House of the Rising Sun: The One Take Hit and the Fight Over Credit
The Animals cut their signature hit in a single take in the middle of a Chuck Berry tour. The fight over who arranged it lasted a lot longer.
The Short gets the headline right. The Animals really did cut "House of the Rising Sun" in a single take, and producer Mickie Most later said the whole thing took about 15 minutes. What the clip skips is the sequel: a song the whole band worked up on the road ended up with one name on the arranging credit.
15minutes
Mickie Most's estimate for making the record
Going Slow on a Chuck Berry Tour
In May 1964 The Animals were on a British package tour headlined by Chuck Berry. Bassist Chas Chandler worried that every act on the bill would try to rock harder than Chuck, which, as guitarist Hilton Valentine later put it, was impossible. So they went moodier and slower.
It was made for me and I was made for it.
Eric Burdon
Their pick was an old folk song about a hard life in New Orleans, author unknown, already recorded by everyone from Lead Belly to Nina Simone. Eric Burdon first heard it from English folk singer Johnny Handle, and Bob Dylan had put it on his 1962 debut album.
Valentine turned Dylan's acoustic chords in A minor into that famous electric arpeggio, Alan Price added a Vox Continental organ part inspired by Jimmy Smith, and the narrator switched from a woman to a man. Burdon, who says he was fated to sing it, remembers it getting the biggest reaction every night, even with a packed house waiting for Mr. Rock 'n' Roll.
One Take, No Overdubs
Most had already booked a London session during the tour, and the band talked him into taping the song. Did the producer hate it, like the Short says? Only beforehand. Chandler said they fought him for weeks just to record it. Afterward, drummer John Steel remembered a quick balance check, a few bars for the engineer, one take in mono with no overdubs, and Most calling it a single on the spot.
London
De Lane Lea Studios · May 1964
The doubter in the room was the engineer, who said almost four and a half minutes was too long. Most overruled him.
Columbia released it in Britain in June 1964, and it was No. 1 there in July. In America, MGM issued a single cut to under three minutes, and on September 5 it began a three week run at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Even Bob Dylan noticed, and hearing a song from his own debut go electric reportedly nudged him toward plugging in.
One Name on the Label
Then came the money. With no known author, the songwriting royalties went to whoever got the arranging credit. Valentine said manager Mike Jeffery told the band there was no room on the record for all five names, and that it would be evened out later. Only Price's name went on, and only Price ever collected that income.
1name
on the arranging credit, out of five Animals
Burdon has since called the band naive for going along with it, and the bitterness never really faded. Price walked out in 1965. As Valentine told it, Chandler's verdict was that he must have got his first royalty check.
British reissues charted again in 1972 and 1982, and more than sixty years on, nobody has needed a second take.
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// Quick quiz
How many takes did The Animals need to record House of the Rising Sun?
They had played it every night on the Chuck Berry tour, so one mono take with no overdubs was enough.
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