Marie Laveau (song)

"Marie Laveau"
Single by Bobby Bare
from the album Bobby Bare Sings Lullabys, Legends and Lies
B-side "The Mermaid"
Released April 1974
Format 7" single
Genre Country
Length 3:09
Label RCA
Writer(s) Shel Silverstein, Baxter Taylor
Producer(s) Bobby Bare
Bill Rice
Bobby Bare singles chronology
"Daddy, What If"
(1974)
"Marie Laveau"
(1974)
"Where'd I Come From"
(1974)

"Marie Laveau" is a 1974 live recording by Bobby Bare. His thirty-fourth single to hit the country charts, it was his only number one and final top ten country hit. It was written by Shel Silverstein and Baxter Taylor. "Marie Laveau" went to number one for a single week and spent a total of eighteen weeks on the country charts.[1]

The song is about a fictitious witch who lived in a Louisiana bayou swamp, having the same name as the famous New Orleans voodoo priestess who is approached by a scoundrel, "Handsome Jack". Jack asks Marie to conjure up $1,000,000; in exchange, Jack will then marry Marie. Marie conjures up the money, but Jack backs out on his end of the deal, resulting in Marie casting a spell on Jack in revenge.

The first released recording is by Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show, on their 1971 album Doctor Hook. Another version is by Girl Trouble, released on Thrillsphere (1990) and Blue Dogs (Music for Dog People, 1991) . Earlier recordings of the song exist. In 1954, Oscar "Papa" Celestin sang a different composition titled "Marie Laveau" in one of his last recordings.


Chart performance

Chart (1974) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles 1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks 1

References

  1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 40.
Preceded by
"He Thinks I Still Care"
by Anne Murray
Billboard Hot Country Singles
number-one single

July 20, 1974
(Bobby Bare version)
Succeeded by
"You Can't Be a Beacon If Your Light Don't Shine"
by Donna Fargo
Preceded by
"They Don't Make 'em Like My Daddy"
by Loretta Lynn
RPM Country Tracks
number-one single

August 3, 1974
(Bobby Bare version)
Succeeded by
"As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone"
by Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn


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