The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia on the Cassette Classic

The next Cassette Classic comes from someone unexpected.

This song shocked me when I found out who sang it. I never would’ve guessed Mama’s Family star Vicki Lawrence was the voice behind this hit and tt went to number one in 1973.

How did a comedian hit the top of the charts at the time she was married to its writer, Bobby Russell. Bobby hated the song and didn’t want to sing it as a demo. Vicki thought the song was great, so she recorded it. It was shopped around, but nobody could classify it. It wasn’t really Pop, not quite Country.

The song was offered to Cher, but her husband, Sonny Bono, refused it thinking that it might offend Cher’s Southern fans. Vicki then went and re-recorded it professionally, and off to the top of the charts it went. I just liked the story of it.

Of course, Reba McEntire would take it back to the top of the charts in 1991, but there's just something about this original version.