"Take Me to the Mardi Gras" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the fourth single from his third studio album, There Goes Rhymin' Simon (1973), released on Columbia Records.

Smooth jazz keyboardist Bob James made an instrumental cover of the song for his 1975 album Two, whose intro has since become a widely recognized drum break.^[1]^[2]

Chart performance

The song only charted in the United Kingdom. It debuted on the UK Singles Chart on June 10, 1973 at a position of 36,^[3] rising over several weeks to a peak of number seven on July 8. In total, it spent eleven weeks on the chart.^[4] It is usually missing from UK hits compilations in favour of "Kodachrome" which was the flip side to this. "Kodachrome" was the A side in the US, but the BBC would not play it in the UK because of its advertising policy.

Personnel

Paul Simon - vocals, acoustic guitar
Jimmy Johnson, Pete Carr - electric guitars
David Hood - bass guitar
Roger Hawkins - drums
Barry Beckett - Wurlitzer electronic piano, Hammond organ
The Onward Brass Band - brass
Rev. Claude Jeter - bridge vocals

Charts

Chart (1973)	Peak position
South Africa Top 20 (Springbok/Radio Orion)^[5]	1
UK Singles (OCC)^[4]	7

Notes

References

^ "Take Me To The Mardi Gras" at WhoSampled
^ Celebrate Mardis Gras With Bob James at The Urban Daily
^ "Archive Chart: 1973-06-10". officialcharts.com. Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
^ Brian Currin. "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1969 - 1989 Acts (S)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved November 13, 2015.

v t e Paul Simon songs
Discography
The Paul Simon Songbook	"I Am a Rock" "Leaves That Are Green" "April Come She Will" "The Sound of Silence" "A Simple Desultory Philippic" "Patterns"
Paul Simon	"Mother and Child Reunion" "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" "Duncan"
There Goes Rhymin' Simon	"Kodachrome" "Loves Me Like a Rock" "American Tune" "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" "Something So Right" "St. Judy's Comet"
Paul Simon in Concert: Live Rhymin'	"The Sound of Silence"
Still Crazy After All These Years	"Gone at Last" "My Little Town" "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" "Still Crazy After All These Years"
Greatest Hits, Etc.	"Slip Slidin' Away" "Stranded in a Limousine"
One-Trick Pony	"Late in the Evening" "One-Trick Pony" "Oh, Marion"
Hearts and Bones	"Allergies" "The Late Great Johnny Ace" "Think Too Much"
Graceland	"You Can Call Me Al" "Graceland" "The Boy in the Bubble" "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" "Under African Skies" "Homeless"
The Rhythm of the Saints	"The Obvious Child" "Proof" "Born at the Right Time"
You're the One	"Old" "You're the One"
Surprise	"Father and Daughter" "That's Me" "Outrageous"
So Beautiful or So What	"Getting Ready for Christmas Day" "The Afterlife"
Stranger to Stranger	"Wristband" "Cool Papa Bell" "The Werewolf"
Featured singles	"Wonderful World" "The Blues" "The Boxer" "New York Is My Home"
Other songs	"Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War" "Thelma"
Category