can tell from listening to those two songs was pretty rocky.i wish they elaborated more on this in those interviews but I understand if they wanted the interview to be less on her personal life and more on her career achievements and how she wrote the famous hits she wrote with her then husband Gerry Goffin at that time.
• Jennifur Sun from RamonaOne thing I liked about their music was the ORGAN.
• Jennifur Sun from RamonaMartin I can so relate to that one. Have felt like this more than once.
• Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn April 17th 1966, the Animals performed "Don't Bring Me Down" on the CBS-TV program 'The Ed Sullivan Show'...
  One month earlier on May 15th, 1966 it entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #79; and on June 26th, 1966 it peaked at #12 (for 1 week) and spent 10 weeks on the Top 100...
  It reached #3 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart...
  Was the group's last charted record using the name 'The Animals'; they're next single was "See See Rider" and the name on the label was 'Eric Burton and the Animals'...
  R.I.P. bassist 'Chas' Chandler (1938 - 1996) and Mr. Sullivan (1901 - 1974).
• Elmer H from Westville, OkI still love this Animals hit whenever I hear it on the radio. When it was released in 1966 I bought the 45 rpm single & noticed the writing credits as "Goffin/King" and I was very familiar with that writing team over the years from their other great hits. But this one didn't sound like their typical composition. I loved it anyway. Mostly because it had attitude. And it told a story about the diffiulties in life and a relationship. Emotions laid bare! Actually, I have always loved The Animals & even their incarnation as Eric Burdon and The Animals. Back in 1964, when they first hit the U.S. as part of the British Invasion, I didn't take to them, but then I changed my mind after my brother got a copy of "House of the Rising Sun" and then "Boom Boom." The latter was their revision of an old John Lee Hooker blues hit from the early Sixties that was a real "roof-raiser" of a song. Good rock & roll.
• Martin from Fresno, CaGreat song. He is telling her he loves her but please don't be critical.
• Don Hertel from Dover, NjI never heard Carole King's demo of the song (but I know one exists), but I heard a version by a band called Obsession and I believe the melody is probably close to the way that she wrote it.

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