From Professor of Rock.
Coming up, another great song mystery. It’s a famous song everyone knows: House of the Rising Sun. But Nobody really knows who wrote it or what it’s specifically about. Today we have a special guest to help us solve it, The Animals Eric Burdon. It was either about a hooker or a prisoner. It’s centuries old but became a #1 hit when the lead singer of today’s Hall of Fame band covered it and may have invented a whole new genre with it. They were also the first British invasion band to wrestle #1 away from the Beatles who had dominated the top spot week after week and in the end, this singer didn’t really get paid for this song since he wasn’t listed as an arranger on the song. Also, other hilarious stories from this legend on several other classic hits from this band is next on Professor of Rock.
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Executive Producer
Brandon Fugal
Honorary Producers
Norman Buchwald, Cliff Konstans, Steve DocPinko Cloutier, Jenny Blaxell, Jason Elliott, AArthriticGamer
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I’m excited to bring you another episode from our series Revelations- where featured artists go deep on their greatest songs and albums… Today we have a sit-down with the rock and roll hall of famer and maybe the most underappreciated vocalist of the 60s…Eric Burdon of the animals. talking about many of the band’s classic hits. including It’s My Life, Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, We Gotta Get out of This Place, and House of the Rising Sun. Through the years nobody really knows who wrote Rising Sun or what it’s about. But there are two existing theories. The song is about a broth… Oh, I can’t say that word on here. It’s about a house of ill repute in New Orleans.
"The House Of The Rising Sun" was named after its occupant Madame Marianne LeSoleil Levant (which means "Rising Sun" in French) and was open for business from 1862 (occupation by Union troops) until 1874, when it was closed due to complaints by neighbors. It was located at 826-830 St. Louis St. It’s about a women’s prison in New Orleans called the Orleans Parish Women’s Prison, which had an entrance gate decorated with rising sun artwork.
It was recorded by Texas Alexander in the 1920s and then by Leadbelly, Woodie Guthrie, and Nina Simone… No one can claim the rights to the song because no one knows who wrote it. Bob Dylan covered it before the Animals but ended up going electric and didn’t release it as a single so The Animals released it and in the process helped invent folk rock or at least put it on the map. Which we’ll hear about next. Folk music historian Alan Lomax recorded a version with a 16-year-old girl named Georgia Turner who sang it in a first-person POV contemplating how the house of ill repute ruined her life.
I bring this up because later when The Animals did it they changed the lyrics to describe a gambler since they knew the radio wouldn’t play it if they sang the real lyrics. Like I mentioned, Animals organist Alan Price was the only band member given credit for arranging the track, meaning he is paid almost all the royalties. Their record company told the other members that there was not enough room to list them as arrangers. Later The Detroit rockers Frijid Pink made their mark with a cover of this song that went to #4 UK and #7 US in 1970 Up next we try to figure out the mystery behind the song as well as The Animals’ other great songs. Let’s get into it.
Leave us a comment about The Animals. What are your memories of this song… What are your thoughts on Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and the brill building era? Let’s talk in the comments. If this content resonates with you, Join our community by subscribing below. help us keep the music alive
