"The House of Blue Lights" is a popular song published in 1946, written by Don Raye and

Freddie Slack Frederick Charles Slack (August 7, 1910 – August 10, 1965) was an American swing and boogie-woogie pianist and bandleader. Life and career Slack was born in Westby, Wisconsin, United States. He learned to play drums as a boy. Later he took up ...

. It was first recorded by Freddie Slack with singer

Ella Mae Morse Ella Mae Morse (September 12, 1924 – October 16, 1999) was an American singer of popular music whose 1940s and 1950s recordings mixing jazz, blues, and country styles influenced the development of rock and roll. Her 1942 recording of "Cow-Cow ...

, and was covered the same year by

The Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (January ...

Background

Notably for the time, the song featured a " hipster"-style spoken introduction by Raye and Morse: :''"Well, whatcha say, baby? You look ready as Mr. Freddy this black. How 'bout you and me goin' spinnin' at the track?"'' :''"What's that, homie? If you think I'm goin' dancin' on a dime, your clock is tickin' on the wrong time."'' :''"Well, what's your pleasure, treasure? You call the plays, I'll dig the ways."'' :''"Hey daddy-o, I'm not so crude as to drop my mood on a square from way back......."'' The version by Morse and Slack reached # 8 on the '' Billboard''

pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

, and the version by The Andrews Sisters reached # 15.Jim Dawson and Steve Propes, ''What Was The First Rock'n'Roll Record'', 1992, , pp.14-17

Other recordings

Chuck Miller reached no. 9 on the ''Billboard'' pop singles chart with a recording on

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...

in 1955.Larkin, Colin, ed. (1992). ''The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1690. ISBN 0-85112-939-0. The song itself was later recorded by Earl Richards,

Merrill Moore Merrill Moore (1903 – 1957) was an American psychiatrist and poet. Born and educated in Tennessee, he was a member of the Fugitives. He taught neurology at the Harvard Medical School and published research about alcoholism. He was the aut ...

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis ma ...

, Freddy Cannon,

Canned Heat Canned Heat is an American band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1965. The group is noted for its efforts to promote interest in blues music and its original artists and rock music. It was founded by two blues enthusiasts Alan Wilson and Bob ...

, Crowbar, Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen, The

Flamin' Groovies Flamin' Groovies is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965, originally co-led by Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan. After the Groovies released three albums, on Epic ('' Supersnazz'') and Kama Sutra (''Flamingo'' and '' Teenage Hea ...

, Mitch Woods,

Meat Puppets Meat Puppets are an American rock band formed in January 1980 in Phoenix, Arizona. The group's original lineup was Curt Kirkwood (guitar/vocals), his brother Cris Kirkwood (bass guitar/vocals), and Derrick Bostrom (drums). The Kirkwood brothe ...

, George Thorogood and others. A cover by Asleep at the Wheel peaked at number 17 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...

chart in 1987. Little Richard made reference to the "house of blue lights" in his 1958 hit "

Good Golly, Miss Molly "Good Golly, Miss Molly" is a hit rock 'n' roll song first recorded in 1956 by the American musician Little Richard and released in January 1958 as Specialty single 624 and next in July 1958 on '' Little Richard''. The song, a jump blues, was ...

References

Sources

*"Chuch Miller". Tims.blackcat.nl. Retrieved 29 September 2021. *Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). ''The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1690. ISBN 0-85112-939-0. *"Chuck Miller". Rockabilly.nl. Retrieved 2016-05-20. {{DEFAULTSORT:House Of Blue Lights 1946 songs 1940s songs Songs written by Don Raye Asleep at the Wheel songs Ella Mae Morse songs Meat Puppets songs