The Witch Queen of New Orleans
"The Witch Queen of New Orleans" | |
---|---|
Single by Redbone | |
from the album Message from a Drum | |
B-side | Chant: 13th Hour |
Released | 1971 |
Format | 7" single |
Genre | |
Length | 2:45 |
Label | Epic |
Writer(s) |
|
Producer(s) |
|
"The Witch Queen of New Orleans" is a song from 1971 by Redbone. The single was released from Redbone's third album Message from a Drum,[3] which is also titled The Witch Queen of New Orleans in its European release.[4] The song peaked at No. 2 in the United Kingdom and No. 21 in the United States.
Background
The song is about a 19th century practitioner of voodoo from New Orleans Marie Laveau,[5][6] referred to in the song lyrics as "Marie la Voodoo veau".[7] The song was written by the two Native American brothers of the group Redbone, Lolly Vegas and Pat Vegas. It was released in 1971 with "Chant: 13th Hour" as the B side in the US. It debuted in the Billboard Hot 100 chart in November 1971 in the US where it reach a peak of No. 21 in 1972 (chart date February 19, 1972).[8][9] The song reached No. 2 in the UK single chart in October 1971 where it stayed for three weeks.[10]
Charts
Chart (1972) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] | 1 |
Germany (Official German Charts)[12] | 13 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] | 5 |
Norway (VG-lista)[14] | 6 |
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[15] | 2 |
US Billboard Hot 100[16] | 21 |
Cover versions
The song has been covered by a number of artists, including Tom Jones and P. J. Proby.[17][18] The Australian group Chantoozies released the song in late 1986 as "Witch Queen" which reached No. 4 on the Australian chart in 1987.[19]
References
- ↑ "The Witch Queen of New Orleans / Chant : 13th Hour". Rate Your Music.
- ↑ "Redbone – The Witch Queen Of New Orleans". Discogs.
- ↑ Corbet Rutzer (October 30, 2014). "Dig Dug: Redbone The Witch Queen of New Orleans". Frank151.
- ↑ The Witch Queen of New Orleans at AllMusic
- ↑ Bob Curran (2009). Encyclopedia of the Undead: A Field Guide to Creatures That Cannot Rest in Peace. ReadHowYouWant. ISBN 978-1442959118.
- ↑ S. T. Joshi. Icons of Horror and the Supernatural. ABC-CLIO. p. 703. ISBN 9780313081002.
- ↑ y Dave Thompson. Bayou Underground: Tracing the Mythical Roots of American Popular Music. ISBN 9781554906826.
- ↑ Brian Wright-McLeod (2015). The Encyclopedia of Native Music: More Than a Century of Recordings from Wax Cylinder to the Internet. ECW Press,Canada. p. 158. ISBN 978-0816524488.
- ↑ Billboard Magazine. February 19, 1972.
- ↑ "The Witch Queen Of New Orleans – Redbone". October 20, 2011.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Redbone – The Witch Queen of New Orleans" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Redbone – The Witch Queen of New Orleans". GfK Entertainment.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Redbone – The Witch Queen of New Orleans" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Redbone – The Witch Queen of New Orleans". VG-lista.
- ↑ "Redbone: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
- ↑ "Redbone – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Redbone.
- ↑ "Tom Jones – Witch Queen Of New Orleans / Kiss An Angel Good Morning". Discogs.
- ↑ "P.J. Proby – Witch Queen Of New Orleans". Discogs.
- ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.