Right Place, Wrong Time (song)

"Right Place, Wrong Time"
"Right Place, Wrong Time"
Single by Dr. John
from the album In the Right Place
B-side	"I Been Hoodood"
Released	April 1973
Recorded	1972
Genre	Blue-eyed soul; New Orleans R&B;
Length	2:50
Label	Atco
Songwriter(s)	Mac Rebennack
Producer(s)	Allen Toussaint
Dr. John singles chronology

"Right Place, Wrong Time" is a song by American musician Dr. John. It was the first single from his sixth album, In the Right Place, and became his biggest hit single.

During the summer of 1973, the song peaked at number nine on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It is ranked as the 24th biggest hit of 1973. In Canada, the song reached number six.^[2]

Some of the lines came from contributions by Bob Dylan, Bette Midler and Doug Sahm.^[3] A verse lyric from the song ("Just need a little brain salad surgery/got to cure my insecurity") was the inspiration for the title of the album Brain Salad Surgery by the English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, replacing the working title of Whip Some Skull on Yer.^[4] Both titles are slang expressions for fellatio.^[5]^[6]

^ ^a ^b Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (October 15, 1996). "Color Blind: Blue-eyed Soul". Precious and Few - Pop Music in the Early '70s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 42-43. ISBN 031214704X.
^ "Canada RPM Weekly, July 7, 1973". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
^ Nick DeRiso (February 18, 2018). "How Dr. John Got Focused, Then Famous on 'In the Right Place'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
^ Marchese, Joe (2014-07-31). "Razor and Tie Revisits Emerson Lake and Palmer's "Brain Salad Surgery" For 40th Anniversary". The Second Disc. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
^ Emerson, Lake & Palmer (March 2, 1992). "Emerson, Lake & Palmer ROCKLINE Interview Part 1". Rockline (Interview). Interviewed by Bob Coburn. Rockline.
^ Emerson, Lake & Palmer (June 22, 1992). "Emerson Lake & Palmer In The Studio - Brain Salad Surgery". In the Studio with Redbeard (Interview). Interviewed by Redbeard. Dallas: In the Studio with Redbeard.

[Breithaupt_1996-1] Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (October 15, 1996). "Color Blind: Blue-eyed Soul". Precious and Few - Pop Music in the Early '70s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 42-43. ISBN 031214704X.

[bac-lac.gc.ca-2] "Canada RPM Weekly, July 7, 1973". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2019.

[UCR-3] Nick DeRiso (February 18, 2018). "How Dr. John Got Focused, Then Famous on 'In the Right Place'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved January 20, 2023.

[4] Marchese, Joe (2014-07-31). "Razor and Tie Revisits Emerson Lake and Palmer's "Brain Salad Surgery" For 40th Anniversary". The Second Disc. Retrieved 2019-06-07.

[5] Emerson, Lake & Palmer (March 2, 1992). "Emerson, Lake & Palmer ROCKLINE Interview Part 1". Rockline (Interview). Interviewed by Bob Coburn. Rockline.

[6] Emerson, Lake & Palmer (June 22, 1992). "Emerson Lake & Palmer In The Studio - Brain Salad Surgery". In the Studio with Redbeard (Interview). Interviewed by Redbeard. Dallas: In the Studio with Redbeard.

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