To Thread - Forum Home

The Mudcat Café TM
https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=15653
13 messages

Lyr Req: House of Blue Lights (F Slack, D Raye)

27 Nov 99 - 01:46 PM (#141381)
Subject: House of Blue Lights
From: Momsey

Momsey wants to know the lyrics from this old song. All the words she remembers are "The house, the house, the house of blue lights..."

Thanks for any help!

27 Nov 99 - 03:41 PM (#141414)
Subject: Lyr Add: HOUSE OF BLUE LIGHTS (F Slack, D Raye)
From: _gargoyle

HOUSE OF BLUE LIGHTS

words and music by Freddie Slack and Don Raye

copyright 1946 by Robbins Music

Lace up your boots and we'll broom on down
To a knocked out shack on the edge of town
There's an eight beat combo that just won't quit
Keep walkin' 'til you see a blue light lit
Fall in there and we'll see some sights
At the house of blue lights

-chorus-

There's fryers and broilers and Detroit barbecue ribs
But the treat of the treats is when they serve you all those fine eight beats
You'll want to spend the rest of your nights
Down at the house, The house of blue lights

We'll have a time and we'll cut some rug
While we dig those tunes like they should be dug
It's a real home comin' for all the "Cats"
Just trilly down a path of welcome mats
Fall in there and we'll see some sights
At the house of blue lights

(c) 1946 Robbins Music

This song has been recorded by many performers:
Merril E. Moore
Chuck Miller in 1955 drove it to number 9 on the top 40 charts
Jerry Lee Lewis
The Andrews Sisters
Asleep At The Wheel 1987 link to audio clip

Chuck Berry
Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen
The Flamin' Groovies
John Lee Hooker
George Thorogood and the Destroyers
Mitch Woods and the Rocket 88's
Red Beans and Rice by White Wolf Productions
Diane Leighe & Crazy Rhythms

Multiple chroeographies for line square dance are also set to this bouncy boogie-beat song.

The House of Blue Lights was a Chicago after hours club. It was connected to the El Grotto (owned by Earl Hines) at the Pershing Hotel in the mid-1940's. Later in the mid 1950's-60's there was a nefarious, Tijuana-Mexico brothel by the same name.

Asleep Audio Clip @ http://cheap-cds.com/surf/disps/22176

THANX
Had an absolute blast researching this one and discovered a "new piece" to add to my repertoire of hard pounding boogie....from listening to the audio clip this one has a "contagious" quality to it...and is easy to see its popularity among performers.

27 Nov 99 - 03:45 PM (#141418)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: House of Blue Lights
From: _gargoyle

BTW Momsey -

after clicking to the link...then click on number #4 and wait for the MP3 audio to load.

Have Fun

27 Nov 99 - 09:26 PM (#141499)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: House of Blue Lights
From: Bev and Jerry

It was also recorded by Freddie Slack and Ella Mae Morse in the late thirties or early forties with a great spoken introductory dialogue.

Bev and Jerry

27 Nov 99 - 09:42 PM (#141511)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: House of Blue Lights
From: _gargoyle

Jimmeny Cripes!!!!

I cannot believe I left "Freddie Slack" off the list...in reality he started the ball rolling...he was the keynote/pin/stone...Merril E. Moore attributes his rendition to Freddie...and then the Miller 1955 hit rolled off of Moore's....the recording you cite was in 1947.

28 Nov 99 - 12:51 AM (#141608)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: House of Blue Lights
From: Gary T

gargoyle, perhaps this is a long shot, but you might enjoy "Christmas Boogie" ('tis the season, after all). All I know about it is it was recorded by the Davis Sisters. I assume that's the Davis Sisters of country music, Frances Davis (real name, died in the early/mid 1950's) and Skeeter Davis (stage name, had some solo chart action in the 60's, I believe). I have it on a tape my nephew made for me. It's a fun, upbeat song, loosely based on "A visit from Saint Nicholas", and has a nice boogie rhythm to it.

28 Nov 99 - 07:33 AM (#141670)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: House of Blue Lights
From: _gargoyle

I will seek it out...

THANX for the lead.

24 Nov 00 - 07:45 PM (#346281)
Subject: RE: LYRICS-"CRAZY RHYTHM"
From: GUEST,KEN&BJ

WE HAVE THE MUSIC BUT CAN'T SEEM TO FIND THE ORIGINAL LYRICS - ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!

30 Jan 11 - 01:29 PM (#3085337)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: House of Blue Lights
From: GUEST,biggysez

I came across this thread searching for different recordings of HoBL.
I have a cassette recording of the song off the ISU campus radio station circa 1970. The dj names the song as House of Blue Lights and by a group called "Bad Mannas". I'm guessing at the spelling but I'm pretty sure it wasn't "manners". I can't find anything regarding that group let alone them doing that particular song. Any ideas?

30 Jan 11 - 01:42 PM (#3085345)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: House of Blue Lights
From: pdq

For those who don't know who Ella Mae Morse was, you can get the brand new CD from Bear Family Records based in Germany.

It has over two dozen songs including this one. Others are high-energy rockers, but they seem to have been ignored by the Rock 'n' Roll industry, perhaps because she was too mature to be a teen idol, a commodity that was more likely to make them millions in record sales.

21 Feb 11 - 05:14 PM (#3099951)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: House of Blue Lights
From: GUEST,r&bgirl

Just heard Terry Gross talking about Ella Mae Morse on "Fresh Air." Yes, she recorded House of Blue Lights. But the one I've thought about all my life was the one I heard on the radio at summer camp in 1955, so this must have been by Chuck Miller, who I don't remember ever hearing about since. How can a person get a recording of this tune? I just loved it at age 13 and miss it now.

21 Feb 11 - 06:44 PM (#3099999)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: House of Blue Lights
From: GUEST,leeneia

How times have changed. You can hear it here. It's a good one!

HOUSE OF BLUE LIGHTS performed by Chuck Miller, at YouTube.

22 Feb 11 - 12:20 AM (#3100128)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: House of Blue Lights
From: Bev and Jerry

And here is Ella Mae Morse's version complete with the introductory dialogue.

Bev and Jerry