In 1962, Bob Dylan included a haunting traditional folk song called “House of the Risin’ Sun” on his self-titled debut album. Two years later, a British rock band transformed the song into an international No. 1 hit.
The Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun” was in the middle of a three-week run atop the Billboard Hot 100 62 years ago today, after reaching No. 1 on the chart dated Sept. 5, 1964. It would become the group’s only No. 1 hit in both the United States and Britain.
And more than six decades later, the recording is still regarded as one of rock’s landmark songs.
“House of the Rising Sun” had been around long before either Dylan or The Animals recorded it. Dylan learned his arrangement from folk singer Dave Van Ronk before recording the song for Bob Dylan, released in 1962.
The Animals were already performing the song when they landed a spot opening for Chuck Berry on a U.K. tour. According to Fred Bronson’s “Billboard Book of Number One Hits,” audience reaction convinced producer Mickie Most that the group should record it. The Animals went into a London studio and captured “House of the Rising Sun” in just two takes.
The record sounded unlike almost anything else on pop radio at the time. Hilton Valentine’s instantly recognizable guitar arpeggio opens the track, Alan Price’s organ gives it an eerie atmosphere and Eric Burdon delivers a booming vocal that made the old folk song sound startlingly contemporary.
The Animals also changed the song’s perspective. Earlier versions, including Dylan’s, told the story from a woman’s point of view. The Animals altered the lyrics for Burdon to sing them from a male perspective.
Related: Rock Hall Legend Makes Candid Admission About Bob Dylan: ‘Sometimes I Don’t Know What the Hell He’s Talking About’
The result was enormous. “House of the Rising Sun” became a No. 1 hit on both sides of the Atlantic in 1964 and helped establish The Animals as one of the major British Invasion bands.
Its influence has endured as well.
Rock critic Dave Marsh ranked “House of the Rising Sun” No. 91 in his book “The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made,” describing it as an early landmark of folk-rock and arguing that The Animals established a new standard for the folk-rock and blues-rock remakes that followed.
Rolling Stone later included the recording on its list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” highlighting the transformation of the old American folk ballad through Burdon’s vocals and Price’s distinctive arrangement.
There was even a fascinating Dylan connection after the record became a hit. In the book “Chasing the Rising Sun: The Journey of an American Song,” Animals drummer John Steel later recalled that Dylan was driving when he first heard their version on the radio and was so excited that he stopped his car and jumped out. The success of The Animals’ electric interpretation has also been cited as one of the influences that encouraged Dylan as he moved toward electric rock.
For The Animals, however, “House of the Rising Sun” remained singular. The group would score more major ’60s hits, including “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” and “Don’t Bring Me Down,” but never returned to No. 1 on the Hot 100.
Sixty-two years later, their version of an old folk song that Dylan had recorded two years earlier remains the recording most closely associated with “House of the Rising Sun.”
Related: 1967 Hit, Written by Bob Dylan, Became a No. 1 Song 24 Years Later
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