The House of Blue Lights (song)

"The House of Blue Lights"
Single by Freddie Slack with Ella Mae Morse
B-side	"Hey Mr. Postman"
Released	May 1946 (1946-05)
Genre	Boogie woogie
Length	2:51
Label	Capitol
Songwriter(s)	Don Raye, Freddie Slack

"The House of Blue Lights" is a boogie woogie-style popular song written by Don Raye and Freddie Slack. Published in 1946, it was first recorded by Slack with singer Ella Mae Morse and Raye.

The song's intro includes a "hipster"-style spoken exchange:

• "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 ..."

A single review in Billboard magazine included similar hipster parlance:

For back-room boogie with a mellow eight-to-the-bar kick, la [sic] Moore teams her tobacco pipes to the Black rhythm wing, giving big-time treatment to a small-time tune. Riding a solid rail, chirp chants it out with a contagious lilt. Dialog patter between Miss Moore and the tune's cleffer, Don Raye, is clever but takes up too much surface. "Postman" is typical B-side stuff.^[1]

The single reached number eight on the Hot 100 singles chart.^[2]

Other recordings

"The House of Blue Lights" has been recorded by a variety of musical artists.

• A version by the Andrews Sisters, also released in 1946, reached number 15.^[2]
• In 1955, a recording by Chuck Miller for Mercury Records reached number nine on the Billboard Popular Records chart.^[3]
• A cover by Asleep at the Wheel peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1987.^[4]
• The Harvard Krokodiloes have long used the song as their traditional opening number at all their concerts.^[5]

References

1. "New Records". Billboard. Vol. 58, no. 19. May 11, 1946. p. 33. ISSN 0006-2510.
2. Dawson, Jim; Propes, Steve (1992). What Was The First Rock'n'Roll Record?. p. 14-17. ISBN 0-571-12939-0.
3. Larkin, Colin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 1690. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
4. Whitburn, Joel (2013). Hot Country Songs 1944–2012. Record Research, Inc. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-89820-203-8.
5. Rodman, Melissa C. (March 7, 2016). "Harvard Krokodiloes Celebrate 70th Anniversary". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved January 5, 2024.