The Witch Queen of New Orleans

"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.

For the album of the same name, see Message from a Drum.
"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

"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

Chantoozies version
"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

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"

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

Year-end charts
Chart (1987) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[30] 49

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
  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.
  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. "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. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  11. 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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