Scarlet Fever (song)
song
"Scarlet Fever" is a song written by Mike Dekle, and recorded by American country music artist Kenny Rogers. It was released in June 1983 as the third single from the album We've Got Tonight. The song reached number 94 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in mid-1983. The song peaked at number 5 on the country chart.
Content
The lyrics describe the singer's infatuation with a 16-year-old dancer named Scarlet, whom he watches perform at a nightclub. Knowing that Scarlet isn't interested in him, the singer never speaks to her but only fantasizes that she will fall in love with him. One night, he arrives at the club and is heartbroken to find that Scarlet has left. He is unable to forget her and calls himself a fool for still getting "Scarlet Fever".
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Scarlet Fever (song)” as song. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as song. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 26, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q7430433. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1983.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Scarlet Fever (song)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Scarlet Fever (song) primary sources, Scarlet Fever (song) archive and Scarlet research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Scarlet Fever (song)”?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Scarlet Fever (song)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.