Alan Price
The keyboard wizard behind the Animals' gritty blues sound, who forged a lasting solo career in British rock and film music.
Born 1942 (age 84)·English musician·Birthday: April 19·The Silent Generation
Biography
Alan Price's organ riff on 'The House of the Rising Sun' transformed a folk ballad into a rock and roll epic, defining the Animals' raw, Newcastle-born sound. He provided the haunting, melodic spine to the group's most enduring hits. A restless musical intellect, Price left the Animals at their height to form the jazz-and-R&B-infused Alan Price Set. He became a skilled composer for film, most notably for Lindsay Anderson's satirical masterpiece 'O Lucky Man!' His career, rooted in American blues, pushed into distinctly English territories of sound and storytelling, never ceasing to evolve.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Alan was born in 1942, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Alan Was Born
The biggest hits of 1942
#1 Movie
Bambi
Best Picture
Mrs. Miniver
Alan's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1942Born
Battle of Midway turns the tide in the Pacific
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,175Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"White Christmas" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Mrs. Miniver
1947Started school
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1955Became a teenager
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1958Could drive
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1960Could vote
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1963Turned 21
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1972Turned 30
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1982Turned 40
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1992Turned 50
LA riots after Rodney King verdict
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $84,300Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"End of the Road" — Boyz II MenBest Picture: Unforgiven
2002Turned 60
Euro currency enters circulation
Gas: $1.36/galHome: $137,800Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"How You Remind Me" — NickelbackBest Picture: Chicago
2012Turned 70
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
2022Turned 80
Russia invades Ukraine; Queen Elizabeth II dies
Gas: $3.97/galHome: $348,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"As It Was" — Harry StylesBest Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once
2026Age 84 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Composed the organ riff for the Animals' 1964 hit 'The House of the Rising Sun,' a defining moment in British rhythm and blues.
- Won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Film Score for his work on Lindsay Anderson's 'O Lucky Man!' (1973).
- Had a successful solo hit with 'Jarrow Song,' a 1974 tribute to the Jarrow March of the 1930s that reached the UK Top Ten.
- Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a founding member of the Animals.
Did You Know?
He turned down an invitation to join the supergroup Cream, which was instead formed by Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Jack Bruce.
He made a cameo appearance as himself in the 1979 cult film 'The Who's Quadrophenia.'
His song 'O Lucky Man!' was used as the theme for the British television political satire 'Bremner, Bird and Fortune.'
“The organ riff on 'House of the Rising Sun' was a simple arrangement, but it carried the whole song.”
