
“The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” is a Southern Gothic murder ballad, written in 1972 by songwriter Bobby Russell and first recorded by his then wife, singer, comedian, and actress Vicki Lawrence. Lawrence’s version, from her 1973 album of the same name, went to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 main chart after its release. I still have the 45 rpm of her song in my collection.
Credit to IMDb.com and Wikipedia.