
CIRCA 1964: Rock and Roll band 'The Animals' pose for a promotional photo circa 1964. Left to right: John Steel, Alan Price, Eric Burdon, Chas Chandler and Hilton Valentine.
“There is a house in New Orleans, they call the Rising Sun;
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy, and God, I know I'm one.”
These are the first lines in the 1964 version of the “House of the Rising Sun,” by the British rock and roll band, The Animals. The classic rock song tells the story of a young boy who was led into a life of pain and misery at house of vices and ill repute. Gambling, prostitution and corruption running rampant is what the song is said to be referring to. It is well known as one of the first, if not the first, traditional American folk song about the infamous city of New Orleans.