"The House of the Rising Sun" is a folk song from the United States. Also called "House of the Rising Sun" or occasionally "Rising Sun Blues", it tells of a life gone wrong in New Orleans. Depending on the version, the song may be sung from the perspective of a woman or a man. The most successful version was recorded by the English rock group The Animals in 1964, which was a number one hit in the United Kingdom, United States, Sweden and Canada. The House Of The Rising Sun

The oldest known existing recording is by Appalachian artists Clarence Ashley (Clarence "Tom" Ashley) and Gwen Foster, who recorded it for Vocalion Records in 1934. Ashley said he had learned it from his grandfather, Enoch Ashley.
check these two, 1933/1934
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=147kS8O59Qs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfR-LL_7EEM

The song was among those collected by folklorist Alan Lomax, who, along with his father john Lomax, was a curator of the Archive of American Folk Song for the Library of Congress. In 1937 he recorded a performance by Georgia Turner (1921-1969) The House Of The Rising Sun (Rising Sun Blues).
Her adaptation of this American folk classic, better known as "House Of The Rising Sun," has become the standard, the ancestor of covers by hundreds of later performers, including Dave Van Ronk, Bob Dylan, The AnimalsThe House Of The Rising Sun, Joan BaezHouse Of The Rising Sun, Tracy Chapman, Muse, and even Andy GriffithThe House Of The Rising Sun.
The lyrics later published by Lomax in Our Singing Country in 1941 incorporate some lines from a version performed by Bert Martin.
Turner's performance of the song was rereleased in 2003 by Rounder Records, on the Alan Lomax Popular Songbook CD.

more : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Of_The_Rising_Sun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Turner