In today’s world, songwriters are working around the clock to come up with the next big hit. Viral sensations flood social media feeds, and now AI is starting to hit the Billboard charts.
But deep down, traditional folk songs are still at the heart of our being. Time-honored melodies, often featuring simple harmony, have transcended fads and trends to continue uniting people through song. One such example is “The House of the Rising Sun,” which has been a cultural touchstone for over a century.
The exact history of the traditional folk ballad is murky. Famed musicologist Alan Lomax traced versions back to both British and Appalachian folk traditions.
“Lomax has noted that the melody may be related to the 17th-century folk song ‘Lord Barnard and Little Musgrave,'” American Songwriter notes. “Again, though, there is no clear throughline between the two. Lomax has also said that “Rising Sun” was the name of a bawdy house… in two other traditional English songs. It was also the name of an English pub.”
Like many folk songs, “The House of the Rising Sun” has evolved over the years as artists have put their own stamp on it. The currently agreed upon version of the song has a hypnotic chord progression: Am, C, D, F, Am, E, Am. The song is clearly in A minor, but it has just enough modal mixture to make the changes sound circular and mysterious.
Today, we’re exploring several versions of “The House of the Rising Sun” that vary in timeframe and instrumentation to demonstrate just how powerful a simple melody can be.
Lead Belly’s 1948 “House of the Rising Sun” Features His Wife’s Haunting Vocals
Huddie William Ledbetter, better known by his stage name Lead Belly, was an early folk and blues singer from Louisiana. His strong vocals and technical prowess on the guitar made him a star of his time, a feat that was no small accomplishment.
As amazing as his singing was, this take from October 1948 showcases his wife, Martha, as he strums the guitar. Lead Belly’s approach employs a distinct chord progression, emphasizing fewer changes while incorporating blues licks on the higher strings to enrich the arrangement.
The Animals’ Electric Version Launched Folk Rock and Topped the Charts
“The House of the Rising Sun” is a folk song, but this rock version by The Animals is what catapulted it back into the spotlight during the 1960s. The song had hit the Greenwich Village folk revival scene, with Dave Van Ronk showing it to Bob Dylan. The Animals’ version grew out of Dylan’s cover.
The song, which is credited as the first folk rock hit, famously begins with an A minor arpeggio on the electric guitar. In Ted Anthony’s “Chasing the Rising Sun: The Journey of an American Song,” he explains that guitarist Hilton Valentine “simply took the chord sequence from the Dylan version and used arpeggios instead of strumming.”
This appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show helped to launch the song to number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Watch This Clarinet Master Transform the Classic Into a Big Easy Showstopper
With references to New Orleans, it’s no wonder that musicians in “The Big Easy” play it quite often. However, this video of Doreen Ketchens performing it on the street is next level.
Simply put, Ketchens is a clarinet master. Her attack and phrasing bring fire and finesse to the song as she is accompanied by trombone, drums, and tuba.
How Harvard’s A Cappella Masters Breathe New Life Into the Folk Classic
The Harvard Opportunes are Harvard’s oldest a cappella group. The all-gender group has an incredible blend of voices that bring this arrangement to life with rich harmonies and beatboxing.
Soren Madsen’s Solo Guitar Reveals “House of the Rising Sun’s” Hidden Intimacy
As intense as the song can get, “The House of the Rising Sun” has a deeper beauty that shines through in this solo guitar rendition by Soren Madsen. His approach on the classical guitar puts the song into more of an introspective light as he plays the chords and melody on his own.
This Sam Cooke-Inspired “Rising Sun” Is the Most Upbeat Version You’ll Hear
The members of Postmodern Jukebox are masters of reimagining songs in different time frames. This time around, they put “The House of the Rising Sun” into a ’60s/’70s soul format a la Sam Cooke. Their arrangement includes a full horn section to create the most upbeat version of the bunch.
“The House of the Rising Sun” is a folk song that explores a universal truth, which is why it lends itself to so many styles. Check out the sheet music and make your own version:
