# Who composed/first sang these two songs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 8, 2001, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-composed-first-sang-these-two-songs/86027 "2001-10-08T01:55:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-composed-first-sang-these-two-songs/86027/1 "2001-10-08T01:55:39Z")
Ok, I am trying to get some folk-rock songs, but it seems the songs I am trying to get where covered a lot. So, I want to know who composed or first sang these songs: (note, if the composer was also a singer, but not the first one to release the song, please note it) “Tambourine Man” “House of the Rising Sun”- Of this one I would want to get two versions (female speaker/male speaker), and their original composers and singers. I have tried and search in Google, but the first hits I get don’t tell me who was the original composer or singer. I know Bob Dylan, The Animals, Peter Paul & Mary, Jimi Hendrix, all sang either of the songs. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-composed-first-sang-these-two-songs/86027/2 "2001-10-08T02:14:19Z")
I believe Dylan wrote Tambourine Man, but I don’t know who first performed it. The Byrds _did_ perform it, though. I know that. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Blue\_Green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Green)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-composed-first-sang-these-two-songs/86027/3 "2001-10-08T02:16:08Z")
[http://www.summer.com.br/~pfilho/html/main\_index/index.html](http://www.summer.com.br/~pfilho/html/main_index/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-composed-first-sang-these-two-songs/86027/4 "2001-10-08T02:21:57Z")
According to [this site](http://www.cosmic-kitchen.com/Songs/Animals/TheHouseOfTheRisingSun.html), House of the Rising Sun is written by that prolific songsmith, “Traditional”. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-composed-first-sang-these-two-songs/86027/5 "2001-10-08T03:01:26Z")
Thanks, **Blue Grass** , but the site gives me the letters, doesn’t tell me if The Animals were the first to perform that version of “House of the Rising Sun”. Not only that, but they have two songs with the same title, but only one with the letters, again not telling who was the first to perform it. Other than that, great site. **Dijon** , I think it strange that they have the composer as traditional, when if I remember correctly, the female version was first(or someone please correct me again, I know Cecil did a column about it). Does that mean that the female version is “traditional”, well then the male version had some composer(if only to arrange the song)? Ok, wrapping it up. It seems “Tambourine Man” was first composed by Dylan, probaby sang by him too, or released by others as was apparently not so strange back then? It seems The Animals were the first to sing the _male_ version of “The House of the Rising Sun”, but who recorded the female version first(if it was a traditional song)? ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-composed-first-sang-these-two-songs/86027/6 "2001-10-08T03:10:49Z")
According to (drum roll, please) [Cecil’s column](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mrisingson.html): > [@](#): > > According to folklorist Alan Lomax in his book Our Singing Country (1941), the melody of “The House of the Rising Run” is a traditional English ballad and the lyrics were written by Georgia Turner and Bert Martin (both from Kentucky). The song was first recorded in the 1920s by black bluesman Texas Alexander and later covered by Leadbelly, Charlie Byrd, Roy Acuff, Woody Guthrie, the Weavers, Peter, Paul & Mary, Henry Mancini, Dolly Parton, David Allan Coe, John Fahey, Waylon Jennings, Tim Hardin, Buster Poindexter, Marianne Faithful, Tracy Chapman and Bob Dylan . . . just to name a few. He doesn’t say if those are in chronological order or not, so who the first _female_ recorder of the song is still up in the air. But you’ve got the lyricists and the first male recording, so it’s progress. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-composed-first-sang-these-two-songs/86027/7 "2001-10-08T03:14:47Z")
[Small sampling of who has recorded House](http://www.cdnow.com/cgi-bin/mserver/SID=519393532/pagename=/RP/CDN/FIND/popsearch.html/clickID=tn_srch_txt) ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-composed-first-sang-these-two-songs/86027/8 "2001-10-08T03:15:51Z")
Boy, I hate when I do that. [House of the Rising Sun recordings](http://www.cdnow.com/cgi-bin/mserver/SID=519393532/pagename=/RP/CDN/FIND/popsearch.html/clickID=tn_srch_txt). Better? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2001, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-composed-first-sang-these-two-songs/86027/9 "2001-10-08T10:16:47Z")
Thanks Dijon, better. Now all that I think I am missing is the mysterious female version?