"Don't Bring Me Down" is a song composed by Gerry Goffin and Carole King and recorded as a 1966 hit single by the Animals. It was the group's first release with drummer Barry Jenkins, who replaced founding member John Steel as he had left the band in February of that year.
History
"Don't Bring Me Down" was one of a series of Animals renditions of Brill Building material, following the 1965 hits "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" and "It's My Life". According to one account, all three came out of one call in 1965 that the Animals' then-producer Mickie Most made for songs.[2]
The Animals had always had a somewhat contentious relationship with such songs, knowing they gave them hits but preferring the more straightforward R&B numbers they used for album tracks.[citation needed] Moreover, now they were performing a Goffin and King selection; although the couple was already legendary for their pop songwriting prowess, Animals lead singerEric Burdon had previously seemingly mocked Goffin-King's "Take Good Care of My Baby" in the Animals' 1964 stream-of-consciousness rock history "Story of Bo Diddley". Furthermore, they were now using Tom Wilson as a producer, who promised them more artistic freedom than they had had under Mickie Most.[citation needed]
before sliding into a loud, pleading voice on the chorus:[3]
Oh oh no!
Don't bring me down
No no no no
Oh babe oh no
Don't bring me down
Billboard called the song an "emotional ballad wailer."[4]
Rolling Stone later wrote that "Don't Bring Me Down" represented one side of the Goffin-King "boy-girl, loneliness-togetherness" duality.[5]Allmusic considers "Don't Bring Me Down" an exemplar of the Animals' "brutally soulful inspiration."[6]
Chart performance
"Don't Bring Me Down" was a solid hit, reaching the Top 10 (#6) in the UK pop singles chart, and falling just short of that on the U.S. pop singles chart, reaching number 12 during June and July 1966. It was also popular in Canada, reaching number 3 on the CHUM Chart and number 5 on the RPM Chart.[7][8] It was also one of their most popular singles in Germany, reaching number 17.
Later versions
New York Dolls singer David Johansen's Animals medley from his 1982 live album Live It Up gained considerable MTV exposure; "Don't Bring Me Down" was in the middle, following "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" and before "It's My Life".
The Guess Who did this song on the bootleg live album "Live in Winnipeg" in 1967.
Some websites erroneously claim the song has earlier been recorded by Pretty Things in 1964; in fact, that "Don't Bring Me Down" was a different song, written by Johnny Dee, manager of British band The Fairies, that was a Top 10 hit in the UK.
