"Lady Marmalade" is a number-one hit song, reaching the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 charts twice: in 1975 and then 26 years later in 2001. First released in 1974, the song was made famous by the girl group Labelle; produced by Allen Toussaint, "Lady Marmalade" became a number-one hit the following year. The song is most famous for its sexually suggestive chorus of "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi (ce soir)?", which translates into English as "Do you want to sleep with me (tonight)?"
The song held the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the United States for one week, and topped the Canadian RPM national singles chart on the same date. Labelle's version of "Lady Marmalade" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003. "Lady Marmalade" was written by Bob Crewe (who co-wrote many of the hits recorded by The Four Seasons) and Kenny Nolan. They had previously collaborated on the hit Frankie Valli song "My Eyes Adored You".
The song came about after Crewe made first-hand observations in New Orleans. After it was first recorded by Nolan's group Eleventh Hour in 1974 on Eleventh Hour's Greatest Hits LP, Labelle's producer Allen Toussaint decided to record it as the main track for the album Nightbirds. The record was produced by Toussaint, with instrumental backing from The Meters.
The song has had many cover versions over the years. In 1998, the girl group All Saints took the track to the top of the UK Singles Chart for the first time. The 2001 version by singers Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mýa and Pink was a single for the Moulin Rouge! film's soundtrack. Missy Elliott produced the version, with instrumental help from producer Rockwilder. The song was mixed by audio engineer Dave "Hard Drive" Pensado. It was a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. for 5 weeks, from May 27 to June 30, 2001. It was also a number-one hit in Australia for three weeks, and won Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mýa and Pink a Grammy each. In 2004, LaBelle's original version was ranked #479 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
In the United Kingdom the song has been sung on several talent shows, including The X Factor by Leona Lewis, and on Eurovision: Your Country Needs You by Jade Ewen where, in both instances, the chorus was changed to "Voulez-vous chanter avec moi (ce soir)?" ("Do you want to sing with me (tonight)?")
Read more about Lady Marmalade: History, Track Listing, Charts, Moulin Rouge! Cover
Famous quotes containing the words lady and/or marmalade:
“A lady is nothing very specific. One man’s lady is another man’s woman; sometimes, one man’s lady is another man’s wife. Definitions overlap but they almost never coincide.”
—Russell Lynes (b. 1910)
“If a man liked his eggs half-boiled, she would bear it in her mind for ever. She would know the proper day for making this marmalade and that preserve; and she would never lose her good looks for a moment when she was doing these things. With her little dusting-brush at her girdle, no eyes that knew anything, would ever take her for aught but a lady.”
—Anthony Trollope (1815–1882)