Number 1 With A Bullet: Vicki Lawrence’s “The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia”

Vicki Lawrence - "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" (Bell, 1973)

It all began with a slight resemblance to a TV star and a fan letter chosen at random by a secretary.

Inspired by her father’s penchant for getting covers of Time magazine autographed by stars and dignitaries, Vicki Lawrence decided to write a fan letter to Carol Burnett and tell her about her resemblance to the popular TV star. When a secretary chose Lawrence’s fan letter as one of the ten weekly tomes to reach Carol, there began a lifelong friendship.

The short story is that Lawrence and Burnett’s friendship turned into a professional partnership, first on Burnett’s variety show and later on Mama’s Family.

Lawrence’s success as a singer was quite by accident. She was married to songwriter Bobby Russell at the time he wrote “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia.” When numerous artists turned the song down (including Sonny Bono, who nixed it without Cher‘s knowledge), Vicki went into the studio with Snuff Garrett and tracked the tune in just three hours.

Within a few weeks of its release, Lawrence’s cut was a surprise hit on the pop chart, spending two weeks at the top starting in April 1973.

Check out more songs that were “#1 with a Bullet.

Need even more Michael Verity? Check out MichaelVerity.com.