"Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)" is a song written by John D. Loudermilk.Jancik, Wayne ''The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders'' 1998. page 247 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 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

in 1968Whitburn, Joel, ''Top Pop Singles 1955–2002'' Record Research Inc. 1997 pages 238, 589 and number 3 on the UK Singles Chart in 1970. In 1971, the Raiders recorded "Indian Reservation" for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, and it topped the Hot 100 on July 24.Bronson, Fred, ''The Billboard Book of Number One Hits'', Billboard Publications, Inc. 1985. On June 30, 1971, the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

gold certified the record for selling over a million copies. The record was later certified platinum for selling an additional million copies. The song was the group's only Hot 100 Number 1 hit and their final Hot 100 Top 20 song.

Lyrics

A well-known story told by Loudermilk is that when he was asked by the ''Viva! NashVegas'' radio show about the origins of the song "Indian Reservation," he fabricated the story that he wrote the song after his car was snowed in by a blizzard and he was taken in by a small group of Cherokee Indians. A self-professed prankster, he spun the tale that a Cherokee chieftain, "Bloody Bear Tooth," asked him to make a song about his people's plight on the Trail of Tears, even going so far as to claim that he had later been awarded "the first medal of the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It ...

," not for writing the song, but for his "blood." He went on to fabricate the detail that on that day the tribe revealed that his "great-great-grandparents, Homer and Matilda Loudermilk" were listed on the Dawes Rolls (the citizenship rolls of the Nation). Had this detail of his tall tale been true, he would have been a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, which he was not. In spite of the song's title, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the

of Oklahoma are not known as "reservations", and singing that they may someday "return" is at odds with the fact that these Cherokee Nations still exist. The lyrics vary somewhat among the recorded versions. Rainwater's version lacks the "Cherokee people!" chorus but includes instead a series of "Hiya, hiya, ho!" chants. Fardon's version is similar to the Raiders' through the first verse and chorus, but differs in the second verse, which includes the lines "Altho' they changed our ways of old/They'll never change our heart and soul", also found in Rainwater's version. Rainwater includes some of the elements found in the other versions in a different order, and his first verse has words not found in the others, such as "They put our papoose in a crib/and took the buck skin from our rib". At the end, where the Raiders sing "...Cherokee nation will return", Fardon says "Cherokee Indian...", while the line is absent in Rainwater's version, which ends with "beads...nowadays made in Japan." In addition, Fardon sings the line: "Brick built houses by the score/ No more tepees anymore", not used in the Raiders' version. Cherokee people have never lived in tipis, nor do they use the term "papoose". These are stereotypes and misconceptions, with the reservations and tipi assumptions usually based on Hollywood portrayals of

Plains Indians Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nation band governments who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) of N ...

. However, the Cherokee are a Southeastern Woodlands Indigenous culture. Among the things taken away from the Cherokees include the tomahawk and the Golden Knife. Also, English replaced their native tongue. In addition, the Raiders' version mentions that "though I wear a shirt and tie, I'm still a red man deep inside", altered from the Rainwater-sung line "and though I wear a white man's tie / I'll be a red man 'til I die".

Song structure

The music is in a minor key, with sustained

minor chord In music theory, a minor chord is a chord that has a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth. When a chord comprises only these three notes, it is called a minor triad. For example, the minor triad built on C, called a C minor triad, has pit ...

s ending each phrase in the primary

melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

, while the melody line goes through a slow musical turn (turning of related notes) which ends each phrase, and emphasizes the ominous minor chords. Underneath the slow, paced melody, is a rhythmic, low "drum beat" in double-time, constantly, relentlessly pushing to follow along, but the melody continues its slow, deliberate pace above the drum beat. The instrumentation varies among versions. Rainwater's recording is acoustic with strings and backing vocals supporting the melody. Fardon's version adds a brass section and percussion while reducing the background singing. The Raiders used similar instruments to Fardon, and included an electronic organ that holds the melody line.

Raiders version

In 1971, Mark Lindsay, the lead singer of the Raiders, was looking for new material for his solo career (that included the Top 10 " Arizona"). The Columbia A&R head, Jack Gold, offered "Indian Reservation" to him, which the latter was already familiar with because of the Don Fardon version. Lindsay tried to record it with his producer

Jerry Fuller Jerry Fuller (born November 19, 1938) is an American songwriter, singer and record producer. Biography Jerry Fuller was born in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, to a musical family. He and his brother Bill performed as a duo in their home state ...

. But Fuller was unavailable to produce the record, so Lindsay decided to produce it himself. In the recording, Lindsay cut the basic track with session musicians of the Wrecking Crew, and later overdubbed backing singers and strings arranged by John D'Andrea. According to Lindsay, when he suggested ending the song with an organ riff similar to the one in Janis Ian’s “ Society's Child”, the song's arranger

Artie Butler Arthur Butler (born December 2, 1942) is an American composer, arranger, songwriter, and session musician. In a long career, he has been involved in numerous hit records and other recordings, and has been awarded over 60 gold and platinum albums ...

, who also played the organ in the track, suggested that they re-use it, as he was the organist on "Society's Child". The original track was recorded on December 3, 1970. Lindsay decided to bill it as a Raiders single and had fellow member Paul Revere promoting it on several radio stations across the country. After four years without a Top 10 hit since " Him or Me – What's It Gonna Be?", "Indian Reservation" reached the top of the charts on July 24, becoming the first and only number one hit of (Paul Revere &) the Raiders. In Canada, the song was number 2 for four weeks.

Personnel

According to the AFM contract sheet, the following musicians played on the track. * Mark Lindsay – lead vocals * Hal Blaine – drums *

– piano, organ *Gary Coleman – vibraslap, vibraphone * John D'Andrea – strings arrangements *

Carol Kaye Carol Kaye (née Smith, born March 24, 1935) is an American musician. She is one of the most prolific recorded bass guitarists in rock and pop music, playing on an estimated 10,000 recordings in a career spanning over 50 years. Kaye began play ...

– bass guitar *

Louie Shelton William Louis Shelton (born April 6, 1941) is an American guitarist and music producer. Biography During the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s Shelton was a session musician working in recording studios around Hollywood. Among his more notable session wo ...

– guitar * David Cohen - guitar *Unknown singers – backing vocals

Charts

The Raiders' "Indian Reservation" entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on April 10, 1971. It climbed to number 2 on July 3, where it stayed for three consecutive weeks, stuck behind

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

's double single " It's Too Late"/" I Feel the Earth Move". On July 24, it reached the top spot for a single week. "Indian Reservation" spent a total of 22 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart.

Weekly charts

The Raiders Don Fardon Orlando Riva Sound 999

Year-end charts

The Raiders

Other versions

Billy ThunderKloud & the Chieftones recorded the song in 1976 for Polydor Records, taking their version to number 74 on

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

. A

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

version was recorded by the German band Orlando Riva Sound in 1979. It was a national chart success, reaching number 7 and staying five weeks in the German Top 10. The English punk band 999 released their version on November 14, 1981, on the Albion Ion label, and it reached number 51 in the UK chart. The American hardcore punk band Ill Repute released a version titled "Cherokee Nation" on their 1984 album "What Happens Next?" Indigenous electronic music group the Halluci Nation has sampled the song on several occasions. Native American Country artist Buddy Red Bow covered the song for his self titled album.

References

External links

SuperSeventies singles

FM music
* {{authority control Cherokee in popular culture Songs written by John D. Loudermilk 1959 songs 1968 singles Pye Records singles 1971 singles Columbia Records singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Paul Revere & the Raiders songs Songs against racism and xenophobia Songs about Native Americans