Released May 13, 1972 Genre Country Label Columbia | Recorded 1972 Length 3:09 | |
B-side "I Love the Way He Loves Me" | ||
"Delta Dawn" is a song written by former child rockabilly star Larry Collins and songwriter Alex Harvey, best known as a 1972 top ten country hit for Tanya Tucker and a number one hit for Helen Reddy in 1973.
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The co-writer more often goes by the name Alexander Harvey today, to not be confused with Glaswegian rocker Alex Harvey.
The song draws its melody from the traditional Scottish song The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond.
Lyrical story
The title character is a faded Southern belle from Brownsville, Tennessee who, at forty-one, is obsessed to unreason with the long-ago memory of an errant suitor. The song's lyrics describe how the woman regularly "walks down town with a suitcase in her hand / looking for a mysterious dark haired man" who she says will be taking her "to his mansion in the sky".
Reddy's recording in particular has choir-like inspirational overtones as well.
Background and recording history
The first recording of "Delta Dawn" was made by Harvey for his eponymous album released in November 1971. Although Harvey opened for Helen Reddy – his Capitol labelmate – at the Troubadour in January 1972, Reddy made no apparent connection with any of Harvey's compositions at that time.
Dianne Davidson, who sang backup on Harvey's recording, was the first artist to record a cover and chart in 1971–72. Tracy Nelson, who also sang backup on Harvey's recording, performed "Delta Dawn" in her live act. After hearing her sing the song at the Bottom Line in New York City, Bette Midler added the song to her repertoire. Nashville-based producer Billy Sherrill heard Midler sing "Delta Dawn" on The Tonight Show and wanted to sign her to Epic Records and have her record the song. Finding out that Midler was already signed to Atlantic Records, Sherrill cut the song with Tanya Tucker who was newly signed to Epic, and Tucker's version was released in April 1972 to reach number 6 C&W that spring.
Record producer Tom Catalano prepped an instrumental track of "Delta Dawn", virtually replicating that of Tucker's single, and – despite Catalano having worked with Helen Reddy – the track was first offered to Barbra Streisand, upon whose refusal Catalano had Reddy add her vocals to the track.
In the meantime Bette Midler had recorded "Delta Dawn" for her The Divine Miss M debut album from which her bluesy version was planned as the lead single. The June 1973 single release of Reddy's version was two days before Midler's, necessitating the amendment of the latter's single so that the original B-side "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" was shopped to radio, becoming a Top Ten hit. Reddy's version, with upward modulation added to the mimicking of Tucker's cold intro and nonstop vocals throughout, entered the Top Ten on 18 August 1973 on its way to its lone frame at number 1, on 15 September 1973. Reddy's Hot 100 #1 hits, in order, were 1972's "I Am Woman", then "Delta Dawn", then 1974's "Angie Baby". "Delta Dawn" also became the first of Reddy's six consecutive – and eight overall – number 1 hits on the Easy Listening chart in Billboard.
In Reddy's native Australia, where she had reached number 2 with both "I Don't Know How to Love Him" and "I Am Woman", "Delta Dawn" became Reddy's first number 1 hit, spending five weeks atop the chart in August and September 1973. The follow-up single "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)" gave Reddy a second consecutive – and final – Australian number 1.
"Delta Dawn" also marked Reddy's only chart appearance in South Africa, reaching number 13 in the autumn of 1973.
The Statler Brothers released their version of the song on their 1973 Mercury album The Statler Brothers Sing Country Symphonies in E Major.