The Animals - House of the Rising Sun

O mothers tell your children, not to do as I have done.

Album: The Animals [debut album]
Recorded: London, England
Genre: Rhythm & Blues, Folk
Album Release: September 1964
Single Release:June 19th 1964 [2nd single]
Length: 4:31
Producer: Mickie Most
Vocalist: Eric Burdon
Label: Columbia

Music Video


Live on The Ed Sullivan Show


Texas Alexander version from the 1920's [oldest recorded version]

Charts, Streams & Sales

Australia (singles): #2
Canada (singles): #1
New Zealand (singles): #2
Spain (singles): #1
UK (singles): #1 [certified platinum]
USA (singles): #1
Spotify: 1,004,000,000 +
YouTube Music: 522,000,000 +
Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: #122

Credits

Bass, drums, guitar, organ [vox continental]

Details

• Based on the folk song 'Rising Sun Blues' which is about a life wasted on vice in New Orleans. The earliest recorded version can be traced to the 1920's.
  
  The song is a cautionary tale featuring the line "O mothers tell your children, not to do as I have done." The house of the rising sun is a brothel, or some say a prison, which the singer knows has led to his downfall "spend your lives in sin and misery" though he's resigned to his fate "I'm going back to New Orelans to wear that ball and chain." The character in the song failed to break free from his past but still felt it was necessary to try. Now he's resigned to singing the blues in an effort to warn young people not to make the same mistakes.
  
  Normally, the protagonist in the song is a prostitute though in The Animals version he's a gambler. This was likely changed to accomodate a male vocalist and a song about gambling was more likely to feature on 1960's radio than one about prostitution.
  
  
• The Animals were a key band in the British Invasion [British bands storming the American pop charts] and their debut album was released in the states before it was in the UK. The UK and US versions were notably different. There were 12 tracks on each but only 7 of the songs appeared on both. The US rendition of 'House of the Rising Sun' is more radio friendly and a full 90 seconds shorter than its British counterpart. The Animals prefer the full length version. Before The Beatles, UK artists seldom found success in the states.
  
  When British bands saw Beatlemania sweep the lucrative American market many tried to replicate their success. They made music with an American audience in mind and in exchange, people stateside were treated to something new that was also recognisable, and both countries benefited from having the same shared language. People could listen to songs from a far away place and still find themselves relating to the lyrics and enjoying the music.
  
  Artistic leaps forward from either country influenced bands from both and they would often find themselves competing with each other. The Beatles competed with The Beach Boys as well as The Rolling Stones and with the advent of hard rock and heavy metal British bands such as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin would inpsire their American equivalents, such as Kiss and Aerosmith, and vice versa.
  
  
• The Animals recorded 'House of the Rising Sun' in only one take as they had played it live many times.
• There is a hotel in New Orleans called 'The House of the Rising Sun' that's decorated like a brothel. The owners were inspired by the song.
  
• Other acts to cover the song include Bob Dylan, Dolly Parton, Jimi Hendrix, Muse, Nina Simone, Sinead O'Connor, The Beatles, The Supremes and Tracy Chapman
  
  
  

Artwork