Take a Letter Maria
| "Take a Letter Maria" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by R. B. Greaves | ||||
| from the album R. B. Greaves | ||||
| B-side | "Run Diane" | |||
| Released | September 1969 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Genre | Soul | |||
| Length | 2:44 | |||
| Label | Atco/Atlantic | |||
| Writer(s) | R.B. Greaves | |||
| Producer(s) | Ahmet Ertegun | |||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | |||
| R. B. Greaves singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Take a Letter Maria" is a song written and recorded by R. B. Greaves, an American soul singer. The song has a Latin music flavor, complete with a mariachi-style horn section, featuring trumpets. It tells of a man who has learned of his wife's infidelity the night before, and dictates a letter of separation to Maria, his secretary. The song was released in September 1969, quickly gaining regular airplay (see referenced Chicago radio station WLS chart for the first week of October 1969),[1] peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.[2] The single was certified gold in December 1969, with one million copies shipped.[3] By 1970, sales of the song totalled 2.5 million.[4]
The song was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio on August 19, 1969 using the house studio musicians. These include Donna Jean Thatcher, vocals (later Donna Jean Godchaux of the Grateful Dead), Roger Hawkins, drums, Barry Beckett, electric piano, Eddie Hinton and Jimmy Johnson, guitars, David Hood, bass, and Mel Lastie, trumpet. [5]
In 1994, the song was featured in the soundtrack of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
Cover versions
"Take a Letter Maria" has had two charted cover versions by country music singers. Anthony Armstrong Jones released a cover in 1970 from his album of the same name, reaching number 8 on the country charts with it. In 1999, Doug Stone released the song from his album Make Up in Love, reaching number 45 on the country single charts.[6]
The New Riders of the Purple Sage included a cover of the song on their 1975 album Oh, What a Mighty Time.
The alt-country supergroup The Pleasure Barons included a high-energy cover of the song on their Live in Las Vegas CD, with vocals by Country Dick Montana of the Beat Farmers.
Gary Puckett also included a cover of it on his Greatest Hits CD in 1986.
The first cover song on country music singer Sammy Kershaw's new album I won't back down released on June 9, 2015 is “Take A Letter Maria,”.
References
- ↑ "06 October 1969 WLS 890 Hit Parade". Retrieved 2012-10-02.
- ↑ "Singles chart listings for R.B. Greaves". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
- ↑ "RIAA search results for R.B. Greaves". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
- ↑ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 259. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ↑ The Muscle Shoals Sound CD liner notes: Rhino Records, 1993
- ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Make Up in Love review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-05-02.