| "Take a Letter Maria" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by R.B. Greaves | ||||
| from the album R.B. Greaves | ||||
| B-side | "Run Diane" | |||
| Released | 1969 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Genre | Soul | |||
| Length | 2:44 | |||
| Label | Atco/Atlantic | |||
| Writer(s) | R.B. Greaves | |||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | |||
| R.B. Greaves singles chronology | ||||
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"Take a Letter Maria" is a song written and recorded by R. B. Greaves, an American soul singer. The song has a Latin music flavor, complete with a mariachi-style horn section. It tells of a man who learns of his wife's infidelity the night before and dictates a letter of separation to "Maria", his secretary. The song reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in 1969 and is certified gold by the RIAA for singles sales of one million copies.[1] The song was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio on August 19, 1969 using the house studio musicians. These include Roger Hawkins, drums, Barry Beckett, piano, Eddie Hinton and Jimmy Johnson, guitars, David Hood, bass. and Mel Lastie, trumpet. [2]
"Take a Letter Maria" has had two charted cover versions by country music singers. Anthony Armstrong Jones released a cover in 1970 from his album of the same name, reaching #8 on the country charts with it. In 1999, Doug Stone released the song from his album Make Up in Love, reaching #45 on the country single charts.[3]