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“The House of the Rising Sun“ is a traditional folk song, sometimes called “Rising Sun Blues“. It tells of a person's life gone wrong in the city of New Orleans. Many versions also urge a sibling or parents and children to avoid the same fate. The most successful commercial version, recorded in 1964 by the British rock band The Animals, was a number one hit on the UK Singles Chart and in the US and Canada. As a traditional folk song recorded by an electric rock band, it has been described as the “first folk rock hit“. The song was first collected in Appalachia in the 1930s, but probably has its roots in traditional English folk song. It is listed as number 6393 in the Roud Folk Song Index. Origin - Like many folk songs, “The House of the Rising Sun“ is of uncertain authorship. Musicologists say that it is based on the tradition of broadside ballads, and thematically it has some resemblance to the 16th-century ballad “The Unfortunate Rake“, yet there is no evidence suggesting that there is any direct relation. The folk song collector Alan Lomax suggested that the melody might be related to a 17th-century folk song, “Lord Barnard and Little Musgrave“, also known as “Matty Groves“, but a survey by Bertrand Bronson showed no clear relationship between the two songs. The Animals Version - An interview with Eric Burdon revealed that he first heard the song in a club in Newcastle, England, where it was sung by the Northumbrian folk singer Johnny Handle. The Animals were on tour with Chuck Berry and chose it because they wanted something distinctive to sing. The Animals had begun featuring their arrangement of “The House of the Rising Sun“ during a joint concert tour with Chuck Berry, using it as their closing number to differentiate themselves from acts that always closed with straight rockers. It got a tremendous reaction from the audience, convincing initially reluctant producer Mickie Most that it had hit potential, and between tour stops the group went to a small recording studio, De Lane Lea Studios on Kingsway in London to capture it. Personnel Eric Burdon – vocals Hilton Valentine – electric guitar Chas Chandler – bass guitar Alan Price – Vox Continental organ John Steel – drums and percussion Reception - “House of the Rising Sun“ was a trans-Atlantic hit: after reaching the top of the UK pop singles chart in July 1964, it topped the US pop singles chart two months later, on September 5, 1964, where it stayed for three weeks. Many cite this as the first true classic rock song, and became the first British Invasion number one unconnected with the Beatles. It was the group's breakthrough hit in both countries and became their signature song. The song was also a hit in Ireland twice, peaking at No. 10 upon its initial release in 1964 and later reaching a brand new peak of No. 5 when reissued in 1982. According to John Steel, Bob Dylan told him that when he first heard the Animals' version on his car radio, he stopped to listen, “jumped out of his car“ and “banged on the bonnet“ (the hood of the car), inspiring him to go electric. Dave Van Ronk said that the Animals' version—like Dylan's version before it—was based on his arrangement of the song. Dave Marsh described the Animals' take on “The House of the Rising Sun“ as “the first folk-rock hit“, sounding “as if they'd connected the ancient tune to a live wire“. Writer Ralph McLean of the BBC agreed that it was “arguably the first folk rock tune“ and “a revolutionary single“, after which “the face of modern music was changed forever.“ The Animals' rendition of the song is recognized as one of the classics of British pop music. Writer Lester Bangs labeled it “a brilliant rearrangement“ and “a new standard rendition of an old standard composition“. It ranked number 122 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of “500 Greatest Songs of All Time“. It is also one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's “500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll“. The RIAA ranked it number 240 on their list of “Songs of the Century“. In 1999 it received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award. It has long since become a staple of oldies and classic rock radio formats. A 2005 Channel 5 poll ranked it as Britain's fourth-favorite number one song of all time. Recorded live at the She Shack Studio on 3/18/23 © Copyright Danny Diess
