The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia

"The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" is a Southern Gothic song, of the murder ballad type, written and composed in 1972 by songwriter Bobby Russell and sung by Vicki Lawrence, an American pop music singer, actress, author, and comedian. Lawrence's version, from her 1973 album of the same name, was a number one hit on the "Billboard" Hot 100 after its release. In addition to several other renditions, the song was again a hit in 1991 when Reba McEntire recorded it for her album "For My Broken Heart." McEntire's version was a chart single as well, reaching number 12 on Hot Country Songs.
Synopsis.
Returning home from a two-week trip to a place called Candletop, a man called "Brother" stops for a drink at Webb's Bar before going home to his wife. While at the bar he encounters his friend Andy Wolloe, who informs him that while he was gone his wife was having an affair with "that Amos boy, Seth", and then admits that he had been with her as well. Brother leaves the bar angry, and a frightened Andy makes his way home.
Assuming his wife had left town, Brother goes home to find the gun his father had left him and quietly makes his way through the backwoods to Andy's house. On the way there he notices a set of footprints leading to and from the house, but they are too small to have been made by Andy. Arriving at the back door, Brother finds Andy inside lying dead on the floor from a gunshot. In a panic, he fires a shot in the air to get the attention of the police, only to find himself arrested for Andy's murder. In a show trial, the judge wastes little time declaring Brother guilty and sentences him to death by hanging, which is carried out in short order.
The story wraps up as the narrator identifies herself as Brother's "Little Sister" and reveals that it was "her" footprints that Brother saw on his way to Andy's house. Little Sister then admits that she had not only killed Andy with her own gun, but Brother's adulterous wife as well, disposing of the latter's body where she is certain nobody will ever find it.
In the song's chorus, Little Sister blames the local criminal justice system for her brother's death, warning the listener, "Don't trust your soul to no backwoods Southern lawyer, 'cause the judge in the town's got blood stains on his hands."
History and original recording.
Although Bobby Russell both wrote the lyrics and composed the music for the song, he was reluctant to record even a demonstration because he didn't like it. Lawrence, who was married to Russell at the time, believed the song was a hit and recorded the demo. The publishers and the record label did not know how to pitch the song, as it was not a country or a pop song. The first thought was to offer the song to actress/singer Liza Minnelli, but eventually it was offered to singer Cher, but her then-husband and manager Sonny Bono reportedly refused it, as he was said to be concerned that the song might offend Cher's southern fans. Without a singer to record the song, Lawrence went into a studio and recorded it professionally herself, with the instrumental backing of L.A. session musicians from the Wrecking Crew.
Release and reception.
Released as a single in November 1972, the song went to No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart in 1973 when Lawrence was a regular performer on the ensemble variety comedy television show "The Carol Burnett Show." On March 24, 1973, the final episode of the sixth season, Burnett surprised Lawrence by presenting her with an RIAA gold record for more than a million copies sold. The song hit No. 6 on the Easy Listening chart, and peaked at No. 36 on "Billboard's" Hot Country Singles chart. It was No. 1 for two weeks on the "Billboard" Hot 100, and was topped by Tony Orlando and Dawn's "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree." "Billboard" ranked it as the No. 11 song for 1973. 
In Canada, the single version went to No. 1 on the "RPM" 100 national singles chart on May 5, 1973. On the RPM Country Singles chart, it reached No. 25.
Musical structure.
The lyrics use an AABCCB rhyming pattern on the verses, and ABCB on the chorus. The song's verses are in C Dorian. Verse one consists of four lines, each using the chord pattern Cm-B/C-Cm-F/C-Cm-Gm7-Cm. At the chorus, the song modulates to the key of G major, with a chord pattern of Am-D7-G-Em used three times before ending on Am-D7-Gm.
Verse two uses the same structure as verse one, with an additional two lines. The first additional lines also modulate to G major with a chord pattern of Am-D7-G-Em-Am-D-Gm, before returning to C Dorian for another repetition of the original chord pattern. After the second chorus, the third verse consists of two lines before the chorus is sung a third time. The song ends with a four-measure riff in G minor. The vocal range is G-D.
Cover versions.
Tanya Tucker.
In 1981, country singer Tanya Tucker recorded a version with differing lyrics and an altered timeline, based on the plot of the 1981 film "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia." Tucker's cover is included on the film's soundtrack album.
Reba McEntire.
During 1991, the song was covered by Reba McEntire on her album "For My Broken Heart." It reached No. 12 on "Billboard's" Hot Country Songs chart. While still a commercially successful release, it broke a string of 24 consecutive top 10 country singles by McEntire.
Jack Cole directed a music video for the McEntire single, in which the older brother of the story is given the name Raymond Brody. The video included spoken dialogue expanding on the song's plot points, including the suggestion that the judge convicted Brody despite knowing Brody was innocent, because he (the judge) feared a trial would expose that he had also had an affair with the wife, played by Playboy centerfold/pin up model Barbara Moore. In the video, the little sister, played by McEntire, as a young woman in flashbacks and as a 60-year-old woman, catches her fiancé, Andy, in the act with her brother's wife. The interviewer in the video is played by country singer Radney Foster.
During a promotional tour for the song, Lawrence and McEntire performed the song as a duet on Lawrence's talk show "Vicki!" using the McEntire backing track.
Schneider & Cole.
Melinda Schneider and Beccy Cole covered the song on their 2014 album "Great Women of Country".