Red House is a blues song written by Jimi Hendrix and first recorded by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1966. It appears on the UK debut Are You Experienced, released May 12, 1967, and was later issued in the US on the Smash Hits compilation in 1969. The track is a conventional twelve‑bar blues, played at a slow tempo around 66 bpm, notated in 12/8 in the key of B major (Hendrix often tuned the guitar half a step down). It was recorded at CBS Studios in London on December 13, 1966, with producer Chas Chandler, Noel Redding on rhythm guitar, and Mitch Mitchell on drums, with overdubs added at Olympic Studios later that year. The lyrics tell a blues tale of a lover who has gone away, and the song became a staple of Hendrix’s live shows, with many performances evolving through the years. Red House was inspired by early blues tradition and artists like Albert King; it has since been issued in multiple versions and covered by other blues musicians, with notable live releases such as Freedom: Atlanta Pop Festival and Live in Maui.
