Lady Marmalade - History

History

Recorded with lead singer Patti LaBelle and accompanied with backing from bandmates Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash, the song's chorus, "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi (ce soir)?", means: "Do you want to sleep with me (tonight)?" in French. The same line appeared previously in the play A Streetcar Named Desire, coming from the promiscuous Blanche DuBois.

"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. Along with the track, "What Can I Do for You?", "Lady Marmalade" peaked at number seven on the disco/dance charts. The single also charted at number seventeen in the United Kingdom. "Lady Marmalade" replaced another Crewe/Nolan composition, Frankie Valli's "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. Also in 1975, Nanette Workman recorded a French version that became very popular in Canada (Quebec).

The song was first covered by Nanette Workman in the same year, and then later on 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 second French version of the song. 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. Improbably, the lyrics of "Lady Marmalade" were sung to the tune of the "Toreador Song" from Carmen by Tim Brooke-Taylor on the radio comedy panel-game show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue as part of a round called "One Song to the Tune of Another". It was featured on the video game Karaoke Revolution Volume 2 as a version performed with Patti LaBelle. The song remains Patti LaBelle's signature hit song.