On This Day in 1964, the Animals Hit No. 1 With the Song That Inspired Bob Dylan to Go Electric and Reshaped Popular Music

On this day (September 5) in 1964, the Animals started a three-week run at the top of the Hot 100 with “The House of the Rising Sun.” Bob Dylan and countless others had already covered the folk tune. However, the British rock band’s rendition was different. Their combination of folk and early rock and roll struck a chord with listeners everywhere and shifted the landscape of popular music.

The Animals began performing their version of “The House of the Rising Sun” in early 1964, while touring with Chuck Berry. Other acts who opened for Berry ended their sets with their most intense rocker. Eric Burdon and the band wanted to do something different to make them stand out. This haunting ballad was their solution.

The Animals Record the First Folk Rock Hit

The band wanted to record the song earlier. However, producer Mickie Most didn’t believe the song had potential. Then, he saw how audiences reacted to it night after night. Eventually, he agreed to let them cut it. “We played Liverpool on May 17, 1964. Then, we drove to London, where Mickie had booked a studio for ITV’s Ready Steady Go! Because of the reaction we were getting to ‘Rising Sun,’ we asked to record it,” recalled drummer John Steel.

They were already in the studio to record a backing track for their appearance on the show. So, Most said they could record it during the same session. After hearing the finished song, the producer was a believer. “Everything was in the right place, the planets were in the right place, the stars were in the right place, and the wind was blowing in the right direction,” Most said of the session. “It only took 15 minutes to make, so I can’t take much credit for the production. It was just a case of capturing the atmosphere in the studio.”

The Legacy of “The House of the Rising Sun”

The Animals and Mickie Most knew they’d captured lightning in a bottle with “The House of the Rising Sun.” However, they couldn’t have predicted the single’s impact on the wider music world.

Their version of the song has been regarded as the first folk rock song. A year later, the Byrds followed in the British rockers’ footsteps with their jangly rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man.” Then, Dylan released a trio of albums with rock arrangements–Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, and Blonde on Blonde– between 1965 and ’66. This helped further the folk rock boom of the mid-1960s, which birthed bands like Buffalo Springfield. “The House of the Rising Sun” inspired Dylan to pick up an electric guitar.

[RELATED: 4 of the Best Renditions of “House Of The Rising Sun”]

Dylan’s electric phase was a monumental, controversial, and highly influential period. At the same time, the scene that fostered bands like the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield also produced Poco, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Gram Parsons, and the Eagles. All of those legendary acts have a bit of “The House of the Rising Sun” in their musical DNA.

Featured Image by Archive Photos/Getty Images)