The Witch Queen of New Orleans


"The Witch Queen of New Orleans" is a 1971 song by Redbone. The single was released in May 1971 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.

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". This song was written by the two Mexican-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. The song reached No. 2 in the UK single chart in October 1971 behind Rod Stewart's "Maggie May".

Track listings

;U.S. 7-inch single – Epic 5-10749
;European 7-inch single – Epic EPC 7351
  1. "The Witch Queen Of New Orleans" – 2:45
  2. "Chant: 13th Hour" – 2:59
;Japan 7-inch single – Epic ECPA-3
  1. "The Witch Queen Of New Orleans" – 2:45
  2. "Chant: 13th Hour" – 5:40

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart Rank
Australia 95
Belgium 96
US Billboard Hot 10081

Chantoozies version

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.

Track listings

7" single
  • Side A "Witch Queen"
  • Side B "The Chantoozie Shuffle"
12" single
  • Side A "Witch Queen"
  • Side B1 "Witch Queen"
  • Side B2 "The Chantoozie Shuffle"

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.