The Animals - House Of The Rising Sun: 1964

The house of the rising sun was recorded and made famous by The Animals in 1964. The Animals were group from Newcastle in the North of England. Their version of this old folk song was to become a classic of the sixties reaching No1 in the charts both in the UK and later that year in the US.

Recorded in one take it ran to four and a half minutes, far too long for a single according to the standards of the day but Mickie Most, the producer, considered it so good that it had to be released in complete form. The pundits were proved wrong and it did get played on the radio in it's full uncut form.Initially it was released cut down in the US but was later re-released in it's full length version.

The song has fascinated many people partly because it's origins are obscure. People have tried without much success to identify the original house of the rising sun the song referred to and several possibilities have been suggested but the song varies depending on whether it is sung from a male or female perspective so it could refer to a house of ill repute, a gambling den or even a jail.

Various versions have been released. The Animals arrangement remains one of my own favorite songs of all time but the hauntingly beautiful version by Sinead O'Conner comes close.