« Main Page « Songs  « Return   Forward »


Baby, Let's Play House

download

(Gunther)

Information:
Arthur Gunther wrote and recorded Baby, Let's Play House (Excello 2047) in late 1954. Although it got considerable airplay in the South, his recording did not chart nationally. Gunther based the song on Eddy Arnold's number one country hit in 1951, I Want To Play House With You (RCA 0476). A number of years later, Gunther's recording inspired John Lennon to write Run For Your Life.

Elvis recorded Baby, Let's Play House on February 5, 1955, at the Sun Studios. Instrumental backing was provided by Scotty Moore on lead guitar, Bill Black on bass, and Elvis on rhythm guitar. Baby, Let's Play House reached #10 on Billboard's Country Best-Seller chart and #5 on the Country Disc Jockey chart in July 1955 - the first Elvis song ever to chart. It remained on the chart for 15 weeks. Elvis sang Baby, Let's Play House frequently on tour in 1955 and on his second appearance on Stage Show (February 4, 1956).

On May 7, 1956, the Johnny Burnette Trio recorded a song titled Oh Baby Babe for Coral Records (Coral 61675) that was an exact copy (even some of the original lyrics are repeated) of Elvis's Baby, Let's Play House. Buddy Holly recorded a version of Elvis's recording on his LP Holly In The Hills (Coral 57463), calling it I Wanna Play House With You. In 1963, Elvis' sound-alike Vince Everett recorded Baby, Let's Play House for ABC-Paramount Records (ABC-Paramount 10472).

Lyrics:

Oh, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby, b-b-b-b-b-b baby baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby
Come back, baby, I wanna play house with you
 
Well, you may go to college
You may go to school
You may have a pink Cadillac
But don't you be nobody's fool
 
Now baby come back, baby, come
Come back, baby, come
Come back, baby
I wanna play house with you
 
Now listen and I'll tell you baby
What I'm talking about
Come on back to me, little girl
So we can play some house
 
Now baby come back, baby, come
Come back, baby, come
Come back, baby
I wanna play house with you
Oh, let's play house, baby
 
Now this is one thing, baby I want you to know
Come on back and let's play a little house
And we can act like we did before
 
Well, baby, come back, baby, come
Come back, baby, come
Come back, baby
I wanna play house with you
Yeah
 
Now listen to me, baby, try to understand
I'd rather see you dead, little girl
Than to be with another man
 
Now baby, come back, baby, come
Come back, baby, come
Come back, baby, I wanna play house with you
 
Oh, baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby b-b-b-b-b-b, baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby

Come back, baby, I wanna play house with you

Where it was released:
First released on single »
 

Singles:

- Baby Let's Play House / You're Right I'm Left She's Gone (Sun217) April 1, 1955. Standard Sun 78 rpm and 45 rpm release. »

- Baby Let's Play House / You're Right I'm Left She's Gone (RCA 20-6383) November 1955. Standard RCA 78 rpm reissue of the Sun original. »

- Baby Let's Play House / You're Right I'm Left She's Gone (RCA 47-6383) November 1955. Standar RCA 45 rpm reissue of the Sun original. »

- Baby Let's Play House / You're Right I'm Left She's Gone (RCA 447-0604) March 1959. Gold Standard Series reissue »

- Baby Let's Play House / Hound Dog (RCA PB-13875) August 1984. Both sides of this record were recorded at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair Dairy Show in Tupelo, Mississippi, on September 26, 1956. The record was pressed on gold vinyl and was distributed in the Memphis-Tupelo area to kick off the year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of Elvis' birth.

- Baby Let's Play House / You're Right I'm Left She's Gone (Collectables DPE1-1002 4502) December 1986.

 
EPs:
- No Title (RCA SPD-15) (1956) »
 
LPs/CDs:
- A Date With Elvis (1959) »
- A Date With Elvis (1965) »
- The Sun Sessions (1975) »
- Country Memories (1978) »
- The Legendary Recordings of Elvis (1979) »
- Elvis! His Greatest Hits (1979) »

- I Was the One (1983)

- Elvis: The First Live Recordings (1984)

- The Complete Sun Sessions (1987)

- The King of Rock'n'Roll - The Complete 50's Masters (1992) 
- The Legend Begins (1996) - Magnum
- Elvis Greatest Juke Box Hits (1997)
- Raw Elvis (1997)
- Platinum - A Life In Music (1997) 
- A Golden Celebration (1998) 
- A Touch of Platinum, Volume 2 (1998)
- Rock'n'Roll (1999)
- Sun Sessions (1999)
- Sunrise (1999)
- Artist of The Century (1999) 
- Elvis Rockabilly - Millennium Masters (2000)
- Best of Artist of the Century (2000)
- Good Rockin' Tonight (2000) - Music Mill
- Live and Unplugged (2000) - Laserlight
- 55 Recorded Live at the Louisiana Hayride (2001) - NMC
- Playing With Fire (2001) - Magnum
- Hayrides and Gambling Halls (2001) - Sonotec
- The Hillbilly Cat (2001) - Magnum
- Elvis Presley at the Louisiana Hayride / The Original Roots of Elvis Presley (2002) - Charly
- The Elvis Broadcasts on Air (2003) - Cleoptara
- Live At The Louisiana Hayride (2003) - Dynamic
- I Was the One (2003) - Janda
– A Boy From Tupelo (2012) - FTD » 
– Love Me Tender (2014) - FTD »
– A Date With Elvis (2017) - FTD »
For LP Fans Only (2018) - FTD »
The Wild One '56 (2018) - FTD »
That's The Way It Is - 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition (2020) - FTD 
 
Bootleg Releases:
- Dorsey Shows (1976) – Golden Archives Records
- The Sun Years – Sun International Corp.
- Superstar Outtakes, Volume 2 (1977) – E.P. Records
- The Entertainer (1978) – Rooster Record Company
- The First Year - Recorded Live (1979) – Black Belt Records
- The First Years (1979) - HALW
- The Rockin' Rebel, Volume 2 (1979) – Golden Archives Records
- Standing Room Only, Volume 2 (1979) – Eagle Records Corp.

« Main Page « Songs  « Return   Forward »