“Take a Letter Maria” by R. B. Greaves

E433138

“Take a Letter Maria” by R. B. Greaves is a 1969 soul-pop hit single about a man dictating a letter to his secretary after discovering his wife’s infidelity.

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All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
“Take a Letter Maria” by R. B. Greaves canonical 1

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf single
song
addressee secretary named Maria
artist R. B. Greaves NERFINISHED
chartPerformance reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100
composer R. B. Greaves NERFINISHED
containsCharacter Maria
narrator husband
unfaithful wife
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
decade 1960s
format 7-inch single
genre pop
soul
soul pop
hasBside "Big Bad City" NERFINISHED
hasMusicalStyle Latin-tinged soul
hasNotableLyric "Take a letter, Maria, address it to my wife"
"This is the end of the line"
includedOn album "R. B. Greaves" NERFINISHED
influencedByContext late-1960s pop-soul sound
instrumentation horn section
rhythm section
isDebutSingleOf R. B. Greaves NERFINISHED
labelImprint Atco NERFINISHED
language English
length 2:44
lyricalDevice dictated letter
narrativePerspective first person
peakChartPosition 2 on the Billboard Hot 100
2 on the Canadian RPM chart
3 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart
performer R. B. Greaves NERFINISHED
plotSummary A man dictates a letter to his secretary ending his marriage after discovering his wife with another man.
protagonistOccupation husband
recordedIn 1969
recordLabel Atco Records NERFINISHED
releaseDate 1969-09
releaseYear 1969
salesCertification RIAA gold record
subjectMatter dictating a letter of separation
theme marital infidelity
separation
starting a new life
vocalStyle male lead vocal
writer R. B. Greaves NERFINISHED

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Muscle Shoals Sound Studio notableRecording “Take a Letter Maria” by R. B. Greaves