B-side "The Mermaid" Format 7" single Length 3:09 | Released April 1974 Genre Country Label RCA | |
"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.
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.