Posted on 03/26/2023 11:33:18 AM PDT by SamAdams76
Fifty years ago this week, "Delta Queen" by British pop singer Don Fardon, rocketed onto the Billboard HOT 100 chart, receiving significant airplay in several U.S. markets.
This is haunting mariachi-tinged song that centers around a man's love for a lonely young woman down in New Orleans who is apparently some sort of singer, with only one pair of shoes, who is called "Delta Queen."
The song would eventually climb to number 86 nationwide in the early spring of 1973 but it should have been at least a Top 20 hit.
Don Fardon is still alive and kicking today at the age of 82. He makes his home in Coventry, England.
While Don Fardon is better known for his cover of "Indian Reservation" in 1970, this song, "Delta Queen", is perhaps his finest hour.
Or his finest 3 minutes, 11 seconds, to be exact.
[Chorus:]
Delta Queen, honey, honey
Where you been
Delta Queen, honey, honey
Where you beenTell me, mister, have you seen
The girl they call the Delta Queen
In New OrleansHe said, I know the girl you mean
She's singing at the Delta Queen
Down SeventeenAnd I when I saw here there
Tell the belle slide over here
I didn't mind the smokey room
Or the smell of stale perfumeI only know that she
Was made for making love to me
Just a woman tired of being alone
The one that I'm now taking home[Chorus:]
She left her home in Baton Rouge
She only had one pair of shoes
What could she lose
The time had come for her to choose
Between the good life and the bluesMARIACHI BREAK
Hey, I only know that she
Was made for making love to me
Just a woman tired of being alone
The one that I'm now taking home[Chorus:] 2X to fade
Two other songs about women from New Orleans from that period:
Steely Dan - Pearl of the Quarter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CbL2-nvalE
The Doobie Brothers - Toulouse Street
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ4pwMxtwEs
I knew you would come through with some good additions!
Why Pearl of the Quarter wasn’t released as a single, I’ll never know, just a great song, and probably the only “love song” the Dan did.
Mississippi Queen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbP4qf8PjfI
Do’t forget this one:
Redbone, Witch Queen of New Orleans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=114&v=UyNYL2lUSMs&embeds_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2F&embeds_origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com&feature=emb_logo
And of course the Stones’ “Brown Sugar”
Sounds like a B side to me.
Kind of related:
The House of the Rising Sun, The Animals and Eric Burdon
This version of Take A Heart (Sorrows/Don Fardon) is great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HVKxTiCIMM
Freakbeat!
A side all the way. Should have been a much bigger hit than it was.
“Should have been a much bigger hit than it was.“
That’s the way I felt about Dion and the Belmonts I Wonder Why. Always assumed it was a number one. Didn’t even make the top ten. I cannot fathom that. I’d put it in the top five of all DooWop ever written. On accounting for taste.
Tanya was only 15 when she sang this!
2:18 is when the mariachi piece starts!
Wasn’t that Delta Dawn?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.