Baby Let's Play House Explained
"Baby Let's Play House" is a song written and originally recorded by Arthur Gunter in 1954 on the Excello Records label,[1] [2] [3] and covered by Elvis Presley the following year on Sun Records.[4] A line from the song ("I'd rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man") was borrowed by John Lennon for his Beatles song "Run for Your Life", released on Rubber Soul in 1965.[5] [6]
Elvis Presley version
The Presley version differs greatly from the original: Presley started the song with the chorus, where Gunter began with the first verse, and he replaced Gunter's line "You may get religion" with the words "You may have a Pink Cadillac", referring to his custom-painted 1955 Cadillac auto, that had also been serving as the band's transportation at the time. "Baby Let's Play House" was on the fourth issue of a Presley record by Sun,[8] and became the first song recorded by Presley to appear on a national chart when it made number 5 on the Billboard Country Singles chart in July 1955.[9] Presley's version also starts out with him introducing the lyric-stutter to the music pundits. These lyrics and melodies are not found in the original Gunter version.
Personnel
- Elvis Presley - lead vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar
- Scotty Moore - electric lead guitar
- Bill Black - double bass
Weekly charts
Notable cover versions
- In July 1956, the Johnny Burnette Trio released "Oh Baby Babe" (Coral 9–61675) which, though credited to "J. Burnette, D. Burnette, P. Burlison, A. Mortimer", was "Baby Let's Play House" with altered lyrics.
- Buddy Holly did a cover on his album, Holly in the Hills
- On July 6, 1957, John Lennon covered "Baby Let's Play House" in the evening set at the Woolton church fete. Note: this was the day Lennon met Paul McCartney.[10]
- In 2008, a Spankox remix of the song made number 84 in the UK.[11]
- In 2022, Austin Butler did a cover of the song for Baz Luhrmann's Elvis, which sampled Gary Clark Jr.'s and Junkie XL cover song "Come Together".[12]
External links
- Arthur Gunter version
- Elvis Presley version
Notes and References
- Book: Colin Larkin. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Grenfell, Joyce - Koller, Hans. 2006. MUZE. 978-0-19-531373-4.
Book: Colin Larkin. The Virgin Encyclopedia of the Blues. 1998. Virgin. 978-0-7535-0226-6.
- Book: Colin Larkin. The Virgin encyclopedia of fifties music. September 1998. Virgin. 9780753502686.
- Book: Martin Hawkins. A shot in the dark: making records in Nashville, 1945-1955. November 2006. Vanderbilt University Press & Country Music Foundation Press. 9780826515322.
- http://www.elvis.com/news/full_story.asp?id=1496 "Facts about Elvis - Elvis Presley's life - Elvis news: New Elvis Presley Remix "Baby Let's Play House" Available for Download on iTunes TODAY! 6/3/2008"
- Book: Wenner, Jann. Jann Wenner. Lennon Remembers. Penguin. 1972. Harmondsworth, England. 128.
- Book: Everett, Walter. Walter Everett (musicologist). 1999. The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology. Oxford University Press. New York, NY. 312. 978-0-19-512941-0.
- Web site: Elvis Presley Songs. How Stuff Works. 28 June 2007 . December 28, 2014.
- http://rcs-discography.com/rcs/artists/p/pres1000.htm Presley releases
- The Blue Moon Boys - The Story of Elvis Presley's Band. Ken Burke and Dan Griffin. 2006. Chicago Review Press. page 47.
- Web site: YouTube. John Lennon and the Quarrymen - Baby Let's Play House. 6 July 1957 . en . 2023-05-11.
- Web site: The Official Charts Company - Baby Let's Play House. 4 April 2014. The Official Charts Company.
- Web site: YouTube. Austin Butler - Baby, Let's Play House . en . 2022-10-25.
