"Dark Lady" is a pop rock song recorded by American singer-actress Cher, and the title selection from her eleventh studio album, Dark Lady. Written and composed by John Robert "Johnny" Durrill and produced by Snuff Garrett, it was released as the album's first single in early 1974. The song became Cher's third solo U.S. number one hit on March 23, 1974, and her last until "Believe" twenty-five years later.
"Dark Lady" was written and composed by The Ventures's keyboard player, Johnny Durrill. He recalled: "I spent a week in his (Snuff Garrett's) office playing him songs, one of which Cher recorded. Later, when I was on tour in Japan with the Ventures, I was writing an interesting song. I telegraphed the unfinished lyrics to Garrett. He said to 'make sure the bitch kills him.' Hence, in the song both the lover and fortune teller were killed." Thus, "Dark Lady" may with some accuracy be described as a murder ballad, even though the narrator of its lyrics essentially commits a crime of passion.
The Dark Lady is a stock character in fiction. Her darkness is either literal, meaning that she has a dark skin, or metaphorical in that she is a tragic, doomed figure. The two may go together, with one being an allegory for the other. The Dark Lady is not usually seen to be married to a Dark Lord.
William Shakespeare wrote of a Dark Lady in his sonnets. The woman is described as having both dark features and having a dark nature. There has been much speculation as to her true identity. He also created several, doomed dark ladies as characters in his plays such as Cleopatra and Lady Macbeth.
In American media, she is often portrayed as Latina.
Dark Lady may refer to:
Dark Lady is the 11th studio album by American singer-actress Cher, released in May 1974 by MCA. Cher again collaborated with Snuff Garrett as a record producer, and with Al Capps for the arrangements. Dark Lady was the third and final studio album for MCA. It was also the last record promoted on her successful The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour show. After its release, the album received positive reviews from critics but, unlike her previous record produced by Garrett, was only moderately successful.
After the success of Half-Breed, Cher, for her final record under MCA, again chose Snuff Garrett and Al Capps to produce. During that same year, she divorced her first husband Sonny Bono, dissolving the Sonny & Cher couple. This ended their professional musical ties and television show for a while. Due to the success of previous albums produced by Garrett, Dark Lady followed the same narrative ballad style. She attracted many young fans during this period of her career for her style of glamour pop, and the album shows also what Cher could do back in the mid-70s, at the height of her popularity.Dark Lady was also the last studio album. MCA released Greatest Hits with the letter E accented in Chér on the album cover. The next albums released by Warner Bros completely remove the stress.