Louisiana Saturday Night
"Louisiana Saturday Night" is a song written by Bob McDill and recorded by American country music artist Mel McDaniel. It was released in March 1981 as the third single from McDaniel's 1980 album, I'm Countryfied. The song was originally sung by Don Williams on his 1977 album "Country Boy".[2] The song is often mistakenly attributed to popular country music bands Alabama and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.[3] Adding to the confusion, Tom T. Hall wrote an earlier, unrelated song by the same name. Hall's "Louisiana Saturday Night" was recorded by Mamou, Louisiana's Jimmy C. Newman in 1967.[4][5]
| "Louisiana Saturday Night" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Mel McDaniel | ||||
| from the album I'm Countryfied | ||||
| B-side | "My Ship's Comin' In"[1] | |||
| Released | March 1981 | |||
| Recorded | May 1980 | |||
| Genre | Country, bluegrass | |||
| Length | 2:23 | |||
| Label | Capitol Nashville | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Bob McDill | |||
| Producer(s) | Larry Rogers | |||
| Mel McDaniel singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Use in radio
This selection is used as the theme song for "The Outdoorsman Show" on WWL 870 AM and 105.3 FM in New Orleans, which is hosted by radio personality Don Dubuc.
Use in sports
“Louisiana Saturday Night” can be heard before every home Louisiana State University football game, played in Tiger Stadium, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The song is adored by fans not only for its easy-to-dance-to beat and obvious namesake reference, but also because of a longstanding tradition that both the Tigers fare better at home, and on Saturday evenings. The Tigers’ regular season home football games all take place on Saturdays, and prefers if possible (depending on whether or not the game is broadcast nationally), to be played at night. A poem written for the stadium featured during the pre-game activities officially references “Saturday Night in Death Valley,” Death Valley being a nickname for the stadium. The song is usually followed directly by another popular country tune with a similar reference, “Callin’ Baton Rouge” by singer Garth Brooks.
Other references
This was the opening theme of the "Music Machine", a country music oldies show, which aired on New York City's WHN on Saturday nights from 8 P.M. to Midnight.
Slurred lyrics of the song were quoted by John Luke Robertson on the reality show "Duck Dynasty" as he was recovering from anesthesia after a dental procedure.
The song was used in the sixth and final season the television drama "The Americans" for a line dancing sequence involving the main character Philip Jennings.
Chart performance
| Chart (1981) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 7 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 21 |
References
- Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. ISBN 0-89820-177-2.
- Thom Jurek. "Country Boy". ALLMUSIC.COM.
- Sean O'Neal (Apr 1, 2011). "R.I.P. Mel McDaniel". A.V. Club.
- Jimmy C. Newman Discography. CMT Artists.
- The Jimmy Newman Way. Allmusic.com.