Surely you found this post for the same reason I wrote it – a curiousity about the original origin of the song (title). I had heard it by the Animals, and ______ and _________ and being an avid music lover I realize there were lots of songs back then like that, sung my multiple famous voices/faces, but I decided to look into it and here’s what I found…
House of the Rising Sun is originally an old folk song so old no one can determine who originally wrote it! Reportedly, the oldest published lyrics appeared in Adventure magazine in 1925, collected by folklorist Robert Winslow Gordon. It was originally recorded in 1933 by Clarence “Tom” Ashley and Gwen Foster. Ashley said his grandfather taught it to him. Presuming that was two generations prior that grandpa heard or learned it, would place it around the Civil War era in America. Since the song seems to be rooted in blues culture, that makes a lot of sense. But illustrates further some of the racial and social issues that existed in that period of history. The original songwriter weaved an intriguing story about a house in New Orleans, and __________ and while it is likely he/she never saw a dime for their creative storytelling, it continues to live on in timeless legacy through many professional recordings by influential artists.
In 1937, Georgia Turner’s recording for Alan Lomax became one of the foundational versions for later interpretations.
Folk Origins
Scholars note that the song likely evolved from older English folk traditions, possibly influenced by broadside ballads such as “The Unfortunate Rake,” though no direct link is proven. Wikipedia
Popularization
The Animals’ 1964 rock version made the song globally famous, but they did not write it; they adapted the traditional folk ballad.
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