There is always a time for a little rebellion, brought to you tonight by The Animals, fronted by the mercurial Eric Burdon. This song was recorded by the group in 1965 but was actually written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, husband and wife (and future Hall of Fame) songwriters associated with the 1960s Brill Building scene in New York City. In The Animals rendition, the lyrics were slightly reordered and reworded in a manner that was often taken as fitting the groups industrial, working class Newcastle-upon-Tyne origins in the UK. As with other songs by artists such as Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones and the Who, it ushered in a new role for rock music as a vehicle for common perception and as a force for social consciousness, and it has since become an iconic song of its type enhanced by its immense popularity among United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam War. In 2004 it was ranked number 233 on Rolling Stones The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list; it is also in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fames 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 14:13:03 +0000