The Witch Queen of New Orleans explained

The Witch Queen of New Orleans
Cover:Witch Queen of New Orleans -Redbone.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Redbone
Album:Message from a Drum
B-Side:Chant: 13th Hour
Released:1971
Genre:Swamp rock
Length:2:45
Label:Epic
Prev Title:Light as a Feather
Prev Year:1971
Next Title:Niji Trance
Next Year:1972

"The Witch Queen of New Orleans" is a 1971 song by Redbone. The single was released from Redbone's third album Message from a Drum,[1] which is also titled The Witch Queen of New Orleans in its European release.[2] The song peaked at No. 2 in the United Kingdom and No. 21 in the United States.

Background

"The Witch Queen of New Orleans" is about a 19th-century practitioner of voodoo from New Orleans named Marie Laveau,[3] [4] referred to in the song lyrics as "Marie la Voodoo veau".[5] The song was written by the two Native American brothers of the group Redbone, Lolly Vegas and Pat Vegas. It shows influences from New Orleans R&B and swamp pop.[6]

The song 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).[7] The song reached No. 2 in the UK single chart in October 1971 behind Rod Stewart's "Maggie May".

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1971–1972)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] 17
Australia (Go-Set National Top 40)[9] 14
France (IFOP)[10] 23
US Billboard Hot 100[11] 21
US Cash Box[12] 19

Year-end charts

Chart (1971)Rank
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[13] 37
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[14] 41
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[15] 34
Chart (1972)Rank
Australia (Kent Music Report)[16] 95
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[17] 96
US Billboard Hot 100[18] 81

Chantoozies version

Witch Queen
Cover:Witch_Queen_by_Chantoozies.jpg
Caption:7" single cover
Type:single
Artist:Chantoozies
Album:Chantoozies
B-Side:The Chantoozie Shuffle
Released:January 12, 1987[19]
Studio:Platinum Studios, Melbourne
Length:4:09
Label:Mushroom Records
Producer:David Courtney
Next Title:He's Gonna Step on You Again
Next Year:1987

Australian group Chantoozies released a version of the song in 1987 as their debut single, retitled "Witch Queen". The song peaked at number 4 on the Australian Kent Music Report.[8]

Track listings

7" single (K 208)

12" single (X 14459)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Popular culture

Artist Howard Arkley produced a series of sketches in the early 1970s referencing popular songs, one of which is titled "Which Queen" as a reference to this song.[22]

The song is commonly played during Halloween in the United States.[23]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Corbet . Rutzer . Dig Dug: Redbone The Witch Queen of New Orleans . Frank151 . October 30, 2014 .
  2. Web site: Redbone – The Witch Queen of New Orleans . . November 16, 2016 .
  3. Book: Curran, Bob . 2006 . Encyclopedia of the Undead: A Field Guide to Creatures That Cannot Rest in Peace . 243 . New Page Books . 1-56414-841-6 .
  4. Book: Bosky, Bernadette Lynn . The Witch . S. T. . Joshi . S. T. Joshi . Icons of Horror and the Supernatural . 2007 . 2 . 978-0-313-33782-6 . 703 . . https://books.google.com/books?id=CNXZZdER5mQC&pg=PA703.
  5. Book: Thompson, Dave . Dave Thompson (author)

    . Dave Thompson (author) . 2010 . Bayou Underground: Tracing the Mythical Roots of American Popular Music . Track Three: "The Witch Queen of New Orleans" by Redbone from the LP Witch Queen of New Orleans (Epic) 1971 . ECW Press . 978-1-55490-682-6 . https://books.google.com/books?id=4HFYKKVMvxcC&pg=PT61.

  6. Book: Harris, Craig . 2016 . Heartbeat, Warble, and the Electric Powwow: American Indian Music . 178 . University of Oklahoma Press . 978-0-8061-5168-7 .
  7. Book: Wright-McLeod, Brian . 2005 . The Encyclopedia of Native Music: More Than a Century of Recordings from Wax Cylinder to the Internet . Redbone . 158 . University of Arizona Press . 0-8165-2448-3 . registration.
  8. Book: Kent, David . David Kent (historian)

    . David Kent (historian) . Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 . Australian Chart Book . . 1993 . 0-646-11917-6.

  9. 11 March 1972 . . November 16, 2016 .
  10. Web site: Le Détail par Artiste . InfoDisc . Select "Redbone" from the artist drop-down menu . November 16, 2016 . fr.
  11. Billboard Hot 100 . . February 19, 1972 . 56 . 0006-2510 .
  12. Web site: CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending FEBRUARY 19, 1972 . . June 29, 2018 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120908123541/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/70s_files/19720219.html . September 8, 2012.
  13. Web site: Jaaroverzichten 1971 . Ultratop. Hung Medien . November 16, 2016 . nl.
  14. Web site: Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1971 . . November 16, 2016 . nl.
  15. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Single 1971 . Single Top 100. Hung Medien . November 16, 2016 . nl.
  16. Web site: Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1970s . Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien . November 16, 2016.
  17. Web site: Jaaroverzichten 1972 . Ultratop. Hung Medien . November 16, 2016 . nl.
  18. Web site: Top 100 Hits for 1972 . The Longbored Surfer . November 16, 2016 .
  19. Web site: Platterlog : Singles – New Releases > 12 January 1987 . . Imgur.com . December 4, 2019 .
  20. Book: Kent, David . David Kent (historian)

    . David Kent (historian) . 1993 . Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 . Australian Chart Book . . 59 . 0-646-11917-6.

  21. Web site: National Top 100 Singles for 1987 . . . 701 . 28 December 1987 . 11 December 2019 .
  22. News: Chris . McAuliffe . Howard Arkley: how Talking Heads, Ramones, Blondie and punk shaped his art . . November 17, 2015 . November 16, 2016 .
  23. Book: Lee Cooper, B. . Jacqueline . Edmondson . Music in American Life: An Encyclopedia of the Songs, Styles, Stars, and Stories That Shaped Our Culture . 2013 . Halloween and Horror Recordings . . https://books.google.com/books?id=TQPXAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA536 . 978-0-313-39347-1.