The song "The House Of The Rising Sun" was made famous by The Animals in their 1964 recording, but it's far older than that. It may date from 16th-century England, before being taken across the Atlantic and 'Americanized' during the 18th century. The Animals' recording has been described as "arguably the first folk rock tune", adapting an old folk song to modern rock rhythms and instruments. Dozens of artists have recorded the song - far too many to list here. YouTube has literally thousands of references to the title, including many recordings.
I like it very much, and I have my own favorite recording. It occurred to me: since so many artists have covered it, how about a little interactive music appreciation session? I'll link to my favorite recording, then ask you, my readers, to respond with yours.
Here's my favorite version, by Bachman-Turner Overdrive, in heavy rock style.
What did you think of it? What's your favorite version of this classic piece? Please let us know in Comments, and include a link to a YouTube clip of your chosen version if you can find it there.
Peter
12 comments:
I dig The Animals version a lot, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0-czS8PTBU&feature=related but I just found this one by Sinead O'Connor that has an interesting haunting quality to it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bDW-YQZVLw
Probably the first version I ever heard was Ronnie Gilbert - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghiCDcrerx0. In addition to The Animals I also have Woody Guthrie's version, quite a difference in style! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghiCDcrerx0
Cheers, Liam
There are also some strange mash-ups - Bob Rivers, for example, has a version of Little Town of Bethlehem that fits the tune perfectly!
http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=jPmpIOTAdLo&a=GxdCwVVULXet3hd-9c7v_6ckMyXTLBPh
My favorite is the Five Blind Boys of Alabama singing Amazing Grace to the tune of House of the Rising Sun.
The Animals :-)
International Observer - House Of The Rising Sun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mEq0NAusvI
So, in the earliest versions, I doubt they rhymed "blue jeans" with "New Orleans". Anybody got lyrics?
Huddie Ledbetter, Leadbelly, for the performances on Youtube. But sometime around 1941, I heard a woman sing that who had been an slave(the proper term under the circumstances) in a house in Storyville before it was shut down during WWI.
I wish that one could be made into a public performance. Because the grief and pain that came though would raise your short hairs.
Stranger
And here I always though it was about a New Orleans bordello.
My favorite version is by Frigid Pink
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mj8xrrcxYQ
Hit 'enter' too fast - here's some nice grainy b&w video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t40INnb6DnY&feature=related
Frijid Pink https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t40INnb6DnY
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