The Voodoo Queen Behind a No. 1 Country Hit: The Haunting Story of Marie Laveau
By Ronnie Calhoun
New Orleans has given the world jazz, gumbo, and a thousand ghost stories, but it also gave country music a No. 1 hit. Marie Laveau, the swampy, spellbinding tune that topped the country chart in 1974, took its name straight from Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans and one of Louisiana's legendary real-life figures. With spooky season upon us, there is no better time to tell her story.
The Song That Topped the Charts
Marie Laveau was written by the endlessly inventive Shel Silverstein, best known for children's classics like The Giving Tree, along with songwriter Baxter Taylor. Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show recorded it first, on their 1972 debut album Doctor Hook.
The song found its true home with Bobby Bare, who cut it for his 1973 album Bobby Bare Sings Lullabys, Legends and Lies in front of a small studio audience. Released as a single in April 1974, it rode its playful, howling charm to No. 1 on Billboard's country chart that July. It was Bare's only chart-topper and his final top 10 country hit, a fitting exclamation point built on the mystique of a New Orleans legend.
When Bare performed it on Hee Haw that October, his kids, including a young Bobby Bare Jr., joined him to supply the witch's scream. The witch in the song is fictional, though. Silverstein and Taylor simply borrowed the Voodoo Queen's famous name.
Who Was the Real Marie Laveau?
Long before she inspired a country radio smash, Marie Laveau was a real woman walking the streets of the French Quarter. According to historian Carolyn Morrow Long in 64 Parishes, she was born a free woman of color on September 10, 1801. Her work as a hairdresser brought her into the homes of the city's most powerful families, and by the 1830s she led a multiracial Voodoo community, blending her devout Catholic faith with African spiritual practices at St. John's Eve celebrations on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain.
Far from a fearsome figure, she was known as a healer who tended the sick, comforted condemned prisoners, and helped those in need, even as her reputation for spiritual power grew larger than life. She died at her French Quarter home on June 15, 1881, but her legend only expanded from there, inspiring novels, films, and eventually a country song that carried her name to radios across the nation.
The Legend That Never Rests
Laveau rests in the Widow Paris tomb at St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, one of the most visited graves in New Orleans and the source of plenty of ghost stories.
The figure in the turban. Visitors claim to see a woman in Laveau's signature head wrap drifting between the tombs.
The black crow. One legend says she never died but became a black crow that still circles the cemetery.
Wishes at the tomb. Visitors have long left offerings hoping she will grant a wish, though preservationists ask guests not to mark the restored tomb.
Since 2015, the cemetery has been open to visitors only with a registered tour guide, so book a tour to see the tomb in person.
A Song Still Casting Its Spell
What makes Marie Laveau special for Louisiana country fans is the direct line it draws between the state's folklore and Nashville's biggest stages. A woman born and buried in the Crescent City became the subject of a chart-topping country hit nearly a century later, proof that Louisiana's stories carry a magic that travels far beyond the bayou. So this Halloween, cue up Bobby Bare's recording, turn the lights down low, and enjoy the kind of storytelling Louisiana does best.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who wrote the song Marie Laveau?
Shel Silverstein and Baxter Taylor wrote Marie Laveau. Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show recorded it first, and Bobby Bare's 1974 live version took it to No. 1 on the Billboard country chart.
Is the song about the real Marie Laveau?
The song borrows her name, but its story is fictional. The character in the lyrics is a swamp witch, while the real Marie Laveau was a New Orleans hairdresser, healer, and Voodoo priestess who lived from 1801 to 1881.
Where is Marie Laveau buried?
She is buried in the Widow Paris tomb at St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 in New Orleans. Since 2015, the cemetery has been open only to licensed guided tours and families of those interred there.
Was Marie Laveau Bobby Bare's only No. 1 hit?
Yes. Bare charted dozens of country singles over his career, but Marie Laveau was his only song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard country chart, holding the top spot for one week in July 1974.
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