The British rock band The Animals' recording of House of the Rising Sun reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 among other charts, September 5, 1964. It reached #1 in Canada, Finland, Spain and the UK.
The origin of the song is mired in rumor and legend. It has a resemblance to a 16th century ballad, and the Rising Sun is the name of a "bawdy house" in two English traditional songs. It has been said that American miners sang it in 1905. The oldest publish version of the lyrics were printed in 1925 by Robert Winslow Gordon. The oldest known recording of the song is by Clarence "Tom" Ashley and Gwen Foster was made on September 6, 1933 under the name Rising Sun Blues.
Woody Guthrie recorded it in 1941, and it has been covered by artists such as Glenn Yarborough, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Andy Griffith, Nina Simone, Bob Dylan, and Dolly Parton.
But the performance by The Animals is the most recognized version. It is listed by Rolling Stone magazine as #122 on the list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Times. It received a Grammy Hall of Fame award in 1999.
No comments:
Post a Comment