Lady Marmalade

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"Lady Marmalade"
"Lady Marmalade" cover
Single by Labelle
from the album Nightbirds
Released December 1974
Format 7" single
Recorded 1974
Genre Soul, disco, funk
Length 3:56
Label Epic
50048
Writer Bob Crewe, Kenny Nolan
Producer Allen Toussaint, Vicki Wickham
Certification Gold (RIAA)
Labelle singles chronology
"Going on a Holiday"
(1973)
"Lady Marmalade"
(1974)
"What Can I Do for You"
(1974)
"Lady Marmalade"
"Lady Marmalade" cover
Single by All Saints
from the album All Saints
B-side "No More Lies", "Get Bizzy"
Released April 27, 1998
Format CD single
Recorded 1997
Genre Pop
Length 4:04
Label London
Producer Johnny Douglas, Timbaland
All Saints singles chronology
"Never Ever"
(1997)
"Under the Bridge"/"Lady Marmalade"
(1998)
"Bootie Call"
(1998)
Audio sample
Info "Lady Marmalade" (help·info)
"Lady Marmalade"
"Lady Marmalade" cover
Single by Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mýa and Pink
from the album Moulin Rouge! Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film
Released May 8, 2001
Format 12-inch maxi single
Genre Pop, R&B, rap
Length 4:24
Label Interscope
Writer Bob Crewe, Kenny Nolan, Lil' Kim (uncredited)
Producer Missy Elliott, Rockwilder
Christina Aguilera singles chronology
"Falsas Esperanzas"
(2001)
"Lady Marmalade"
(2001)
"Dirrty"
(2002)


Lil' Kim singles chronology
"Wait a Minute"
(2001)
"Lady Marmalade"
(2001)
"In the Air Tonite"
(2001)


Mýa singles chronology
"Case of the Ex"
(2001)
"Lady Marmalade"
(2001)
"My Love Is Like...Wo"
(2003)


Pink singles chronology
"You Make Me Sick"
(2000)
"Lady Marmalade"
(2001)
"Get the Party Started"
(2001)

"Lady Marmalade", released in December 1974, is a 1975 number-one song recorded by Labelle for CBS Records' Epic label. An early disco hit, the song is most famous for its sexually suggestive chorus of "voulez-vous coucher avec moi (ce soir)?". The song held the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the United States for one week, from March 23 to March 29, 1975, replacing "My Eyes Adored You" by The Four Seasons and replaced by "Lovin' You" by Minnie Riperton. LaBelle's version of "Lady Marmalade" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003.[1]

Although the song gave way to many cover versions over the years, the most successful was recorded twenty-six years later by singers Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mýa, and Pink as a single for the Moulin Rouge! film soundtrack. Their version was a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. for five weeks, from May 26 to June 30, 2001. The Moulin Rouge! version of "Lady Marmalade" was also a number-one hit in the United Kingdom and Australia, introducing the song to a whole new generation of music listeners, and brought the song's infamous catchphrase back into mainstream culture.

Contents

"Lady Marmalade" was written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan, who also wrote "My Eyes Adored You." Labelle lead singer Patti LaBelle, accompanied by backing from her bandmates Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash, tells the story of a woman known only as "Lady Marmalade", who seduces a man she met on the street in New Orleans, Louisiana. Although the man has moved on from the experience, when he tries to sleep his memories of their tryst remain vivid. The song's chorus "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi (ce soir)?" means "Do you want to sleep with me (tonight)?" in French, and is an unsubtle invitation for sexual intercourse. The same line appeared previously in the play A Streetcar Named Desire, coming from the promiscuous Blanche DuBois.

"Lady Marmalade" was first recorded by the relatively obscure group Eleventh Hour (of which songwriter Nolan was a member) in 1974 on Eleventh Hour's Greatest Hits LP, but Labelle's producer Allen Toussaint decided to record it as the main track of the album Nightbirds, which became highly successful. The record was produced by Toussaint, with instrumental backing from The Meters.

"Lady Marmalade" was a number-one hit for one week on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the United States during the early spring of 1975, and charted at number-one for one week on the Billboard Top Soul Singles chart. The single also charted at number seventeen in the United Kingdom. "Lady Marmalade" replaced another Crewe/Nolan composition, The Four Seasons' "My Eyes Adored You", as the Billboard Hot 100 number-one single. This made Crewe and Nolan the third songwriting team in Billboard history (after Lennon-McCartney and Holland-Dozier-Holland) to replace themselves at number-one.[2]

The single's disco success inspired Labelle to adopted a more eclectic, Funkadelic-based image for their next album, Phoenix. However, the group never had another top forty hit after "Lady Marmalade", and broke up in 1976. Patti LaBelle went on to have a successful solo career on another CBS Records-owned label, Columbia Records.

The song was first covered by Sheila E. on her 1991 album Sex Cymbal in a jazz-oriented rendition, with horns as the centerpiece. In 1995 disco cover band Boogie Knights covered "Lady Marmalade", fronted by singer Jeff Scott Soto. In 1999, the song was covered by the techno act Lords Of Acid as a bonus track on their remix album Expand Your Head. The song is not part of the official track listing on the CD itself, however. Luck Mervil made a French version of the song. In the summer of 2007, the Pussycat Dolls will be covering the song.[citation needed]

More recently, the track has featured in the TV series Angel, performed by actor Andy Hallett, and was released on the soundtrack in 2005. The Labelle version appears in several films, including The Long Kiss Goodnight, Dick, and Jacob's Ladder.

In 2004 the original version of "Lady Marmalade" was ranked #479 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

The chorus is not grammatically incorrect, despite popular opinion. See Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?.

In 1998 the song was covered by the English female pop group All Saints as part of the double A-sided single "Under the Bridge"/"Lady Marmalade", which reached number one on the official UK Top 40. The All Saints' version contains different lyrics for its verses; the only lyrics retained from the original composition are those for the chorus. Under the Bridge" / "Lady Marmalade" was the third single released from the All Saints debut album, All Saints. It became their second number-one single in the UK.

A total of 424,799 singles have been sold in the UK. The songs were covers of "Lady Marmalade" by LaBelle and "Under the Bridge" by Red Hot Chili Peppers respectively and the single was released as a double A-side. The proceeds from the single went to breast cancer charities.

The Timbaland version appeared on the Dr. Dolittle Soundtrack. In Europe, a "Lady Marmalade"-only single was released.

"Lady Marmalade" is featured as part of a medley in the 2001 film Moulin Rouge!. In addition, Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mýa and Pink recorded a cover version for the film's soundtrack album, and this version was released as the soundtrack's first single in spring 2001 (see 2001 in music). The cover version was produced by Missy Elliott and writing partner Rockwilder. Lil' Kim wrote her rapped verse for the song, but does not receive publishing credit. A lyric was changed from the original version, with the song's setting being transferred from New Orleans to the Paris nightclub Moulin Rouge.

"Lady Marmalade" became a number-one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for the second time; it reached number one in its eighth week and spent five weeks at the top of the chart, from May 27 to June 30, 2001. It replaced "All for You" by Janet Jackson, and was replaced by Usher's "U Remind Me". It was the second song in Billboard chart history (after Aaliyah's "Try Again", 2000) to hit number one without being released in a major commercially available single format such as a CD or CD maxi single. "Marmalade" was Aguilera's fourth U.S. number-one single, and was the first number-one for the other three performers. It remained in the U.S. top forty for seventeen weeks and topped the charts in fifteen different countries, including the United Kingdom and Australia. It also occupied the top spot on the United World Chart for nine weeks.

The music video features all four performers in lingerie and was filmed at the Moulin Rouge itself. Aguilera's appearance in the video was the topic of some discussion in the entertainment industry upon the video's release, and many compared her hair and make-up to that of Dee Snider from Twisted Sister.[citation needed] The video won the MTV Video Music Award for "Best Video of the Year" and "Best Video from a Film"; it was also nominated for "Best Dance Video", "Best Pop Video", "Best Choreography" (Tina Landon), and "Best Art Direction". The song won a 2002 Grammy Award in the category of "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals". It ranks #30 on MuchMusic's 100 Best Videos.


  • Labelle 7" single #1
  1. "Voulez Vous Coucher Avec Moi Ce Soir? (Lady Marmalade)" – 3:14
  2. "It Took a Long Time" — 4:04
  • Labelle 7" single #2
  1. "Voulez Vous Coucher Avec Moi Ce Soir? (Lady Marmalade)" – 3:14
  2. "Space Children" — 3:04
  • All Saints CD maxi single
  1. "Lady Marmalade" (98 mix) - 4:02
  2. "Lady Marmalade" (Mark's Miami Madness mix) – 7:55
  3. "Lady Marmalade" (Sharp South Park vocal remix) – 8:09
  4. "Lady Marmalade" (Henry & Hayne's La Jam mix) – 6:47
  • All Saints CD 1
  1. "Under the Bridge"5.03
  2. "Lady Marmalade" 4.04
  3. "No More Lies" 4.08
  4. "Lady Marmalade" (Henry & Haynes La Jam mix) – 9:23
  5. "Under the Bridge" (promo video) 5.00
  • All Saints CD 2
  1. "Lady Marmalade" (Mark!'s Miami Madness mix) – 7:56
  2. "Lady Marmalade" (Sharp South Park vocal remix) – 8:10
  3. "Under the Bridge" (Ignorance remix featuring Jean Paul e.s.q) – 4:55
  4. "Get Bizzy" – 3:45
  • Lords of Acid CD expand your head
  1. "Lady Marmalade" (1999 mix) – 3:23
  • Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mýa and Pink
"Lady Marmalade" (Thunderpuss club mix) – 9:35
"Lady Marmalade" (Thunderpuss Mixshow mix) – 6:21
"Lady Marmalade" (Thunderpuss radio mix) – 4:09
"Lady Marmalade" (ThunderDUB) – 8:21
"Lady Marmalade" (ThunderDrums) – 3:42

Chart (1974/1975) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 1
U.S. Billboard Top Soul Singles 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play 1
Austrian Singles Chart 17
UK Singles Chart 17

Chart (1998) Peak
position
UK Top 40 1
Philippine Top Hits 7
French Singles Top 100 28
Swiss Singles Top 100 45

Chart (2001)[3] Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[4] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play[4] 3
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks[4] 43
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream[4] 1
U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40[4] 1
U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40[4] 25
United World Chart 1
Argentina Top 40 Singles 1
Australian ARIA Top 50 Singles 1
Austria Top 75 Singles 3
Belgium Top 50 Singles 2
Canadian Singles Chart[4] 17
Finland Top 20 Singles 2
France Top 100 Singles 12
Germany Top 100 Singles 1
Italy Top 50 Singles 6
Mexican Top 100 Singles 1
Netherland Mega Top 100 Singles 2
New Zealand RIANZ Top 50 Singles 1
Philippine Top Hits 1
Spanish Top 40 1
Sweden Top 60 Singles 1
Switzerland Top 100 Singles 1
UK Top 40 Singles 1
Preceded by
"My Eyes Adored You" by The Four Seasons
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single (Labelle version)
March 29, 1975
Succeeded by
"Lovin' You" by Minnie Ripperton
Preceded by
"All I Need" by Boyzone
UK Singles Chart number-one single (first run)
(All Saints version)

May 3, 1998
Succeeded by
"Turn Back Time" by Aqua
Preceded by
"Turn Back Time" by Aqua
UK Singles Chart number-one single (second run)
(All Saints version)

May 17, 1998
Succeeded by
"Feel It" by The Tamperer featuring Maya
Preceded by
"Me, Myself and I" by Scandal'us
Australian ARIA Singles Chart
number-one single (Aguilera/Kim/Mýa/Pink version)

May 20, 2001 - June 3, 2001
Succeeded by
"Angel" by Shaggy & Rayvon
Preceded by
"All for You" by Janet
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single (Aguilera/Kim/Mýa/Pink version)
June 2, 2001 - June 30, 2001
Succeeded by
"U Remind Me" by Usher
Preceded by
"Walking Away" by Craig David
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart number-one single (Aguilera/Kim/Mýa/Pink version)
June 10, 2001 - June 24, 2001
Succeeded by
"What Took You So Long?" by Emma Bunton
Preceded by
"Angel" by Shaggy & Rayvon
UK Singles Chart number-one single
(Aguilera/Kim/Mýa/Pink version)

June 24, 2001 - July 1, 2001
Succeeded by
"The Way to Your Love" by Hear'Say
Preceded by
"Survivor" by Destiny's Child
United World Chart number-one single (Aguilera/Kim/Mýa/Pink version)
July 14, 2001 - September 8, 2001
Succeeded by
"Someone to Call My Lover" by Janet Jackson
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

  1. ^ Grammy Hall of Fame
  2. ^ Bronson, Fred (2003, 5th ed.). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. New York: Billboard Books. ISBN 0-8230-7677-6
  3. ^ Chart History Christina Aguilera
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Christina Aguilera - Billboard Singles". All Music Guide and Billboard.
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