Written and composed by John Robert "Johnny" Durrill and produced by Snuff Garrett, it was released as the album's first single in December of 1973.

He recalled: "I spent a week in his [Snuff Garrett's] office playing him songs, one of which Cher recorded.

"[4] The "Dark Lady" of the song's title is a gypsy fortune teller in New Orleans with an implied history of sleeping with clients.

The first version of the video is a live performance that was aired in the third season of The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour in 1973.

In 2002, a special remix medley was created by Dan-O-Rama for a video montage that was used in Cher's Living Proof: The Farewell Tour.

Cher performed the song on the following concert tours/Las Vegas residencies: ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

In 1974 Lea Laven recorded the Finnish rendering of "Dark Lady" entitled "Tumma nainen".

[citation needed] In the same year, Argentinian singer Johnny Tedesco recorded a Spanish version called "Te quiero tanto (Dulce gitana)".