The Witch Queen of New Orleans
1971 single by Redbone
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"The Witch Queen of New Orleans" is a 1971 song by American rock band Redbone. It was released as a single in May 1971 from the band'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.
| "The Witch Queen of New Orleans" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Single by Redbone | ||||
| from the album Message from a Drum | ||||
| B-side | "Chant: 13th Hour" | |||
| Released | May 17, 1971 | |||
| Genre | Swamp rock | |||
| Length | 2:45 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producers |
| |||
| Redbone singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Official audio | ||||
| "The Witch Queen of New Orleans" on YouTube | ||||
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] This song was written by the two Mexican-Native American brothers of the group Redbone, Lolly Vegas and Pat Vegas. It shows influences from New Orleans R&B and swamp pop.[6] Bassist Pat Vagas sings the lead vocal.
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][8] The song reached No. 2 in the UK single chart in October 1971 behind Rod Stewart's "Maggie May".[9]
Track listings
- U.S. 7-inch single – Epic 5-10749
- European 7-inch single – Epic EPC 7351
- "The Witch Queen Of New Orleans" – 2:45
- "Chant: 13th Hour" (Single version) – 2:59
- Japan 7-inch single – Epic ECPA-3
- "The Witch Queen Of New Orleans" – 2:45
- "Chant: 13th Hour" (Album version) – 5:40
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Chantoozies version
| "Witch Queen" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 7" single cover | ||||
| Single by Chantoozies | ||||
| from the album Chantoozies | ||||
| B-side | "The Chantoozie Shuffle" | |||
| Released | January 12, 1987[28] | |||
| Studio | Platinum Studios, Melbourne | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 4:09 | |||
| Label | Mushroom | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Producer | David Courtney | |||
| Chantoozies singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Witch Queen" on YouTube | ||||
Australian pop group the 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 and was featured on their self-titled debut album the following year.[10]
Track listings
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
Weekly charts
| Chart (1987) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[29] | 4 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1987) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[30] | 49 |
In 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.[31]
Redbone's recording is commonly played during Halloween in the United States.[32]