Rocktober '60s Song #11: "It's My Life" by The Animals (1965)

Like many of the British Invasion bands, The Animals owed much of their influence to American blues, soul, and R&B.  Working class blokes (yeah, I just used "blokes") from Newcastle Upon Tyne, The Animals were fronted by Eric Burdon -- who later described himself in song as an "overfed long-haired leaping gnome" -- whose bluesy and gritty voice set the tone for much of the band's work.  Their cover of folk song "House of the Rising Sun" in 1964 propelled them to fame, both in England and the U.S. (the song reached #1 in both countries), and a string of hits in the following years cemented their legacy.  

Overall, they had 16 Top 40 hits on the UK pop charts, including 8 Top 10s.  In the U.S., they had 14 songs reach the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, three of which went Top 10.  While "House of the Rising Sun" is fantastic, and I thoroughly enjoy most of their other big hits, like "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" and "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" (which ended up unintentionally being an anthem for U.S. troops during the Vietnam War), as well as their blues and R&B covers ("Boom Boom," "Story of Bo Diddley," "Bring It On Home to Me," etc.), I wanted to go with a lesser-known original song.

"It's My Life" was a hit (#7 in the UK and #23 on the Billboard Hot 100), but I don't know that I've ever heard it on oldies or classic rock radio.  It was written by Brill Building songwriters Roger Atkins and Carl D'Errico specifically for the band.  The bass line of Chas Chandler (who would later discover Jimi Hendrix and propel him to fame) starts the song out, followed by a 12-string electric guitar that sounds very Byrds-esque, which I supposed could describe just about any 12-string electric guitar.  From there, Burdon broods to a bird (that's what the English called women back then) about how he's downtrodden now, but he'll one day bust out of his slump, without or without you, girl.  And he's gonna do it his way. Enjoy the song, and don't forget about The Animals.