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"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.

The single reached number eight on the Hot 100 singles chart.

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.
• In 1955, a recording by Chuck Miller for Mercury Records reached number nine on the Billboard Popular Records chart.
• A cover by Asleep at the Wheel peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1987.
• The Harvard Krokodiloes have long used the song as their traditional opening number at all their concerts.

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.

• 1946 songs
• Songs written by Don Raye
• Asleep at the Wheel songs
• Ella Mae Morse songs
• Meat Puppets songs