Dark Lady - Cher (1974) 2/4/21

Our topic today is Murder Ballads. Sounds like fun, right! :-)

According to my research, a murder ballad is “a song with lyrics that describe a crime or gruesome death, usually a murder.”

That seems simple and straightforward enough, but to be honest, I'd never heard the term until I was researching today's ' “Great Song of the '70s.”

When you think about it, songs like 1968's “Delilah” by Tom Jones and “The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia” by Vicki Lawrence qualify as murder ballads, and I will link them below, but even though Vicki's hit was from 1973, she was “out-murdered” by a legend!

In 1974, the one and only CHER released “Dark Lady,” and the song became her THIRD #1 solo hit on Billboard's Hot 100, after “Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves” in 1971, and “Half Breed” in 1973. (I promise to highlight both of those songs in the future.)

“Dark Lady” was also #1 in Canada, and Top 15 in several other countries, including #4 in South Africa, #9 in Denmark and Zimbabwe and #10 in Sweden.

And “BELIEVE” it or not, it was her LAST #1 song on the Hot 100 until “Believe” in 1998. (To be fair, she had several Top 10 hits in that 24 year gap!)

“Dark Lady was written by Johnny Durill of The Ventures (who had hits with “Walk, Don't Run” and “Hawaii 5-0”). Johnny sent the unfinished song to Cher's producer Snuff Garrett, who sent it back and told him to “kill the b—ch! A few lyric changes later, the deed was done and the song was recorded.

“Dark Lady” by Cher:” a Great “Murder Song” of 1974! Right now I'm wondering if that sentence was as weird for you to read as it was for me to type! :-)

Cher:

Vicki Lawrence: “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” (1973):

Tom Jones: “Delilah” (1968):