Song of the Day 8/10: Frijid Pink, “House of the Rising Sun”

In the late ’60s and early ’70s the American Midwest was one of the world’s hottest markets for rock music, and the region’s musicians responded by forming an ever-changing succession of blues-rock outfits. One that slipped down the memory hole for me was Frijid Pink, a Detroit band that caught the wave in 1969 with this heavy, Vanilla Fudge-tyle remake of “House of the Rising Sun,” an old folk tune that had been a hit for Eric Burdon and the Animals earlier in the decade.

There are earlier recorded versions of the song, but this one by Roy Acuff back in 1938 gives a good idea of what it sounded like before it got the rock ‘n’ roll treatment.