This Ole House


"This Ole House" is a popular song written by Stuart Hamblen, and published in 1954. Rosemary Clooney's version reached the top of the popular music charts in both the US and the UK in 1954. The song again topped the UK chart in 1981 in a recording by Shakin' Stevens.

Composition

Hamblen was supposedly out on a hunting expedition when he and his fellow hunter, actor John Wayne, came across a hut in the mountains. Inside was the body of a man, and the man's dog was still there, guarding the building. This inspired Hamblen to write "This Ole House". The lyric picks up a standard Gospel theme of the "old house" – the mortal body – being left behind when the soul of the believer goes to "meet the saints".

Recordings

The recorded version of "This Ole House" by Rosemary Clooney, featuring bass vocals by Thurl Ravenscroft, reached No. 1 on the Billboard on chart in 1954 as the flip side to her previous No. 1 song, "Hey There." Clooney's version also topped the UK Singles Chart, although there were other UK hit versions around by Billie Anthony and Alma Cogan, both recorded in 1954. The recording by Alma Cogan with Felix King was made in London on September 2, 1954. The song was released by EMI on the His Master's Voice label as catalogue numbers B 10761 and 7M 269. The flip side was "Skokiaan."
The German version "Das alte Haus von Rocky Docky" was recorded by Bruce Low in 1955 and was covered by Peter Kraus in 1981
In 1979, NRBQ released a rock-a-billy arrangement of "This Old House" on their LP Kick Me Hard. In March 1981, Shakin' Stevens released a cover of that arrangement, which held the No. 1 spot for three weeks in the United Kingdom. It was re-released in 2005 after his appearance in the TV show Hit Me Baby One More Time and reached No. 20 in the UK Singles Chart.
The song was also covered by the Cathedral Quartet and Hovie Lister and the Statesmen. Both groups often made the song a medley with "When the Saints Go Marching In."
The song was recorded by Bette Midler on her 2003 tribute to Rosemary Clooney, Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook, and included on her compilation in 2008.

Other notable recordings of the song