Birthdays : The Dalai Lama!

Happy 91st Birthday to the Dalai Lama......Here pictured with a pair New Orleans greats, Allen Toussaint and Mac Rebennack (a.k.a. "Dr. John") during his visit to New Orleans in May of 2013.

Dr John - Same Old, Same Old [In The Right Place] | jt1674

 

https://www.tumblr.com/jt1674/821310701814579200/dr-john-same-old-same-old

Huey "Piano" Smith, -"Don't You Just Know It"

 First heard from the good Dr (John that is!) on his gumbo album the original is a fine fine Nawleanz R’n’B!

Huey ''Piano'' Smith - Don't You Just Know It (1959)

"Don't You Just Know It," released in 1958 by Huey "Piano" Smith, is a quintessential New Orleans rhythm and blues track that captures the lively spirit of the era. Known for his playful piano playing, Smith infused the song with a blend of traditional blues and upbeat rhythms, creating a danceable and infectious hit.

The track, characterized by its catchy chorus and buoyant piano melodies, quickly became a jukebox and radio favorite. Smith's vibrant performance, coupled with the memorable "Ha ha ha ha" chant, made the song stand out and resonate with audiences. The playful lyrics of "Don't You Just Know It" reflect the carefree mood of the time, further cementing its status as a New Orleans R&B classic.

Over the years, the song's popularity has endured, with various artists covering and sampling it. This enduring appeal highlights Huey "Piano" Smith's talent and the timeless nature of great rhythm and blues music.

Huey Smith's journey in music was marked by his early talent and years of honing his skills. His signing with Ace Records led to the success of "Don't You Just Know It," which broke into the Top Ten of the Billboard Pop charts and reached No. 4 on the R&B charts. Despite controversies with Ace Records, Smith's influence in the genre remained significant.

The Titans, an R&B group from Los Angeles, also recorded their version of "Don't You Just Know It" in January 1958. While their rendition didn't achieve significant sales, it contributed to the song's rich history.

Today, "Don't You Just Know It" remains a beloved classic, a testament to Huey "Piano" Smith's impact on New Orleans rhythm and blues. His legacy continues to be celebrated for its innovation and charisma, making a lasting impression on the music world.

1950s MUSIC 

Amongst My Top Ten Albums of ALL Time? Crawfish Fiesta - Professor Longhair

 Start the week with this if nothing else! . . . . . . 

Crawfish Fiesta

I discovered the Fess through Dr John and started collecting everything I could find live boots everything and when this ‘New’ album just came out (produced by Mac) only to find the album had a stamped message on the cover that Fess had died and then after watching the first music programme on the UK’s newest channel, Channel 4 [Piano Players Rarely Play Together featuring Fess, Allan Toussaint and Tuts Washington] documentary profile film shows The Professor’s funeral and New Orleans wake as he died during it’s making . . . . . it stood for years as one of my top three albums of all time and is always in my top ten I would say

Play this at my funeral!

Dr. John & Jools Holland - The Boogie Woogie Twins

 The Boogie Woogie Twins - Dr. John & Jools Holland's legendary duet from NBC's Night Music show, 1988.

 

I have posted this before but . . . .I DON’T CARE!

It's Jools and the good Dr

Now available on Jools Holland Pianola: Piano & Friends.

Don’t Shoot the Piano Player! Dr John on frontmen! [Keith Spera / The Advocate]

Photo: Kevin Mazur

 "I never liked front men," Dr. John recalled in 2011. "I never felt any different after I became one. The idea of what front men become is kinda obnoxious."

Neither was he convinced that his voice was suited for singing. "I said, 'Whaddya mean me? I can't sing.' And (Harold Battiste) said, 'Look, if Bob Dylan and Sonny and Cher can sing, you can sing.' I thought it would be a one-off deal and then I'd go back to producing records. It didn't happen."

In January 1968, Atco Records released his debut album, “Gris-Gris.” On the album cover, Rebennack was billed as “Dr. John, the Night Tripper”; his songwriter credits inside identified him as “Dr. John Creaux.”

Recorded in Los Angeles with Battiste producing, “Gris-Gris” was a spooky synthesis of New Orleans music and psychedelic rock. It concluded with “I Walk on Guilded Splinters,” one of his signature songs. Decades later, Rolling Stone magazine would name “Gris-Gris” one of the 500 best albums of all time.

In the late 1960s and early ’70s, Rebennack fully embraced the voodoo trappings of his Night Tripper persona. Onstage, he wore elaborate headdresses and was sometimes accompanied by a live snake. He scattered glitter from a pouch, much to the chagrin of Gregg Allman, who once recalled having to clean the "magic dust" from his keyboards after sharing a bill with Dr. John.

Rebennack wrote and recorded essential chapters in the New Orleans music canon. Over the years, he became one of the city's most enduring, respected and iconoclastic musicians and cultural figures. He was a prominent member of the pantheon of New Orleans piano legends, part of a direct lineage that included Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Huey “Piano” Smith, Allen Toussaint and Art Neville.

Source: Keith Spera / The Advocate

Don's Tunes

The Doctor is IN! | Live Dr John - The Cellar Door Washington DC 1978 | VOODOO WAGON

 

Dr. John - The Cellar Door , Washington DC 11.10.1978

➡️Of course it helps if I post an actual link . . . . !⬅️

A VOODOO WAGON

XRAY SPECIAL

~

Dr. John

Cellar Door Washington DC  11.10.1978 FM remaster

01 Swanee River Boogie   

02 Dance the Night Away with You    

03 Wild Honey    

04 He's a Hero    

05 City Lights    

06 Street Side    

07 Mama Roux   

08 Snake Eyes    

09 Right Place, Wrong Time    

10 Let's Make a Better World   

11 Rain    

12 Fire of Love    

13 Such a Night    

14 Iko Iko 

The Doctor is in with an all star band backing him up!

Dr. John - vocals, piano

David Sanborn - alto saxophone

Kim Hutchinson - alto saxophone, woodwinds

Buzzy Feiten - lead guitar

Jim Calhoun- bass

Neil Larsen - organ

Hugh McCracken - guitars

Steve Gadd - drums

Joyce Kaye - vocals

Tami Lynn - vocals  

                                                         The Doctor will see you now!

Picture of The Week - Dr John and his children

Dr John and his daughters

What a lovely picture! Bet they had fun hey?

 

Mac Rebennack (Dr. John) - Storm Warning (1959)

 Dr John started out playing the guitar . . . as in here . . .with a hit seeking missile . . . . . a  la Bo Didley! . . . . . . . . and then someone shot him . . . . . in the hand

Mac Rebennack (Dr. John) - Storm Warning (1959)

Rex Records single 1008

Electric Guitar/Songwriter: Mac Rebennack

Piano: Allen Toussaint

Saxophone: Lee Allen

Recorded in New Orleans, Louisiana

 . . . . .so he took up piano instead!

Dr John The Night Tripper - Gris-gris | Don's Tunes

 (Albums bought when they came out! Yes those were different times . . . . . powerful influence on the early teenage me and what we were up to - it’s long story - we listening to this album over and over) so I will sign off the day with the Night Tripper. Sweet dreams . . . . !

Dr John began to develop a cult following with the release of his first major-label album, Gris-Gris (1968), a startling brew of voodoo funk and strange incantations, epitomised by the eerie eight-minute mantra I Walk on Guilded Splinters. Nobody had heard anything like it, including his label boss, Ahmet Ertegun. “Ahmet asked me: ‘What is this record you gave me … Why didn’t you give me a record that we could sell?’” Dr John recalled. He took the album on tour with a show resembling a bayou magic act, decking himself out in outlandish feathers, witch-doctor robes and headdresses. For a time the act also featured a man calling himself Prince Kiyama, who would bite the heads off live chickens onstage.

Two follow-up albums to Gris-Gris – Babylon (1969) and Remedies (1970) – began to make him influential friends, including Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger, who both appeared on The Sun, Moon & Herbs (1971), and in 1973 he released the biggest selling album of his career, In the Right Place. Produced by Allen Toussaint and with the Meters as backing band, it reached No 24 on the Billboard album chart and gave him a US Top 10 hit single with Right Place, Wrong Time. It also included Such a Night, which Dr John would perform at the Band’s 1976 farewell concert, filmed by Martin Scorsese as The Last Waltz. He failed to reach such sales heights again, but was widely acclaimed across the rest of his career, and won six Grammys for various albums and singles.

Adam Sweeting / The Guardian

Photograph: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Don's Tunes

Gris Gris Gumbo Ya Ya

2013 Official Americana Awards - Dr John "I Walk On Gilded Splinters”

Dr John performs "I Walk On Gilded Splinters" with Buddy Miller, Don Was, Larry Campbell, Marco Giovino, Jim Hoke, John Deaderick, Brady Blade, the McCrary Sisters and Dan Auerbach at the 2013 Americana Music Association

Everlasting Arms feat. Dr. John | Playing For Change | Song Around The World

 

"You can lean on me brother, I can see you've carried too long..." This lyric is something we can all relate to. Sometimes life gets to be too much or too hard and we need somewhere positive to put our troubles so we can move on. Music is one of best places to put your problems and lay down your burdens, and when you hear Luke Winslow-King, Vasti Jackson, Dr. John, and Roots Gospel Voices of Mississippi sing these words, you know everything is going to be alright. “Everlasting Arms” is the second song from our Listen to the Music series — our newest body of work comprising 12 new Songs Around The World and featuring Buddy Guy, The Doobie Brothers, Warren Haynes, Dr. John, Jack Johnson, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and many more. All music in this series was recorded live outside with a mobile studio and features over 200 musicians from 25 different countries. The album will be released on April 20th, 2018 (pre-order available now), with one new video from the series dropping every month! 100% of Playing For Change’s profits from this album will go to the Playing For Change Foundation, helping to support music education across the globe. Listen to the music; change the world! JOIN THE MOVEMENT Subscribe to our newsletter: http://bit.ly/1x9CAfJ

Ain’t that the truth! 

Dr John & Johnny Winter - In Session complete 1984

 Johnny Winter - Dr John - In Session complete

Johnny Winter - Guitar 

Dr John - Piano 

Brian Russel - Gtr/Bass 

Jon Paris - Harp/Bass 

Terry Clark - Drums 

Set List 

Bye Bye Baby - Elmore James

Right Place Wrong Time - Dr John

Johnny B Goode - Chuck Berry

Stranded (In St Louis) -Jr Parker

Talk to your Daughter - JB Lenoir

Hideaway -  Freddie King, Sonny Thompson (Hound Dog Taylor)

You Lie Too Much - Dr John

Mean Mistreater - Muddy Waters

Tipitina - Professor Longhair

Such a Night - Dr John

 In Session complete

from an old VHS tape In Session - 

A local Canadian TV show. 

CHCH-TV out of Hamilton, Ontario. Canada, 

Likewise someone posted two songs from this concert on Flickennbok and what the heck . . . . . here’s the whole danged thing DAGNABBIT!

Photo: Bryce Lankard

Dr. John is not a real doctor. (really? sic!) But that didn’t stop Eric Clapton from seeking his advice when the two met backstage at the Lyceum in London.

“When I ran into him I told him I wanted to consult him as a doctor,” Clapton recalled. “He asked me what my problem was, and I told him that I needed a remedy. ‘What kind of remedy?’ I told him: ‘A love potion.’ I was calling his bluff, but he asked me to tell him more about the situation. So I told him I was deeply in love with the wife of another man [Patti Harrison, Beatle George’s missus], and that she was no longer happy with him but wouldn’t leave him. He gave me a little box made out of woven straw, and told me to keep it in my pocket, gave me various, long-forgotten instructions. I did exactly as I was told.”

A few weeks later Eric told George the truth, started his affair with Patti, and told the whole world about it on the Derek And The Dominos’ album featuring Layla and his other love songs.

Dr. John was in demand with the British rock elite. Clapton and Mick Jagger appeared on his 1971 album The Sun, Moon & Herbs, and Rebennack was asked to support the Stones on the road. He also played on the track Let It Loose on the Stones’ Exile On Main St. 

“Funniest crap was, they wuz mixin’ the album in New York, and I went to some shoot party and Keith Richards was real old-school, the coolest cat. They all loved the N’Awlins sound, so I got my man Didymus the gig on percussion and brought along the singer Tammi Lynn – Keith was all over the lady.

“I’d met ’em before that, in London, when that kid who died [Brian Jones] used to sit in the dressing room and talk for hours about southern music. I guess I influenced Jagger some, cuz people said he changed his vocal style after he met me, but so what? If it rolled with me, that’s cool with my ass. Who the hell knows where influence comes from? I don’t live in his brain. I know he heard something he could use.”

By Max Bell

( Classic Rock Magazine )

Don's Tunes

 Again I’ve said it before but we miss Mac and are the poorer for his passing . . . . .read his Under a Hoodoo Moon, its one of my favourite books!

2013 Official Americana Awards - Dr John "I Walk On Gilded Splinters"

Remembering Professor Longhair (December 19, 1918 – January 30, 1980) - Two profiles of THE ‘FESS!

 

MAESTRO!

Remembering Professor Longhair (December 19, 1918 – January 30, 1980)

New Orleans is said to be a city where having a party has been elevated from a casual pastime to a way of life. Nobody understood this better than Professor Longhair, one of the pioneers of New Orleans rhythm & blues. His influence can be heard in Fats Domino, Allen Toussaint and Dr. John, among many others. Known for his unique mix of blues, jazz, calypso, ragtime, and zydeco, "Fess" (as he was known) defined and captured the essence of New Orleans in his music.

Born Henry Roeland Byrd in Bogalusa, Louisiana 1918, and raised in New Orleans, Fess started performing at an early age, often dancing down Bourbon Street for tips. In addition to piano, he learned to play guitar and drums in the early 1930s and was in and out of numerous bands. He soon found there were better ways to make money than music. He worked as a cook, then as a boxer, and eventually became a professional card player. It wasn't until the late 1940s that he returned to music.

He went into the army during World War II, and was discharged in 1943. At that point he led a variety of groups, including the Mid Drifs, Professor Longhair and the Four Hairs, and Professor Longhair and His Shuffling Hungarians. He made his recording debut with the latter group in 1949 on the Star Talent label. A year later he had a new group and a new label. The Blues Jumpers recorded for Mercury, which released Bald Head, the only Professor Longhair ever to make the R&B charts, peaking at number five.

Longhair recorded for Atlantic and Federal, and many smaller labels such as Edd, Ron, Rip. Despite recording such classics as Tipitina, Big Chief, and Going To The Mardi Gras, he never received much exposure outside of Louisiana, although his reputation in New Orleans was substantial. With songs like Tipitina, Hey Now, Baby, In The Night, Big Chief, and the great Going To The Mardi Gras, Fess was the reigning king of New Orleans.

 

"Tipitina" Professor Longhair & The Meters 1974

Even though a New Orleans legend, Fess was forced to support himself by returning to cards and working as a janitor in the mid-1960s. Luckily, he was rediscovered in the early 1970s and performed at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1971. He played the New Orleans festival every year thereafter until his death. He toured Europe, headlining the 1973 Montreux Jazz Festival. Paul McCartney flew him to California in 1975 to play an exclusive private party on the Queen Mary. He was an idol to people who were not even born when Bald Head was a hit.

Of his many recordings, however, perhaps his best and most fully realized is Crawfish Fiesta, recorded for Alligator Records in 1979. Bruce Iglauer, president of Alligator Records, continues the story. "I was on the phone with Professor Longhair's manager, and I mentioned that I'd love to record Fess for Alligator. I loved his eccentric, rhumba-blues New Orleans piano style and wild, cracked vocals, and he was one of my favorite musicians. I flew down to New Orleans and listened to the master pound out all his old hits and a slew of Crescent City R&B standards. I made an offer, and, much to my amazement, it was accepted. Surrounded by friends (including Dr. John on guitar) and finding himself in a studio situation where he was completely in charge (maybe for the first time ever), Professor Longhair presented Alligator with perhaps the finest album of his long career and one of the best Alligator ever released."

Don's Tunes

Crawfish Fiesta usually in my Top Three Albums of all time! 

A favourite from that album is this

Professor Longhair - I Know There Is Something On Your Mind

I’d been saving this profile since way back so here’s another biog. introduced via Dr John as I have b=banged on about but he rapidly became my main man and no mistake. I have said f=before add nauseam tha Fess featured on a the FIRST music show on the then new Cghannel 4 when they broadcast Piano Players Rarely Play together featured Fess. Tuts Washington and Allen Touusaint . . . duding the filming they lost Fess and filmed his way Nawleans style which was staggering and just posthumously they rebased Crawfish Fiesta as agrranged by his student and main man hisself The Good Doctor John Mac Rebennack!

Henry Roeland "Roy" Byrd (December 19, 1918 – January 30, 1980), better known as Professor Longhair or "Fess" for short, was an American singer and pianist who performed New Orleans blues. He was active in two distinct periods, first in the heyday of early rhythm and blues and later in the resurgence of interest in traditional jazz after the founding of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1970. His piano style has been described as "instantly recognisable, combining rumba, mambo, and calypso".

Music journalist Tony Russell (in his book The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray) wrote that "The vivacious rhumba-rhythmed piano blues and choked singing typical of Fess were too weird to sell millions of records; he had to be content with siring musical offspring who were simple enough to manage that, like Fats Domino or Huey "Piano" Smith. But he is also acknowledged as a father figure by subtler players like Allen Toussaint and Dr. John."

Byrd was born on December 19, 1918, in Bogalusa, Louisiana.[2] His distinctive style of piano playing was influenced by learning to play on an instrument that was missing some keys. He left the city as a baby with his parents, who were most likely fleeing the racial tension surrounding the Bogalusa Massacre.

He began his career in New Orleans in 1948. Mike Tessitore, owner of the Caldonia Club, gave Longhair his stage name. Longhair first recorded in a band called the Shuffling Hungarians in 1949, creating four songs (including the first version of his signature song, "Mardi Gras in New Orleans") for the Star Talent record label. Union problems curtailed their release, but Longhair's next effort for Mercury Records the same year was a winner. Throughout the 1950s, he recorded for Atlantic Records, Federal Records and local labels.

Professor Longhair had only one national commercial hit, "Bald Head", in 1950, under the name Roy Byrd and His Blues Jumpers. He also recorded his favourites, "Tipitina" and "Go to the Mardi Gras". He lacked crossover appeal among white and wide audiences. Yet, he is regarded (and was acknowledged) as being a musician who was highly influential for other prominent musicians, such as Fats Domino, Allen Toussaint and Dr. John.

After suffering a stroke, Professor Longhair recorded "No Buts – No Maybes" in 1957. He re-recorded "Go to the Mardi Gras" in 1959. He first recorded "Big Chief" with its composer, Earl King, in 1964. In the 1960s, Professor Longhair's career faltered. He became a janitor to support himself and fell into a gambling habit.

After a few years during which he disappeared from the music scene, Professor Longhair's musical career finally received "a well deserved renaissance" and wide recognition. He was invited to perform at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1971 and at the Newport Jazz Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1973. His album The London Concert showcases work he did on a visit to the United Kingdom. That significant career resurrection saw the recording of the album "Professor Longhair - Live On The Queen Mary", which was recorded on March 24, 1975, during a private party hosted by Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney on board the retired RMS Queen Mary.

"Walk Right In/Shake, Rattle & Roll" Professor Longhair & The Meters 1974

Prof Longhair Crawfish Fiesta 

I always fancied having this is as the last number at my funeral!

Dr. John Hunt's, Burlington, VT September 14, 1981 | Voodoo Wagon - a draftervoi special

This is FEARSOME steamy, hot and loud! 

and supa-fonky!

Dr. John / Hunt's, Burlington, VT Sept. 14, 1981 (soundboard?) Voodoo Wagon

Dr. John

Hunt's, 

Burlington, VT 

September 14, 1981

01 Dr. John - Intro Jam

02 Dr. John - Keep That Music Simple

03 Dr. John - I'm Qualified

04 Dr. John - Tipitina

05 Dr. John - Right Place Wrong Time

06 Dr. John - Mama Roux

07 Dr. John - Such A Night

08 Dr. John - I Walk On Gilded Splinters (tape flip)

09 Dr. John - I Been Whoodoed

10 Dr. John - Big Chief

11 Dr. John - Mama Don't 'low

12 Dr. John - Medley Iko Iko, Wade In The Water, Saints

get it here . . .

Thanks  draftervoi !

Dr John (solo) - Such A Night (1981)