Dark Lady (song)

"Dark Lady" is a pop rock song recorded by American singer-actress Cher, and the title selection from her eleventh studio album, Dark Lady. Written and composed by John Robert "Johnny" Durrill and produced by Snuff Garrett, it was released as the album's first single in early 1974. The song became Cher's third solo U.S. number one hit on March 23, 1974, and her last until "Believe" twenty-five years later.^[1]

Song information and story

The song was written and composed by The Ventures's keyboard player, Johnny Durrill. He recalled: "I spent a week in his (Snuff Garrett's) office playing him songs, one of which Cher recorded. Later, when I was on tour in Japan with the Ventures, I was writing an interesting song. I telegraphed the unfinished lyrics to Garrett. He said to 'make sure the bitch kills him.' Hence, in the song both the lover and fortune teller were killed."^[2] Thus, "Dark Lady" may with some accuracy be described as a murder ballad, even though the narrator of its lyrics essentially commits a crime of passion.

The critic Peter Fawthrop, writing for AllMusic, called this song a "grimly comedic folk song".^[3]

The "Dark Lady" of the song's title is a gypsy fortune teller in New Orleans with a history of misandry (the narrator of the song describes seeing scratches on the inside of the teller's limousine from her previous conquests). The narrator follows the fortune teller's limousine to her lair and pays money for a fortune; as a result of the fortune, she learns that her lover has been unfaithful to her with, as the (audibly uncomfortable) fortune teller says, "someone else who is very close to you". Advised to leave the fortune teller's shop, never to return, and to forget she has ever seen the fortune teller's face, the narrator returns home in a state of shock, unable to sleep, and then realizes to her horror that she had once smelled, in her own room, the very perfume the fortune teller had been wearing. Sneaking back to the fortune teller's shop with a gun, she there catches her lover and the fortune teller "laughing and kissing", and shoots them both to death, presumably in a fit of rage.

In 1974, "Dark Lady" topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for one week, becoming Cher's third solo #1 hit. The song was also a #1 hit in Canada and Sweden, a top ten hit in Norway and a top twenty hit in the Netherlands. Like "Half-Breed", the song struggled in West Germany and the UK, though it managed to reach top forty status in the UK.

Music video

The live version, and the cartoon version.

There are two versions of the video. The first version of the video is a live performance that was aired in the third season of The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour in 1973. In this performance Cher was dressed in all black and was wearing a black veil on her head. The second video of the song is an animated cartoon done by John David Wilson's animation studio; this second video follows the whole story of the song.

In 2002, a special remix medley was created by Dan-O-Rama for a video montage that was used in Cher's Living Proof: The Farewell Tour. The medley contains videos of "All I Really Want to Do", "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves", "Half-Breed", and "Dark Lady". Unlike the other videos, "Dark Lady" was unique because both the live-action and the animated videos had been mixed.

In 1999, Cher performed this song throughout her Do You Believe? Tour, for the first time in twenty-five years. In 2002, she performed the song 325 times in her Living Proof: The Farewell Tour.

Cher performed the song on the following concert tours:

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (1974)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	17
Belgian Singles Chart	22
Canadian RPM Top Singles^[4]	2
Danish Singles Chart^[5]	9
Dutch Mega Top 50 Singles Chart^[6]	15
New Zealand Singles Chart	11
New Zealand (Listener)^[7]	12
Norwegian Singles Chart^[8]	10
South African Singles Chart^[9]	4
Swedish Singles Chart	4
UK Singles Chart^[10]	36
US Billboard Hot 100	1
US Adult Contemporary Chart (Billboard)	3
US Cash Box Top 100^[11]	2
Zimbabwe Singles Chart	9

Year-end charts

Country (1974)	Position
Canadian RPM Top Singles^[12]	47
US Billboard Hot 100^[13]	33

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
United States (RIAA)^[14]	Gold	1,000,000^{^}
^{^}shipments figures based on certification alone

Formats and track listing

UK and US 7"

"Dark Lady" – 3:26
"Two People Clinging to a Thread" – 2:40

Argentina 7"

"Dark Lady" – 3:26
"Carousel Man" – 3:02

Not Released

"Dark Lady" (Mixmaster F Farewell Club Mix) (AKA. White Label Remix) – 7:25

Credits and personnel

Cher – vocals
Johnny Durrell – lyrics
Snuff Garrett – producer

The identities of the personnel who actually provided the instrumental accompaniment were not known as of early February 2015.

Cover versions

In 1974 Lea Laven recorded the Finnish rendering of "Dark Lady" entitled "Tumma nainen". "Tumma nainen" was also recorded by Ami Aspelund for her 1974 album Ami and also by Jean S. for their 2003 album Sammakkoprinssi.

References

↑ Lamb, Bill. "Adam Lambert Songs - The Songs Performed on American Idol". About.com. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
↑ "Dark Lady". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2009-12-29.
↑ Peter Fawthrop. "Dark Lady - Cher | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
↑ "The Hits of Cher: The Danish Hits of Cher". Cherhits.blogspot.dk. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
↑ Steffen Hung. "Cher - Dark Lady". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
↑ Flavour of New Zealand, 4 May 1974
↑ Steffen Hung. "Cher - Dark Lady". Norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
↑ Brian Currin. "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1965 - 1989 Acts (C)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 112/3. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-02-04. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
↑ "Billboard Top 100 - 1974". Retrieved 2009-09-15.
↑ "American single certifications – Cher – Dark Lady". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH

External links

Preceded by "Seasons in the Sun" by Terry Jacks	*U.S. Billboard* Hot 100 number one single** March 23, 1974	Succeeded by "Sunshine on My Shoulders" by John Denver

Cher
Albums Singles Filmography Tours Videography Awards
Studio albums	All I Really Want to Do The Sonny Side of Chér Chér With Love, Chér Backstage 3614 Jackson Highway Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves Foxy Lady Bittersweet White Light Half-Breed Dark Lady Stars I'd Rather Believe in You Cherished Take Me Home Prisoner I Paralyze Cher Heart of Stone Love Hurts It's a Man's World Believe not.com.mercial Living Proof Closer to the Truth
Compilations	Golden Greats Superpack Vol. 1 and 2 Greatest Hits Greatest Hits: 1965–1992 If I Could Turn Back Time: Cher's Greatest Hits The Greatest Hits The Very Best of Cher Gold
Soundtracks	Chastity Mermaids Burlesque
Music video releases	The Video Collection The Very Best of Cher: The Video Hits Collection
Live releases	Extravaganza: Live at the Mirage Live in Concert Live! The Farewell Tour The Farewell Tour Live at the Mirage
Other video releases	CherFitness: A New Attitude CherFitness: Body Confidence
Tours and residency shows	Cher 1979–1982 World Tour Heart of Stone Tour Love Hurts Tour Do You Believe? Living Proof: The Farewell Tour Cher Dressed to Kill Tour Classic Cher
Television	The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour Cher Cher... Special Super Bowl XXXIII Dear Mom, Love Cher
Books	The Ugly Duckling (audiobook)
Related music	Sonny Bono (first husband) Sonny & Cher discography Gregg Allman (second husband) "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" "Be My Baby" Two the Hard Way Black Rose The Beavis and Butt-head Experience The Glory of Gershwin "Love Can Build a Bridge"
Related tours	Two the Hard Way Tour The Black Rose Show
Related soundtracks	Foxes
Related articles	Cher as a gay icon Chaz Bono (son) Elijah Blue Allman (son) Mego Sonny & Cher Toys Uninhibited
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Cher singles
1960s	"All I Really Want to Do" "Where Do You Go" "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" "Alfie" "I Feel Something in the Air" "Sunny" "Hey Joe" "You Better Sit Down Kids" "For What It's Worth"
1970s	"Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" "The Way of Love" "Living in a House Divided" "Don't Hide Your Love" "Am I Blue" "Half-Breed" "Dark Lady" "Train of Thought" "Take Me Home" "Wasn't It Good" "Hell on Wheels"
1980s	"Rudy" "I Paralyze" "I Found Someone" "We All Sleep Alone" "Skin Deep" "Bang Bang" "Main Man" "After All" "If I Could Turn Back Time" "Just Like Jesse James"
1990s	"Heart of Stone" "You Wouldn't Know Love" "Baby I'm Yours" "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" "Love and Understanding" "Save Up All Your Tears" "Love Hurts" "Could've Been You" "When Lovers Become Strangers" "Oh No Not My Baby" "Whenever You're Near" "Many Rivers to Cross" "Walking in Memphis" "One by One" "Not Enough Love in the World" "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" "Paradise Is Here" "Believe" "Strong Enough" "All or Nothing" "Dov'è l'amore"
2000s	"The Music's No Good Without You" "Song for the Lonely" "Alive Again" "A Different Kind of Love Song" "When the Money's Gone" "Love One Another"
2010s	"You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" "Woman's World" "I Hope You Find It" "Take It Like a Man" "I Walk Alone"
Guest singles	"A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knocking Everyday)" "Dead Ringer for Love" "I Got You Babe" "It Ain't Necessarily So" "Love Can Build a Bridge" "Più che puoi" "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"
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