Chauncey and Chumley's Dad

In fond memory of the late Dr. John, I am kicking off the weekend with one of my favorite songs from his fine album Going Back to New Orleans.

Now you say you ain’t never met my wife

You ain’t never seen her before

Say you ain’t been hangin’ around my crib

Well here’s something I wanna know

I wanna know what in the world is goin’ down

How come my dog don’t bark when you come around?

Dr. John (1941-2019)

Leon Redbone (1949-2019)

It’s very sad to hear of the passing of two great musician’s in the past few days; Dr. John and Leon Redbone. Both were a bit unusual in that they found popularity with Rock music audiences while playing music that was not necessarily rooted in Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Dr. John was always one of my favorites. Born and raised in New Orleans and influenced by the sounds of that great music city, he released his first album Gris-Gris in 1968, creating a unique sound by blending Pyschedelic Rock with New Orleans Rhythm and Blues. Adding a New Orleans Voodoo theme to his shows, his persona as The Night-Tripper was a perfect addition to the Rock and Pyschedelic culture of the late 60’s and early 70’s. He later dug deeper into his New Orleans roots and kept much of the traditional New Orleans songs alive on his albums and in his shows. As someone who has made several trips to the Crescent City, I particularly loved Dr. John’s album Going Back to New Orleans. It is a collection of cover songs from many of the great New Orleans musical artists. He was also a fine piano player. His style was influenced by the great Professor Longhair and the Doctor did the Professor proud with his talent and interpretation on the piano keys. Dr. John wrote about Professor Longhair and his other musical influences in his autobiography Under a Hoodoo Moon. It is an excellent book and written in a very open and honest style. I was fortunate to see Dr. John twice, both in Chicago. The first time was in November, 1995 at Cubby Bear Lounge. On that night, he played mostly traditional New Orleans music. He and his band were dressed in traditional Mardi Gras costumes. A year later, in December 1996, I saw him again at House of Blues. At that show, his style and musical selections was that of his Night-Tripper days. That show was opened by another great piano player, the late Leon Russell. Dr. John was a musician that brought a lot of joy to my life and I will miss him greatly.

Leon Redbone was a musician I was only into on a peripheral level, but I always enjoyed his music when I heard it. His sound was rooted in Blues and Jazz, and he particularly focused on Tin Pan Alley classics from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the 1970’s, he became popular in with young Rock fans after he met Bob Dylan at a Folk festival. Recognizable by his ever-present Panama hat, he was a favorite guest of some of the late-night talk show hosts in the 70’s and 80’s. While in college in the late 70’s, my friend and next-door neighbor Seed frequently played Leon Redbone’s music on his reel-to-reel. I can clearly remember listening to Diddy Wa Diddie during the late sweltering summer nights of southern Illinois.

Dr. John (1941-2019)

The San Francisco Chronicle has found their long-lost photo’s from The Last Waltz. The final concert by The Band was performed at Winterland in San Francisco in 1976 and the documentary film was directed by Martin Scorsese. The performance featured several guests that were, and are still, musical legends.

A little Mardi Gras music for Fat Tuesday courtesy of Dr. John and friends.