Nanette Workman
“Listen – Nanette Workman – Lady Marmalade – MP3″
Greetings all.
The end of yet another week is upon us and I don’t know about you guys, but I’m good and whipped, and by the time you read this I may well be on the road for a four or five hour trek (second busy weekend of three in a row).
Next week I’ll be hitting the road with my man DJ Prestige. We’ll be motoring down to Washington, DC and Richmond, VA for two nights of Asbury Park 45 Sessions style record slinging. I’ll be posting detailed information in the coming week.
Anyway, enough about my exhaustion, how’s by you?
I’ll venture a guess that there are many among you similarly afflicted, so why not crash into the weekend with a hot one??
The tune I bring you today is one that I picked up sans-portable, but the price-tag (low, low, low) combined with a cover version of a hot song seemed like a good buy, and it was.
I had never heard the name Nanette Workman before, but once I got the record home and realized that her version of ‘Lady Marmalade’ was not only hot but sung in French, I set to Googling and found some interesting stuff.
First and foremost, Ms. Workman is not French, but in fact an American-born singer who made her career working not in France, but in French-speaking Canada. During the 1960s she worked on Broadway and TV, and after meeting Canadian star Tony Roman she moved to Quebec and started to record in French (apparently initially singing the lyrics phonetically since she could not yet speak the language).
Workman went on to perform in the UK (where she recorded with the Rolling Stones) and Europe, before returning to Quebec in the early 70s, where her version of ‘Lady Marmalade’ was one of her first big hits.
Workman’s version follows the LaBelle blueprint fairly closely, with the addition of some fat, fuzzy bass guitar, and of course the added attraction of the (entire) tune being sung in French. It’s very groovy indeed, and got a nice reaction when I spun it recently.
I hope you dig it, and I’ll be back on Monday with something cool.
In the meantime, don’t forget to fall by Viva Internet Radio tonight at 9PM for the latest edition of the Funky16Corners Radio Show. You can always check out the old shows in the archive.
Have a great weekend.
Peace
Larry
PS Don’t forget to head over to Iron Leg for late 60s fuzz…
PSS Check out Paperback Rider which has finally been updated.
Funky16Corners 
February 26, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Oh, that’s awesome! Maybe I’ve just heard the original a few times too many, but I might just prefer this rendition.
February 27, 2009 at 4:03 am
Nice one Larry, I saw this on your Asbury playlist and was intrigued but a google exploration only turned up her doing a duet of it with Maria Carey. Not good!! but this is certainly a great version. I can now buy with confidence.
Cheers Tony.
February 27, 2009 at 9:00 am
Oh that’s a beauty – and that accent phew!!
I’ve got a great version by Mongo Santamaría
February 27, 2009 at 11:53 pm
This is way cool, Larry. I have a soft spot (some would say in my head) for French pop, and this falls right in place. Thanks!
March 1, 2009 at 10:38 am
larry, thanks for this, i have another 45 by her and didn’t have a clue about who she was.
March 21, 2009 at 2:04 am
Another killer Nanette song is “Save Me”, from her self-titled 1976 album.
March 21, 2009 at 7:44 am
J Stacher
I wonder of that’s the same song that Julie Driscoll used to do with Brian Auger and the Trinity??
L
April 2, 2009 at 2:00 pm
[…] a closer look at the label and saw the name Tony Roman. A little while back, over at Funky16Corners I wrote about a nifty cover of ‘Lady Marmalade’ by a singer named Annette Workman. Though she was born in the US, Workman made her career recording and performing in French Canada, […]
April 4, 2009 at 2:25 pm
I love this one I have this song on LP Discomania Jukebox International album.