Dave Rowberry

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Dave Rowberry (born July 7, 1940, died June 6, 2003) was an English piano and organ player, most known for being a member of the rock and R&B group The Animals in the 1960s.

Born in Nottingham, Rowberry entered the Newcastle-upon-Tyne blues and jazz music scene in the early 1960s. He joined The Mike Cotton Jazzmen (later The Mike Cotton Sound) in 1962, who made a living backing American blues and pop acts touring England.

The Animals were already one of the major British Invasion groups in May 1965 when founding keyboardist Alan Price suddenly left due to fear of flying and other issues. According to lead singer Eric Burdon, Rowberry, while considered a good musician, was chosen partly because of his passing physical resemblance to Price. On the other hand, Burdon's crony Zoot Money claims that he was approached first, and Rowberry only selected as a second choice.

In any event, Rowberry played on more of the group's big hits than most people now realize, including "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", "It's My Life", "Don't Bring Me Down", "Inside Looking Out", "Help Me Girl", and "See See Rider". For a number of songs, including the last of these, Rowberry was credited as the arranger. He was also prominent on Animalisms/Animalization, often considered one of the most consistent albums of the group's recording career. He also sang backing vocals and did some occasional songwriting for the group.

The original incarnation of The Animals collapsed in September 1966, and Rowberry became a session musician; he was not part of the Eric Burdon and The New Animals group of the late 1960s.

When the first incarnation Animals reformed in 1968, 1977 and 1983, Price not Rowberry was involved, and when a second keyboardist was added to the latter project, it was Money not Rowberry. When The Animals were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, again only the original five members including Price were honored, despite some fans' attempts to get Rowberry inducted alongside them.

In the mid-1990s, Rowberry joined former founding bandmates Hilton Valentine on guitar and John Steel on drums in The Animals II, one of several different "Animals" of that time; during that decade he also worked as free-lance musician in the London jazz scene.

Rowberry died in London of an apparent heart attack on June 6, 2003.