Folk songs are those special little ditties we know without having to think, humming them as easily as breathing. For how popular they are, though, it wasn’t until the Animals put together their version of “The House of the Rising Sun” that we got a true, certified folk rock hit of unprecedented commercial success, scoring a big win for the band and us music lovers.
The Animals, who reigned as kings of the jungle during the British Invasion, took a risk when they pursued “The House of the Rising Sun.” Fittingly, everything about their journey to make this narrative-driven folksy song part of their repertoire is unorthodox. But every unusual, daring step they took helped the Animals compose a revolutionary version of the song that to this day has listeners marveling at just how long we’ve been enjoying it without fail.
The Animals listened to their guts working on “The House of the Rising Sun”
Like plenty of folk songs out there, the original “The House of the Rising Sun” has origins steeped in mystery, with some stories pointing to 1930s Appalachia and others asserting it’s a direct relative of English folk music tradition. But one thing’s for sure: when Eric Burdon heard it song by Northumbrian folk singer Johnny Handle at a Newcastle, England club, he was smitten.
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So, while they were on tour with Chuck Berry, the Animals started getting real acquainted with the cautionary tale, rolling beat, and homey feel. Bereft of the gift of foresight, producer Mickie Most was completely unimpressed—wary, even—of the Animals getting so attached to the song. So, they made a point in the grandest way possible: they closed a joint concert with “The House of the Rising Sun.”
Normally, bands would close with the real bangers, the stuff that sent already-high adrenaline levels rocketing off the charts, just like their album sales, hopefully. The feel from “The House of the Rising Sun” was something totally different—and concertogers fell head over heels in love with it. Even better, it cleared Most’s doubts and the Animals finally got approval from dad to produce something from it in earnest.
Time flies when you have great tunes to listen to
Their little concert closer experiment proved the best use of the scientific method known to music. Then, on one magical day on May 18, 1964, they did it, the Animals composed “The House of the Rising Sun” in just one take. It took just one round of music magic to make something that has fans fawning over this subdued yet enduringly catchy tune 60 years later.
Over on YouTube with a modest 59 million views, “The House of the Rising Sun” has fans wondering things like “Who is listening in June 2024?” To this, another user fittingly summed up, “Stop asking if somebody still there We are always here.”
But perhaps the best summary comes from a comment that puts it all into perspective, saying, “Its weird to think. This song is 60 years old. In 40 years, it will be 100 years old. If we are still listening 60 years later, we will be listening 100 years later.”
That’s because they did something really special with this version of the song. Us listeners can easily tell that Burdon’s lead vocals are rugged as the English countryside and we know this would never sound quite the same sung by anyone else. It helped the four-and-a-half-minute-long song defy the odds that said pop hits couldn’t be that long. That’s where the trends were so very wrong; “The House of the Rising Sun” reminded us that the best things in life ask us to stop for a bit and bask in what they have to offer. Despite the trends of the time, bask we did, making “The House of the Rising Sun” the first folk rock hit.
Burdon once said “We were looking for a song that would grab people’s attention,” and it just takes one listen to see—and hear—that the band achieved exactly that.
