Wikipedia

The Witch Queen of New Orleans

For the album of the same name, see Message from a Drum.
For the American occultist referred to by the same name, see Mary Oneida Toups.

"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,[2] which is also titled The Witch Queen of New Orleans in its European release.[3] The song peaked at No. 2 in the United Kingdom and No. 21 in the United States.

"The Witch Queen of New Orleans"
Single by Redbone
from the album Message from a Drum
B-side"Chant: 13th Hour"
Released1971
GenreSwamp rock
Length2:45
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)
  • Lolly Vegas
  • Pat Vegas
Producer(s)
  • Lolly Vegas
  • Pat Vegas[1]
Redbone singles chronology
"Light as a Feather"
(1971) 		"The Witch Queen of New Orleans"
(1971) 		"Niji Trance"
(1972)

Background edit

"The Witch Queen of New Orleans" is about a 19th-century practitioner of voodoo from New Orleans named Marie Laveau,[4][5] referred to in the song lyrics as "Marie la Voodoo veau".[6] 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.[7]

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).[8][9] The song reached No. 2 in the UK single chart in October 1971 behind Rod Stewart's "Maggie May".[10]

Charts edit

Chantoozies version edit

"Witch Queen"
 
7" single cover
Single by Chantoozies
from the album Chantoozies
B-side"The Chantoozie Shuffle"
ReleasedJanuary 12, 1987[28]
StudioPlatinum Studios, Melbourne
Length4:09
LabelMushroom Records
Songwriter(s)
  • Lolly Vegas
  • Pat Vegas
Producer(s)David Courtney
Chantoozies singles chronology
"Witch Queen"
(1987) 		"He's Gonna Step on You Again"
(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.[11]

Track listings edit

7" single (K 208)

  • Side A "Witch Queen"
  • Side B "The Chantoozie Shuffle"

12" single ( X 14459)

  • Side A "Witch Queen" (12" version)
  • Side B1 "Witch Queen" (7" version)
  • Side B2 "The Chantoozie Shuffle"

Charts edit

Weekly charts edit

Chart (1987) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[29] 4

Year-end charts edit

Chart (1987) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[30] 49

Popular culture edit

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.[31]

The song is commonly played during Halloween in the United States.[32]

References edit

  1. ^ The Witch Queen of New Orleans (credits). Redbone. Epic. 1971. Retrieved November 16, 2016.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ Rutzer, Corbet (October 30, 2014). "Dig Dug: Redbone The Witch Queen of New Orleans". Frank151.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "Redbone – The Witch Queen of New Orleans". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  4. ^ Curran, Bob (2006). Encyclopedia of the Undead: A Field Guide to Creatures That Cannot Rest in Peace. New Page Books. p. 243. ISBN 1-56414-841-6.
  5. ^ Bosky, Bernadette Lynn (2007). "The Witch". In Joshi, S. T. (ed.). Icons of Horror and the Supernatural. Vol. 2. Greenwood Press. p. 703. ISBN 978-0-313-33782-6.
  6. ^ Thompson, Dave (2010). "Track Three: "The Witch Queen of New Orleans" by Redbone from the LP Witch Queen of New Orleans (Epic) 1971". Bayou Underground: Tracing the Mythical Roots of American Popular Music. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-55490-682-6.
  7. ^ Harris, Craig (2016). Heartbeat, Warble, and the Electric Powwow: American Indian Music. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-8061-5168-7.
  8. ^ a b "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. February 19, 1972. p. 56. ISSN 0006-2510.
  9. ^ Wright-McLeod, Brian (2005). "Redbone". The Encyclopedia of Native Music: More Than a Century of Recordings from Wax Cylinder to the Internet. University of Arizona Press. p. 158. ISBN 0-8165-2448-3.
  10. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  11. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. ^ "11 March 1972". Go-Set. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  13. ^ "Redbone – The Witch Queen Of New Orleans" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  14. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 7509." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  15. ^ "Le Détail par Artiste" (in French). InfoDisc. Select "Redbone" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  16. ^ "Redbone – The Witch Queen Of New Orleans" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  17. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Witch Queen of New Orleans". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  18. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 45, 1971" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  19. ^ "Redbone – The Witch Queen Of New Orleans" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  20. ^ "Redbone – The Witch Queen Of New Orleans". VG-lista. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  21. ^ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending FEBRUARY 19, 1972". Cash Box. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  22. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1971" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  23. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1971" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  24. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1971" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  25. ^ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1970s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  26. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1972" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  27. ^ "Top 100 Hits for 1972". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  28. ^ "Platterlog : Singles – New Releases > 12 January 1987". Platterlog. Retrieved December 4, 2019 – via Imgur.com.
  29. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 59. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  30. ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1987". Kent Music Report. 28 December 1987. Retrieved 11 December 2019 – via Imgur.
  31. ^ McAuliffe, Chris (November 17, 2015). "Howard Arkley: how Talking Heads, Ramones, Blondie and punk shaped his art". The Australian. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  32. ^ Lee Cooper, B. (2013). "Halloween and Horror Recordings". In Edmondson, Jacqueline (ed.). Music in American Life: An Encyclopedia of the Songs, Styles, Stars, and Stories That Shaped Our Culture. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-39347-1.
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