A curator's collection: The Rising Sun Collection

Friday, January 15, 2016

The Rising Sun Collection

No one I know has ever been there, but everyone knows The House of the Rising Sun.

Also known as Rising Sun Blues, it is lost to legend and interpretation whether it was written as a song about a brothel sung by a weary prostitute, a prison song by an inmate wearing a ball and chain, or, perhaps the victim of a slave auction.

Whether you first heard it, as I did, from Bob Dylan or Eric Burdon and The Animals, who recorded the most famous version, that 10 year old kid on some TV talent show, or any other source, the song is so deeply embedded in American musicology that it just won't let go.

The first known recording was in 1933 by Appalachian banjoist Clarence Ashley (1895-1967) who claimed to have learned it from his grandfather. His version went like this:

Then there was Huddie Ledbetter, (1888-1949) better known as Leadbelly, best known for Good Night, Irene and Midnight Special, who was widely known on the New York blues and folk circuit in the 30's and 40's where his songs were passed on to the estimable likes of Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie and Odetta.

Libby Holman (1904-1971) was one of the most interesting characters on the New York stage, social and political scene. She had a wonderful ability demonstrate what it meant when the singer becomes the song as she does in her visit to the Rising Sun.

Josh White (1914-1969) was a renowned blues revivalist and political activist. He toured with Libby Holman in the 1940's. Theirs were among the first concert presentations by mixed race performers and were notable for Holman's refusal to take the stage unless White was allowed to come through the front door and receive all the rights and privileges of his white co-star.
Josh took a tour of the Rising Sun in 1947.

There doesn't seem to be many songs that ol' Woody Guthrie (1912-1967) didn't either write or record. Guessing this one was handed down from friends like Leadbelly, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.

Woody Guthrie - 1950

Ronnie Gilbert of The Weavers - 1951

Nina Simone didn't visit The Rising Sun.
She built it brick by brick. Then, she tore it apart.
Nina Simone - 1962

Like so many other songs that Zimmy touched, his version of Sun sent reverberations around the world.
Bob Dylan - 1962

That reverb traveled all the way across the pond where it was amplified by the Animals in all their raging, sneering glory.
Eric Burdon and the Animals - 1964

Poor ol' Tim Hardin was capable of infusing any song with just the right touch of sadness and despair - especially songs that were already full of it.

Tim Hardin - 1964