"Baby Let's Play House" is a song written by
Arthur Gunter and recorded by him in 1954 on the
Excello Records label
and covered by
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...
the following year on
Sun Records.
A line from the song ("I'd rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man") was borrowed by
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
for his
Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...
song ''
Run for Your Life'', released on ''
Rubber Soul'' in 1965.
Elvis Presley version
Elvis' version differs greatly from the original: Elvis started the song with the chorus, where Gunter began with the first verse, and he replaced Gunter's line "You may get
religion
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...
" with the words "You may have a
Pink Cadillac", referring to his custom-painted '55
Cadillac
The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed ...
auto that had also been serving as the band's transportation at the time.
''Baby Let's Play House'' was on the fourth issue of a Presley record by Sun, and became the first song recorded by Elvis to appear on a national chart when it made #5 on the Billboard Country Singles chart in July 1955. Elvis's version also starts out with Elvis introducing the lyric-stutter to the music pundits. These lyrics and melodies are not found in the original Arthur Gunter version.
Personnel
*
Elvis Presley - lead vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar
*
Scotty Moore
Winfield Scott Moore III (December 27, 1931 – June 28, 2016) was an American guitarist who formed The Blue Moon Boys in 1954, Elvis Presley's backing band. He was studio and touring guitarist for Presley between 1954 and 1968.
Rock critic ...
- electric lead guitar
* Bill Black - double bass
Charts
Weekly charts
Notable cover versions
*In July 1956, the
Johnny Burnette Trio
John Joseph Burnette (March 25, 1934 – August 14, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter of rockabilly and pop music. In 1952, Johnny and his brother, Dorsey Burnette, and their mutual friend Paul Burlison formed the band that became k ...
released "Oh Baby Babe" (Coral 9–61675) which, though credited to "J. Burnette, D. Burnette, P. Burlison, A. Mortimer", was "Baby Let's Play House" with altered lyrics.
*In 2008, a
Spankox
Agostino Carollo, also known as Spankox, is an Italian musician, disc jockey, singer and producer who is currently signed with EMI. Originally a classical violinist, he specializes in pop and dance music, including remixes of songs such as KC a ...
remix of the song made #84 in the UK.
*In 2022,
Austin Butler did a cover of the song for
Baz Luhrmann's
''Elvis'', which samples
Gary Clark Jr.'s &
Junkie XL cover song "
Come Together".
References
External links
* Arthur Gunter version
* Elvis Presley version
{{authority control
1954 songs
1955 singles
Elvis Presley songs
Buddy Holly songs
The Newbeats songs
RCA Victor singles
Rockabilly songs