B-side "Chant: 13th Hour" Format 7-inch single Label Epic | Released 1971 Length 2:45 Writer(s) Lolly Vegas
Pat Vegas | |
"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, which is also titled The Witch Queen of New Orleans in its European release. The song peaked at No. 2 in the United Kingdom and No. 21 in the United States.
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Background
"The Witch Queen of New Orleans" is about a 19th-century practitioner of voodoo from New Orleans named Marie Laveau, referred to in the song lyrics as "Marie la Voodoo veau". 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.
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). The song reached No. 2 in the UK single chart in October 1971 where it stayed for three weeks.
Cover versions
The Australian group Chantoozies released a version of the song in late 1986 as "Witch Queen" which reached No. 4 on the Australian chart in 1987.
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.
The song is commonly played during Halloween in the United States.