Lady Marmalade

"Lady Marmalade" is a song written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan, originally for Nolan's disco group. The song is famous for the repeated refrain of "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?" in French as part of the chorus, a sexually suggestive line that translates into English as: "Do you want to sleep with me?" The song first became a popular hit when it was recorded in 1974 by the American funk rock group Labelle and held the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week, and also topped the Canadian RPM national singles chart. In 2021, the Library of Congress selected Labelle's version for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant." The song has had many cover versions over the years. In 1998, girl group All Saints released a cover of the song that peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart. The 2001 version by singers Christina Aguilera, Mýa, Pink and rapper Lil' Kim, recorded for the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack, was a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks, and also a number-one hit in the UK. "Lady Marmalade" was the ninth song to reach number one by two different musical acts in America. The song was written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan, and was inspired by Crewe's experiences in New Orleans and the sex workers in the area. A demo of the song was first recorded by The Eleventh Hour, a disco group made up of studio musicians fronted by Nolan on vocals. It was added in 1974 as a track on the Eleventh Hour's Greatest Hits LP, which did not chart. Crewe showed the song to producer Allen Toussaint in New Orleans, and Toussaint then decided to record the song with Labelle. Labelle's version of "Lady Marmalade" was produced by Toussaint and Vicki Wickham, with the former also playing an RMI Electra-Piano on the recording. The rhythm section on the recording was New Orleans-based funk band The Meters. "Lady Marmalade" was released as a single in November 1974 from the Nightbirds album released that September, their first album after signing with Epic Records.