Frijid Pink--House of the Rising Sun (1970)

     I had been interested in rock music and it's history all my life, but it's been in the last several years since starting the blog and radio show that I've dug under the surface to find endless tributaries that feed into modern rock and pop. One of those feeders come from the city of Detroit where the music scene went much deeper (and arguably more influential) than anything that came out of Motown. The Bob Seger System, The Amboy Dukes, Alice Cooper, MC5, The Stooges, and Grand Funk Railroad laid the foundations for what was to become 70's era rock and in the case of Iggy and the boys, American punk as well.
     One group that doesn't get near the recognition as these I've mentioned is Frijid Pink.The group never rose to 70's prominence like Cooper, Seger and Ted Nugent did, nor did it become influential like The Stooges. They were just a hard rock blues outfit that were stars in their hometown except for this cover of The Animals' hit from 1964.
     The band got it's start in 1967 as a couple members from The Detroit Vibrations combined with other musicians and after touring through the Southeast Michigan for a couple of years signed with Parrot Records. Their first two singles, "Tell Me Why" and Drivin' Blues" (both great songs by the way) went nowhere, but the fuzzed drenched version of "House of the Rising Sun" reached the top ten.
      Subsequent singles didn't do as well, and as lineup changed effected the band, they sank back into obscurity. For those who really like this single, it would do you well to check out their first three albums.