Balarama Music

Originals Week: Don’t Let Me Be Covered

{Jun 04}

Doug1960s nina simone, originals week, the animals 1 Comment

This next one is one of those covers you’ll really get a kick out of because not only will you be surprised it’s a cover, but you’ll also be surprised by just how much the song was changed. The year again is 1964 (I need to get out of the 60s, I know) and the blues-rock band known as The Animals was just about to wrap up a pretty successful year. After moving to London and piggybacking the success of the British Invasion, they had found themselves with newfound success after taking some old standards, folk songs, & soul hits and turning them into R&B infused sing-a-longs like the massive hit “House Of The Rising Sun.” Looking ahead to 1965, the band knew they had more ground to cover to solidify themselves in Britain’s ever-competitive music scene. Their habit of paying homage to those who inspired them and re-inventing the songs in different ways wasn’t over by a long shot so they had some ground to cover for their next single to be released at the top of the New Year. Going back to those who had already inspired them, the name Nina Simone must have come up again to those looking for new songs at EMI. After all, she had done one of the first recordings of “House Of The Rising Sun” in the 60s, even predating Bob Dylan’s version, and there was a catfight over who ultimately inspired Alan Price’s version of the song. The Animals were in luck here as were their bosses because earlier that year, Nina Simone had released her album Broadway-Blues-Ballads full of new material.

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