"Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)" | |
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Single by Don Fardon | |
B-side | "Dreamin' Room" |
Released | August 1968 |
Genre | Blues[1] |
Length | 3:23 |
Label | |
Songwriter(s) | John D. Loudermilk |
Producer(s) | Miki Dallon |
"Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)" is a song written by John D. Loudermilk.[2] It was first recorded by Marvin Rainwater in 1959 and released on MGM as "The Pale Faced Indian", but that release went unnoticed. The first hit version was a 1968 recording by Don Fardon – a former member of the Sorrows – that reached number 20 on the Hot 100 in 1968[3] and number 3 on the UK Singles Chart in 1970.[4]
In 1971, the Raiders recorded "Indian Reservation" for Columbia Records, and it topped the Hot 100 on July 24.[5] On June 30, 1971, the RIAA gold certified the record for selling over a million copies.[6] The record was later certified platinum for selling an additional million copies.[6] The song was the group's only Hot 100 number-one hit and their only Hot 100 top 20 song.
Fardon's version is a tense blues simmer...