The House of the Rising Sun

"The House of the Rising Sun" is a folk song from the United States. Also called "House of the Rising Sun" or occasionally "Rising Sun Blues", it tells of a life gone wrong in New Orleans. The most successful commercial version was recorded by the English rock group The Animals in 1964, which was a number one hit in the United Kingdom, United States, Sweden and Canada.

Origin and early versions

Like many classic folk ballads, the authorship of "The House of the Rising Sun" is unknown. Some musicologists say that it is based on the tradition of broadside ballads such as the "Unfortunate Rake" of the 18th century which were taken to America by early settlers. Many of these had the theme of "if only" and after a period of evolution, they emerge as American songs like "Streets of Laredo".

Alan Price of The Animals has claimed that the song was originally a sixteenth-century English folk song about a Soho brothel, and that English emigrants took the song to America where it was adapted to its later New Orleans setting.^[1]

The oldest known existing recording is by Appalachian artists Clarence Ashley and Gwen Foster and was made in 1933. Ashley said he had learned it from his grandfather, Enoch Ashley. Alger "Texas" Alexander's "The Risin' Sun," recorded in 1928, is sometimes mentioned as the first recording, but is a completely different song.

The song might have been lost to obscurity had it not been collected by folklorist Alan Lomax, who, along with his father, was a curator of the Archive of American Folk Song for the Library of Congress. On an expedition with his wife to eastern Kentucky Lomax set up his recording equipment in Middlesborough, Kentucky in the house of a singer and activist called Tilman Cadle. On September 15, 1937 he recorded a performance by Georgia Turner, the 16 year-old daughter of a local miner. He called it "The Risin' Sun Blues." Lomax later recorded a different version sung by Bert Martin and a third sung by Daw Henson, both eastern Kentucky singers. In his 1941 songbook Our Singing Country, Lomax credits the lyrics to Turner, with reference to Martin's version. According to his later writing, the melody bears similarities to a traditional English ballad, "Matty Groves."^[2][3]

Roy Acuff, who recorded the song on November 3, 1938, may have learned the song from Clarence Ashley, with whom he sometimes performed. In 1941, Woody Guthrie recorded a version. A recording made in 1947 by Josh White, who is also credited with having written new words and music that have subsequently been popularized in the versions made by many other later artists, was released by Mercury Records in 1950. In late 1948 Lead Belly recorded a version called "In New Orleans" in the sessions that later became the album Lead Belly's Last Sessions (1994, Smithsonian Folkways). In 1957 Glenn Yarbrough recorded the song for Elektra Records. The song is also credited to Ronnie Gilbert on one of The Weavers albums with Pete Seeger that was released in the late 1940s or early 1950s. Frankie Laine recorded the song then titled "New Orleans" on his 1959 album Balladeer. Joan Baez recorded it in 1960 on her eponymous debut album, and has included it in her live set list, frequently including the song in her concerts throughout her career. In 1960 Miriam Makeba recorded the song on her eponymous RCA album.

In late 1961, Bob Dylan recorded the song for his first album, Bob Dylan, released in March 1962. Dylan claims a writer's credit for the song. In an interview on the documentary No Direction Home, Dave Van Ronk said that he was intending to record it at that time, and that Dylan copied his version. He recorded it himself soon thereafter on Just Dave Van Ronk.

I had learned it sometime in the 1950s, from a recording by Hally Wood, the Texas singer and collector, who had got it from an Alan Lomax field recording by a Kentucky woman named Georgia Turner. I put a different spin on it by altering the chords and using a bass line that descended in half steps—a common enough progression in jazz, but unusual among folksingers. By the early 1960s, the song had become one of my signature pieces, and I could hardly get off the stage without doing it.

—Dave Van Ronk^[4]

Nina Simone recorded her first version on Nina at the Village Gate in 1962. Later versions include the 1965 recording in Colombia by Los Speakers in Spanish called "La casa del sol naciente", which was also the title of their second album. They earned a silver record (for sales of over 15,000 copies). The Chambers Brothers recorded a version on "Feelin' The Blues", released on VAULT records. Much later, English rock band Muse recorded a version for the War Child charity.

The Animals version

An interview with Eric Burdon revealed that he first heard the song in a club in Newcastle, where it was sung by a Northumbrian folk singer called Johnny Handle. The Animals were on tour with Chuck Berry and chose it because they wanted something distinctive to sing.^[2] This interview denies assertions that the inspiration for their arrangement came from Dylan. The band enjoyed a huge hit with the song, much to Dylan's chagrin when his version was referred to as a cover—the irony of which was not lost on Van Ronk, who went on record as saying that the whole issue was a "tempest in a teapot," and that Dylan stopped playing the song after The Animals' hit because fans accused Dylan of plagiarism. Dylan has said he first heard The Animals' version on his car radio and "jumped out of his car seat" because he liked it so much.

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,"^[5] while writer Ralph McLean of the BBC agreed that "it was arguably the first folk rock tune," calling it "a revolutionary single" after which "the face of modern music was changed forever."^[6] Dave Van Ronk claims that this version was based on his arrangement of the song.^[7]

The Animals' version transposes the narrative of the song from the point of view of a woman led into a life of degradation, to that of a male, whose father was now a gambler and drunkard, as opposed to the sweetheart in earlier versions.

The Animals had begun featuring their arrangement of "House of the Rising Sun" during a joint concert tour with Chuck Berry, using it as their closing number to differentiate themselves from acts which always closed with straight rockers.^[8] It got a tremendous reaction from the audience, convincing initially reluctant producer Mickie Most that it had hit potential^[8], and between tour stops the group went to a small recording studio on Kingsway in London^[8] to capture it.

Recorded in just one take on 18 May 1964,^[9] it started with a famous electric guitar A minor chord arpeggio by Hilton Valentine.^[6][10][11] The performance took off with Eric Burdon's lead vocal, which has been variously described as "howling",^[5] "soulful",^[12] and "deep and gravelly as the north-east English coal town of Newcastle that spawned him."^[11] Finally, Alan Price's pulsating organ part (played on a Vox Continental) completed the sound. Burdon later said, "We were looking for a song that would grab people's attention,"^[13] and they succeeded: "House of the Rising Sun" was a true trans-Atlantic hit, topping both the UK pop singles chart (in July 1964) and the U.S. pop singles chart (two months later in September 1964, when it became the first British Invasion number one unconnected with The Beatles^[14]); it was the group's breakthrough hit in both countries and became their signature song.^[15] The song was also a hit in a number of other countries.

The Animals' rendition of the song is recognized as one of the classics of the British Invasion. Writer Lester Bangs labeled it "a brilliant rearrangement" and "a new standard rendition of an old standard composition."^[16] It ranked number 122 on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. It is also one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. The RIAA placed it as number 240 on their Songs of the Century list. In 1999 it received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award. And besides critical acclaim, it has long since become a staple of oldies and classic rock radio formats. A 2005 Five poll ranked it as Britons' fourth favourite number one song of all time.^[9]

As recorded, "House of the Rising Sun" ran four and a half minutes, regarded as far too long for a pop single at the time.^[9] Producer Most, who otherwise minimized his role on this occasion — "Everything was in the right place ... It only took 15 minutes to make so I can't take much credit for the production"^[17] — nonetheless was now a believer and declared it as a single at its full length, saying "We're in a microgroove world now, we will release it."^[17]

In the United States, though, the original single (MGM 13264) was a 2:58 version that sounded as if it had been hastily edited. The MGM Golden Circle reissue (KGC 179) featured the unedited 4:29 version, although the label shows the edited playing time of 2:58. The edited version was included on the group's 1964 U.S. debut album The Animals, while the full version was later included on their best-selling 1966 U.S. greatest hits album The Best of The Animals. However, the very first American release of the full-length version was on a 1965 album of various groups entitled Mickie Most Presents British Go-Go (MGM SE-4306), the cover of which, under the listing of "House Of The Rising Sun", boasted "Original Uncut Version". Americans also had a chance to hear the complete version in the movie Go Go Mania in the spring of 1965.

"House of the Rising Sun" was not included on any of the group's British albums. Rather, it was reissued as a single twice in subsequent decades, charting both times: to number 25 in 1972, and to number 11 in 1982.

The arranging credit went only to Alan Price. According to Burdon, this was simply because there was insufficient room to name all five band members on the record label, and Alan Price's name was first alphabetically. However, this meant that only Price received songwriter's royalties for the hit, a fact that has caused bitterness ever since, especially with Valentine.^[6]

Frijid Pink version

In 1970, Detroit band Frijid Pink released a version of "House of the Rising Sun", also having a chart hit with the song. Sometimes described as psychedelic, their rendition is more in line with the proto-punk sound of fellow Detroit acts MC5 and The Stooges. Their version is in 4/4 time (like Van Ronk's and most earlier versions, rather than the 6/8 used by The Animals), and was driven by Gary Ray Thompson's distorted guitar with fuzz and wah wah effects, set against the frenetic drumming of Richard Stevers.^[18] Lead singer Tom Beaudry's vocal phrasing almost exactly matched Eric Burdon's.

The recording was a trans-Atlantic success, reaching number 7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, number 4 on the UK Singles Chart, and number 3 in Canada. It hit number one in a number of European countries, including West Germany and Norway. It was awarded gold record status in the U.S. in May 1970.^[19] It would be the band's only top ten hit.

Dolly Parton version

In September 1981, Dolly Parton released a cover of the song as the third single from her 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs album. Parton's version reached # 14 on the U.S. country singles chart, and crossed over to the pop charts, where it reached # 77 on the Billboard Hot 100; it also reached # 30 on the U.S AC charts. Parton has occasionally performed the song live, perhaps most notably, on her 1987-88 television show, in an episode taped live in New Orleans.

The real house

Various places in New Orleans, Louisiana have been proposed as the inspiration for the song, with varying plausibility. The phrase "House of the Rising Sun" is often understood as a euphemism for a brothel, but it is not known whether or not the house described in the lyrics was an actual or fictitious place. One theory speculated the song is about a daughter who killed her father, an alcoholic gambler who had beaten his wife. Therefore, the House of the Rising Sun may be a jail-house, from which one would be the first person to see the sun rise (an idea supported by the lyric mentioning "a ball and chain," though that phrase has been used as slang to describe marital relationships for at least as long as the song has been in print). Because the song was often sung by women, another theory is that the House of the Rising Sun was where prostitutes were detained while they were treated for syphilis. Since cures with mercury were ineffective, going back was very likely.^[2][3]

Only two candidates have historical documentation as using the name "Rising Sun", both having listings in old period city directories. The first was a small short-lived hotel on Conti Street in the French Quarter in the 1820s. It burned down in 1822. An excavation and document search in early 2005 found evidence supporting this claim,^[20] including an advertisement with language that may have euphemistically indicated prostitution. An unusually large number of pots of rouge and cosmetics were found by archaeologists at the site.

The second possibility was a late 19th century "Rising Sun Hall" on the riverfront of the uptown Carrollton neighborhood, which seems to have been a building owned and used for meetings of a Social Aid & Pleasure Club, commonly rented out for dances and functions. It also is no longer extant. Definite links to gambling or prostitution (if any) are undocumented for either of these buildings.

Another claim is that The House of the Rising Sun actually existed between 1862 and about 1874 and was run by a Madam Marianne LeSoleil Levant whose name translates from French as "the rising sun". Bizarre New Orleans, a guide book on New Orleans, asserts that the real house was at 1614 Esplanade Avenue between 1862 and 1874 and was purportedly named for its madam, Marianne LeSoleil Levant^[2].

It is also possible that the "House of the Rising Sun" is a metaphor for either the slave pens of the plantation, the plantation house, or the plantation itself, which were the subjects and themes of many traditional blues songs. Dave van Ronk claimed in his autobiography that he had seen pictures of the old Orleans Parish Women's Prison, the entrance to which was decorated with a rising sun design. He considered this proof that the House of the Rising Sun had been a nickname for the prison.

The gender of the singer is flexible. Earlier versions of the song are often sung from the female perspective, a woman who followed a drunk or a gambler to New Orleans and became a prostitute in the House of the Rising Sun (or, depending on one's interpretation, an inmate in a prison of the same name), such as in Joan Baez's version on her self-titled 1960 debut album. The Animals version was sung from a perspective of a male, warning about gambling and drinking. Bob Dylan's 1962 version and Shawn Mullins' recent covered version on his album 9th Ward Pickin' Parlor is sung from the female perspective.

Not everyone, however, believes that the house even existed at all. On the BBC's h2g2 database, Pamela D. Arceneaux, a research librarian working at the Williams Research Center in New Orleans, is quoted as saying:

I have made a study of the history of prostitution in New Orleans and have often confronted the perennial question, 'Where is the House of the Rising Sun?' without finding a satisfactory answer. Although it is generally assumed that the singer is referring to a brothel, there is actually nothing in the lyrics that indicate that the 'house' is a brothel. Many knowledgeable persons have conjectured that a better case can be made for either a gambling hall or a prison; however, to paraphrase Freud: sometimes lyrics are just lyrics.^[3]

References

External links

• Songfacts "House Of The Rising Sun" entry

The Animals The (Original) Animals (1962–1966, 1977, 1983): Eric Burdon · Alan Price · Chas Chandler · Hilton Valentine · John Steel · Dave Rowberry · Mick Gallagher · Barry Jenkins Eric Burdon & The (New) Animals (1966–1969): Eric Burdon · John Weider · Vic Briggs · Danny McCulloch · Barry Jenkins · Zoot Money · Andy Summers Studio albums The Animals (1962–1966) (UK) The Animals · Animal Tracks · Animalisms (US) The Animals · The Animals on Tour · Animal Tracks · Animalization · Animalism Eric Burdon & The Animals Eric Is Here (US only) · Winds of Change · The Twain Shall Meet · Every One of Us (US only) · Love Is The Animals (1977, 1983) Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted · Ark Compilations The Best of The Animals (1966) · The Greatest Hits of Eric Burdon and The Animals · The Most of Animals · The Best of The Animals (1988) · The Best of The Animals (1997) · Absolute Animals 1964–1968 Hit singles "Baby Let Me Take You Home" · "The House of the Rising Sun" · "I'm Crying" · "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" · "Bring It On Home to Me" · "We Gotta Get out of This Place" · "It's My Life" · "Inside-Looking Out" · "Don't Bring Me Down" · "See See Rider" · "Help Me Girl" · "When I Was Young" · "Good Times" · "San Franciscan Nights" · "Monterey" · "Sky Pilot" · "The Night" Related articles Discography · Eric Burdon Discography  Book:The Animals    Category:The Animals