Doctors, Professors, Kings & Queens, The Big Ol' Box Of New Orleans [Shout! Factory] | BUTTERBOY

VA - Doctors, Professors, Kings & Queens, The Big Ol' Box Of New Orleans [2004] (4 x CDs)

and NOW we are REALLY talking! Another N’Orleans compilation and check the track listing to see what you might have been missing . . . . . .this IS the  home of doctors, professors, Kings and Queens! On a big ole Mardi Gras Day! . . . now this is more thorough than the previous set and has everything for the more discerning listener . . .not that the first set was no good but I expect fans would have all those tracks and this is the real deal and has more obscure and earlier tracks too . . . . .it is SMOKIN’ HOT!

NEW ORLEANS

If you ever needed proof that New Orleans is less a city and more a living, breathing rhythm section, Doctors, Professors, Kings & Queens makes the case in four discs flat. Released in 2004 by Shout! Factory, this 85-track box set doesn’t just trace the city’s musical history, it throws you right into the second line and dares you not to dance.

This isn’t a dry museum piece. It’s sweaty, brassy, and gloriously alive. You get the big names, Fats Domino, Dr. John, The Meters, Irma Thomas, Professor Longhair, but the real magic is in the deep cuts and overlooked gems. Dave Bartholomew’s “Shrimp and Gumbo” is a spicy little number that rarely shows up on comps, and Eddie Bo’s “Check Your Bucket” is pure syncopated swagger. Balfa Toujours’ “Marshall’s Club” brings the Cajun heat, while The Wild Magnolias’ “New Suit” is a funked-up Mardi Gras Indian chant that still sounds ahead of its time.

The sequencing jumps eras and styles, but it works, zydeco rubs shoulders with bounce, brass band funk crashes into swamp pop, and somehow it all feels like one long, sweaty block party. Rebirth Brass Band’s “Feel Like Funkin’ It Up” and Kermit Ruffins’ “Drop Me Off in New Orleans” are modern classics that hold their own next to vintage sides from Smiley Lewis or Shirley & Lee.

What makes this box essential isn’t just the hits, it’s the way it stitches together the city’s musical DNA. You hear the continuum: from Congo Square to Tipitina’s, from second line to sound system. It’s  a love letter to the groove that built a city. It captures the soul of New Orleans in all its brass-blasted, gumbo-thick glory. (Butterboy)

CD1

01 Galactic Featuring Theryl deClouet - Welcome to New Orleans 0:15

02 Kermit Ruffins - Drop Me Off in New Orleans 4:28

03 Fats Domino - I'm Walkin' 2:07

04 Dr. John - Iko Iko 4:08

05 Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven - Potato Head Blues 2:55

06 Lil' Queenie & The Percolators - My Darlin' New Orleans 4:01

07 Iguanas - Para Donde Vas (Where Are You Going) 3:17

08 Anders Osborne & "Big Chief" Monk Boudreaux - Meet The Boyz on The Battlefront 4:37

09 Clarence "Frogman" Henry - Ain't Got No Home 2:19

10 Rebirth Brass Band - Feel Like Funkin' it Up 5:05

11 BeauSoleil - Zydeco Gris-Gris 3:38

12 Ernie K-Doe - Mother-In-Law 2:32

13 Marcia Ball - That's Enough of That Stuff 4:30

14 Radiators - Confidential 4:11

15 Meters - Hey Pocky A-Way 4:03

16 Jelly Roll Morton & His New Orleans Jazzmen - I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say 3:13

17 Paul Sanchez - Foot of Canal Street 3:48

18 Vernet Bagneris & The Cast of One Mo' Time - Down in Honky Tonk Town 3:01

19 Huey (Piano) Smith & The Clowns - Rocking Pneumonia and The Boogie Woogie Flu 2:17

20 Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen - More Hipper 5:28

21 Johnny Adams - Release Me 2:51

22 Sidney Bechet & His New Orleans Feet Warmers - Preachin' Blues 3:13

23 Clifton Chenier - Jambalaya 3:35

CD2

01 Leigh Harris - Dog Days 5:49

02 Earl King - No City Like New Orleans 4:33

03 Don Vappie & The Creole Jazz Serenaders - Salée Dames, Bon Jour 2:48

04 Balfa Toujours - Marshall's Club 3:42

05 Irma Thomas - You Can Have My Husband 3:13

06 Galactic - Go Go 3:04

07 New Orleans Klezmer All Stars - Not Too Eggy 2:11

08 Preservation Hall Jazz Band - St. James Infirmary 5:37

09 Deacon John Moore - Going Back to New Orleans 2:45

10 Buckwheat Zydeco - Hot Tamale Baby 4:08

11 Neville Brothers - Fear, Hate, Envy, Jealousy 4:25

12 James Andrews - Poop Ain't Gotta Scuffle No More 5:37

13 Hawketts - Mardi Gras Mambo 2:16

14 George Lewis' Ragtime Band - Ice Cream 5:48

15 J. Monque'D - No Doubt About It 4:08

16 Dirty Dozen Brass Band With Danny Barker & Eddie Bo - Don't You Feel My Leg 4:17

17 Boozoo Chavis - Dog Hill 2:38

18 Zachary Richard - Au Bord De Lac Bijou 4:41

19 Tuba Fats' Chosen Few Brass Band - Mardi Gras in New Orleans 6:12

CD3

01 Dave Bartholomew - Shrimp and Gumbo 2:05

02 Dr. Michael White - St. Phillip Street Breakdown 5:01

03 Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown - Going Back to Louisiana 4:40

04 Aaron Neville - Tell it Like it Is 2:41

05 Coolbone - The Saints 3:15

06 Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie - Canaille 3:06

07 Al Johnson - Carnival Time 2:41

08 Fredy Omar Con Su Banda - La Negra Tomasa 5:04

09 Shirley & Lee - Let The Good Times Roll 2:24

10 Tom McDermott & Evan Christopher - The Broken Windmill 3:53

11 Champion Jack Dupree - Way Down 3:49

12 Raymond Myles - Hallelujah 3:58

13 Smiley Lewis - I Hear You Knocking 2:45

14 Steve Riley and The Mamou Playboys - La Crève De Faim (Starvation 2-Step) 3:07

15 Red Stick Ramblers - Main Street Blues 4:37

16 Frankie Ford - Sea Cruise 2:44

17 Henry Butler - Tee-Nah-Nah 3:49

18 New Birth Brass Band - Smoke That Fire 3:06

19 Beau Jocque & The Zydeco Hi-Rollers - Give Him Cornbread 1:18

20 Chris Kenner - I Like it Like That 1:57

21 James Booker - Classified (Version Two) 3:08

22 Allen Toussaint - Southern Nights 3:35

CD4

01 Professor Longhair - Tipitina 2:39

02 Wild Magnolias - Party 4:43

03 Ellis Marsalis - Dr.Jazz 4:29

04 Troy Andrews - Ooh Poo Pah Doo 3:15

05 Sonny Landreth - South of I-10 3:40

06 Benny Spellman - Lipstick Traces (On A Cigarette) 2:25

07 Charmaine Neville Band With Reggie Houston & Amasa Miller - The Right Key But The Wrong Keyhole 5:46

08 Little Richard - Rip it Up 2:23

09 Kid Ory's Creole Jazz Band - Royal Garden Blues 3:31

10 Anders Osborne - Stoned, Drunk & Naked 4:52

11 Bruce Daigrepont - Laissez Faire (Let it Be) 2:28

12 New Orleans Jazz Vipers - Digga-Digga-Do 5:25

13 Walter "Wolfman" Washington - Tailspin 3:03

14 Lloyd Price - Lawdy Miss Clawdy 2:32

15 Eddie Bo - Havin' Fun in New Orleans 5:01

16 Tim Laughlin - King of The Mardi Gras 4:03

17 Snooks Eaglin - Red Beans 3:53

18 Mem Shannon & The Membership - S.U.V. 3:43

19 Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band - 'Tits Yeux Noirs (Little Black Eyes) 3:49

20 Pete Fountain & His Band - Lazy River 3:39

21 Louis Armstrong & His Dixieland Seven - Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans? 2:58  

Discogs entry here . . .

The Best of New Orleans [2018] (2 x CDs)

 VA - The Best of New Orleans [2018] (2 x CDs)

Now we’re talking! Another history of Nawleans 2nd Line . . . love this

NEW ORLEANS

This one doesn’t strut so much as it glides, a 2CD set that captures the humid, horn-soaked heartbeat of New Orleans without ever breaking a sweat. Released in 2018 by Metro Select and Union Square Music, The Best of New Orleans is less a history lesson and more a mixtape from a friend who knows the backstreets and jukeboxes by heart.

There’s no rigid timeline here, just a rolling wave of rhythm and soul. You get the big names, sure, but the real flavor comes from the tracks that ripple outward, influencing scenes far beyond the Crescent City. James “Sugar Boy” Crawford’s “Jock-A-Mo” is a cornerstone, a raw chant that would echo through decades of Mardi Gras lore. Chris Kenner’s “I Like It Like That” is pure New Orleans propulsion, loose, joyful, and impossible to sit still through.

Then there’s Li’l Millet & His Creoles’ “Rich Woman”, a swampy, swaggering cut that’s been covered and reinterpreted but never outdone. Clarence Garlow’s “Bon Ton Roula” brings the zydeco shuffle into the mix, while The Hawketts’ “Mardi Gras Mambo” and Professor Longhair’s “Go to the Mardi Gras” practically throw beads from the speakers. These aren’t just songs, they’re cultural touchstones, still pulsing through block parties, brass bands, and bounce tracks today.

What makes this set sing is its refusal to overthink. It’s not trying to be definitiv, it’s trying to be alive. The sequencing feels like a neighborhood stroll, a little second-line here, a little backroom R&B there, with a brass band warming up just around the corner. It’s a celebration, plain and simple, one that knows the best way to honor New Orleans is to let the music do the talking. (Butterboy)

CD1

01 Lee Dorsey - Everything I Do Gohn Be Funky 3:09

02 Robert Parker - Barefootin' 2:44

03 Irma Thomas - I Did My Part 2:29

04 Meters - Keep on Marching 3:24

05 Dr. John - Tipitina 3:25

06 Art Neville - Cha Dooky 2:37

07 Dixie Cups - Iko, Iko 2:08

08 Fats Domino - Mardis Gras in New Orleans 2:18

09 Lee Dorsey - Ya Ya 1:45

10 Aaron Neville - Hercules 4:13

11 Meters - Cissy Strut 3:01

12 Tami Lynn - Mojo Hanna 3:26

13 Dr. John - A Little Closer to My Home 3:13

14 Snooks Eaglin - Yours Truly 4:23

15 Frankie Ford - Sea Cruise 2:47

16 Huey 'Piano' Smith - Tu 2:31

17 Johnny Adams - A Losing Battle 2:52

18 Chris Kenner - I Like it Like That 1:55

19 Sugar Boy & His Cane Cutters - Jock 2:27

20 Betty Harris - Nearer to You 2:56

21 Ernie K Doe - Here Comes The Girls 3:12

22 Allen Tousaint - Happy Times 2:08

23 Irma Thomas - Somebody Told You 2:34

24 Clarence 'Frogman' Henry - Ain't Got No Home 2:23

25 Aaron Neville - Cry Me a River 3:44

CD2

01 Louis Armstrong - West End Blues 3:11

02 Young Tuxedo Brass Band - John Casimir's Whoopin' Blues 3:15

03 Kid Ory - 29th and Dearborn 2:54

04 Henry 'Red' Allen and His Orchestra - Down in Jungle Town 2:51

05 Jelly Roll Morton - I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say 3:17

06 Hawketts - Mardi Gras Mambo 2:19

07 Hawks - It's Too Late Now 2:09

08 Jessie Hill - Ooh Poo Pah Doo 4:26

09 Bobby Charles - See You Later Alligator 2:51

10 Clifton Chenier - Ay 2:42

11 Clarence Garlow - Bon Ton Roula 3:13

12 Smiley Lewis - I Hear You Knockin' 2:47

13 L'il Millett & His Creoles - Rich Woman 2:36

14 Benny Spellman - Fortune Teller 2:12

15 Eddie Bo - Every Dog Has Its Day 2:10

16 Roy Montrell - (Everytime I Hear) That Mellow Saxophone 2:25

17 Professor Longhair - Go The The Mardi Gras 2:44

18 Dave Bartholomew - Shrimp & Gumbo 2:07

19 Barbara Lynn - You're Gonna Need Me 2:26

20 Earl King - Trick Bag 2:42

21 Spiders - Witchcraft 2:36

22 King Oliver (Featuring His Orchestra) - St. James Infirmary 3:40

23 Eureka Brass Band - Lord, Lord, Lord 3:11

24 Sidney Bechet Quintet - Summertime 4:06

25 Fats Domino - Walking to New Orleans 1:56

 

Mazzy Star - Give Me You My Lovin’ [Ghost Highway] | jt1674

 

https://www.tumblr.com/jt1674/801638193902518272/mazzy-star-give-you-my-lovin

The Wedding Present - I’m Not Always So Stupid | jt1674

 . . . . turns out I pretty much am! 

https://www.tumblr.com/jt1674/801583170193670144/the-wedding-present-im-not-always-so-stupid

The Pentangle - In Time [Sweet Child] | jt1674

 

https://www.tumblr.com/jt1674/801637101997342720/the-pentangle-in-time

GEORGE HARRISON - SOFT TOUCH | HERBERG DE KELDER

ꜱᴏꜰᴛ ᴛᴏᴜᴄʜ

ɢᴇᴏʀɢᴇ ʜᴀʀʀɪꜱᴏɴ
ɢᴇᴏʀɢᴇ ʜᴀʀʀɪꜱᴏɴ

Herberg De Kelder

Rattled (Demo): Traveling Wilburys [Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1] | Herberg De Kelder

 Rattled (Demo)

Traveling WilburysTraveling Wilburys Vol. 1

Demo for Rattled.

Mr De Kelder says: "This is my favorite of all the demos. George keeps saying “rattled” when it’s the others’ turns and he’s just the cutest!! Also, wow, Roy only has 1 line but he puts everything he’s got into it. Can anyone tell what they say at the beginning?”

HERBERG DE KELDER

Leo Kottke - The Last of The Arkansas Greyhounds [6 & 12 String Guitar] | jt1674

 

https://www.tumblr.com/jt1674/801575181588037632/leo-kottke-the-last-of-the-arkansas-greyhounds

Opal - I Called Erin [Early Recordings] | Herberg De Kelder

 I Called Erin

OpalEarly Recordings

Nathan Lane on Robin Williams . . . The Birdcage

The cameras were still rolling on "The Birdcage" when Robin Williams pulled Nathan Lane aside between takes. Nathan had just finished a particularly tense scene. He was anxious, his timing had faltered slightly, and his usual control felt off. Robin leaned in and whispered, “You were perfect. I just added chaos. That’s what I do.” Nathan smiled, a little caught off guard. Robin’s words didn’t come like notes from a co-star, but like an arm around the shoulder, silent, kind, and full of permission to breathe.

Filming began in early 1995 at Miami’s Cardozo Hotel and soundstages in Los Angeles. "The Birdcage", directed by Mike Nichols, was a comedy built on flamboyance and theatrical flair, yet layered with emotional vulnerability. On screen, Robin played Armand Goldman, a gay cabaret owner trying to pass for conservative straight to please his son's fiancée's parents. Nathan Lane, as the exuberant Albert, Armand’s partner and drag performer, brought flamboyant wit mixed with aching sensitivity. Their chemistry lit up the film, but it was their off-screen connection that gave the performance its emotional core. 

Robin walked onto set carrying more than just scripts. Behind his trademark improvisation was the quiet grief of personal losses and ongoing mental health struggles. He was navigating emotional pain with humor as his lifeline. Nathan, on the other hand, was living with a deep fear. He hadn’t come out publicly and lived in quiet dread that the spotlight could expose what he wasn’t yet ready to share. He later said in interviews that the fear was constant during production. But when Robin stood next to him, that fear softened. 

Crew members often recalled moments between takes when Robin would launch into absurd improv routines, not for the camera but for Nathan. A sound technician once described how Robin stood on a table and did a full Shakespearean monologue in the voice of Elmer Fudd, simply because Nathan had flubbed a line and looked close to tears. That single moment broke the tension, made the whole room laugh, and brought Nathan back into himself. These weren’t just jokes. They were quiet acts of care. 

Nathan’s attention to detail and his need for control came from years of hiding his authentic self in plain sight. Robin never asked him about it directly. He didn’t need to. Instead, he listened, showed up, and created a space where Nathan could feel seen without explanation. Their late-night conversations, often taking place over coffee in the makeup trailer or walks around the studio lot, were filled with stories, insecurities, and mutual admiration. Nathan once said, “Robin had this way of making you feel like you were the only person in the room. And then he’d make the whole room laugh, and you’d wonder how one person could hold that much light.”

Filming wrapped with both men knowing they had done something more than act. They had held each other up. And in a Hollywood that could often feel isolating, especially for queer actors, Nathan walked away with more than a role. He had found someone who understood the weight of performance, not just for the screen but for survival. 

When Robin passed in 2014, Nathan’s tribute came with no flourish, no long stories. Just a handful of sentences, quietly powerful. “He saved me in ways I didn’t even understand until he was gone. Working with him felt like being wrapped in a blanket, warm, chaotic, and comforting.” 

What began as two actors cast in a comedy became something infinitely deeper. In a set filled with lights and laughter, two men found a private place of trust where grief, fear, and joy were shared quietly, wordlessly, and without condition.

Also:

On the first week of filming "The Birdcage" in 1995, Robin Williams arrived on set with a box of donuts and a rubber chicken tucked under his arm. Nathan Lane, pacing near his trailer in quiet nervousness, looked up and laughed. That moment would mark the beginning of a creative and emotional connection that ran deeper than the outrageous comedy they were about to bring to life.

The chemistry between them onscreen was undeniable, but it was off-camera where their bond quietly bloomed. Robin had an instinct for sensing unease in others, and he noticed Nathan’s hesitations early. Nathan was entering one of the biggest roles of his career, and beneath his brilliant timing lay a complicated mix of anxiety and a fear of exposure. The film’s subject matter, a gay couple navigating family and identity, felt achingly personal. Nathan was not publicly out at the time, and he carried that weight into each rehearsal, each line.

Robin never pried, never pushed. Instead, he made it his mission to bring levity into Nathan’s moments of tension. During scenes that demanded intricate timing, Robin would shift into impromptu impressions or whisper absurd phrases under his breath between takes, coaxing Nathan out of his head and into the joy of the moment. One crewmember recalled a scene where Nathan was visibly shaking. “Robin just started riffing on a Yiddish drag queen from Boca Raton. The whole set cracked up, but it was really for Nathan. And it worked.”

Their artistic rhythms complemented each other. Nathan, meticulous in preparation, found safety in structure. Robin thrived on unpredictability, breathing spontaneity into every interaction. Instead of clashing, their differences became the current that energized the film. Director Mike Nichols once said that watching the two of them together felt like seeing two very different dancers find a shared beat. The tension never cancelled the harmony, it enhanced it.

During off-hours, their friendship deepened. After late-night shoots, Robin would sometimes knock on Nathan’s door with a bag of fast food and no agenda. They talked about comedy, theater, and the masks that performers wear when the lights go off. Nathan later described those conversations as moments that gave him “permission to breathe.” There were no confessions, no dramatic revelations. Robin had an uncanny ability to listen with humor and stillness, offering space without judgment.

Robin himself was carrying silent burdens. The laughter he generated for millions often covered his own shadows. But with Nathan, there was no need to perform. Their quiet understanding became a soft place for both men to land during a project that, while comedic on the surface, dealt with identity, vulnerability, and the complexities of love.

When the film premiered, their performances earned praise, but the emotional weight they carried never made headlines. Years later, Nathan would reflect on those days not as a chapter in his career but as a chapter in his emotional survival. “Robin’s presence was like a blanket, warm, chaotic, and comforting,” he said. “He had this rare ability to make you feel like you belonged, even when you were convinced you didn’t.”

After Robin’s passing in 2014, Nathan offered a quiet tribute. In an interview, his voice trembled as he said, “He saved me in ways I didn’t even understand until he was gone.” That sentence carried the truth of their friendship, a connection built in unspoken gestures, absurd laughter, and the rare comfort of being truly seen.

The story of "The Birdcage" is not only one of campy brilliance and sharp satire, but of two souls, each wrestling with their own truths, holding each other steady in the disguise of comedy.  

Strange Things Will Blow Your Mind