Early New Orleans Rock N Roll/R&B

like when they were putting together the soundtrack to "stand by me" they were probably like dude, i dunno let's use "yakety yak" or "lollipop lollipop" instead this "rockin' pneumonia" shit, it's just too ... but it's also real basic greatness & if you can't get over it, then thankfully there's "rockin' behind the iron curtain" which is THE SAME SONG but BETTER

The really great 40s/50s Prof Longhair is on Atlantic. The stuff released on other labels sounds like rehearsals for the Atlantic sessions. But it's too rolling, too behind the beat to sound like jump blues to me.

The secret weapon on most 50s NO records is the drumming, that jackhammer beat that no one plays anymore, that hardly anyone played then -- mainly just Earl Palmer and Charles Hungry Williams. It's the perfect foil to all that rolling piano. (Compare to Meters-style funk drumming, which imitates, rather than plays against, the piano line.) Lots of NO songs (eg "Rockin' Pneumonia" or "Mother-in-Law") are barely more than excuses to play that beat -- and without it, yes, they do sound corny. There really is no better drumming.

Listen to Palmer on Fats Domino's "I'm Walking" (that intro!) or anything by Little Richard ("Slippin' and Slidin,'" "Lucille"). That's Hungry Williams on the Huey Piano Smith sides. You named most of my faves ("Rockin' Behind the Iron Curtain" is unbelievable). except for "Don't You Know Yokomo." "Don't You Just Know It" may be the greatest record of all time -- unless it's "Sick and Tired" by Chris Kenner, which also features Williams on drums. If you don't know it, you need to!

I wouldn't say Prof Longhair is "New Orleans rock and roll" but it doesn't matter, it's still great. The early Atlantic stuff from '49 is poorly recorded but essential music. A good later one is "Houseparty New Orleans Style" on Rounder, cut in N.O. and Memphis early '70s.

Another good comp, probably OP but still floating around, is the two-CD Dave Bartholomew box, with Fats, Earl King and many others. There's also a really good comp called "Finger Snapping and Dancing Feet" or something like that, it's all the Toussaint-produced c. 1960 NOLA rock and roll hits like "Mother-in-Law" and Benny Spellman's "Fortune Teller" and "Ooh Pa Pa Doo." The Showmen doing "It Will Stand." Great stuff.

Nothing makes me happier than listening to Huey Piano Smith, stuff like "I'll Be John Brown" and so forth. What can I say, if someone gave me the choice between traveling back in time to meet John Lennon or Chris Kenner, I'd choose Chris Kenner.

I've got Highlights from 'Crescent City Soul', which is a single disc distillation of an OOP four disc box set put out in '96. Every single track is absolutely killer. So many original versions of well-known songs done by other artists ("Come On" was done by Hendrix, "Let the Good Times Roll" by Nilsson, "Fortune Teller" by the Who, etc.) I'd get the box if I could but it's way too expensive second-hand.

I've tried to embellish this with two other sets, Finger Poppin' and Stompin Feet (all Toussaint productions) and Let the Good Times Roll, both put out on Capitol in 2002. But I'm still missing *tons* of stuff, and even buying single-artist comps by Lee Dorsey or Irma Thomas would not fix this.

According to AMG, the granddaddy of VA New Orleans R&B comps was a 3-cassette Rhino collection put out in the 80's and briefly made an apperance on CD only to go out of print. It's very tough to get a hold of, I've been looking for a while.

Also, there's a box that was put out last year called Doctors, Professors, Kings & Queens, but this focuses on *all* of New Orleans music, not just r&b. Accordingly, there's a ton of stuff missing.

Did Smiley Lewis record in New Orleans? I like his r'n'b.

Very specifically, I'm searching more '59-'63 NOLA Soul ala Joe Jones/Lee Dorsey/Ernie K-Doe. I'm pleased this thread exists.

Current faves:

(1960) Clarence 'Frogman' Henry - (I Don't Know Why) But I Do
(1960) Joe Jones - You Talk too Much
(1960) Jessie Hill - Ooh Poo Pah Doo, Pt. 2
(1961) Ernie K-Doe - Mother-In-Law
(1961) Ernie K-Doe - Te-Ta-Te-Ta-Ta
(1961) Lee Dorsey - Ya Ya
(1961) Party Boys - We Got a Party
(1962) Reggie Hall - The Joke
(1963) Chris Kenner - Land of 1000 Dances

Irma Thomas's first version of "Ruler of My Heart" is one of the most achingly beautiful recordings I've heard.

"two winters long," "it's starting to get to me now" and "some things you never get used to" are the ones of hers that kill me every time.

have you heard the irma thomas at muscle shoals record? really good too, though I'm totally with you on your irma picks esp 2 winters

Has blogged about Lee Dorsey

http://homeofthegroove.blogspot.com/

This blog covers mostly New Orleans funk, but has gone back further on ocassion. I think I recall an old posting about Lee Dorsey

R&B/R&R
Soul
Funk

My own fave N.O. lost classic - Willie Tee's cryptic "Teasin' You," which featured one of the earliest (1965) references to getting high in a hit song ("you done bought a lot of drinks, she's as high as she can be..."). And those old-time expressions he uses in the fadeout are insane ("You're nothing but a popcorn/Sucker John/They call you The Island Man/Because you think you're raising sand/They call you Doc/(couldn't make out this line)." Louisiana swamp-pop artist Tommy McClain did a real good version of this one.

As for Willie, he followed it up with "Thank You, John," which has a real confusing plotline...as best as I can tell, John took out Willie's girl against her wishes, and she comes back with bruises (!!!), so I think Willie is thanking John for all the $$$ they're gonna get after they sue him? At any rate, I never really cared for that one, but "Teasin' You" and "Walking Up A One-Way Street," both by Willie Tee, are classic examples of N.O. R&B morphing into soul.

http://www.offbeat.com/2010/03/12/rockie-charles-passes-away-this-morning/

RIP Rockie Charles, the New Orleans President of Soul

Just saw on Offbeat.com that New Orleans drummer Bunchy Johnson died. He was recently filmed in the opening episode of "Treme" (soon to air on HBO--created by David The Wire Simon) according to Treme writer David Mills-- see blog post below. Bunchie apparently drummed with Mardi Gras Indians and a who's who of old-school New Orleans r'n'b greats.

http://undercoverblackman.blogspot.com/2010/03/bernard-bunchy-johnson.html

Bernard “Bunchy” Johnson, Drums
Bernard "Bunchy" Johnson grew up along the musically fertile streets of uptown New Orleans' 13th Ward and downtown's Treme neighborhood. As a youngster he second lined with Mardi Gras Indians in Uptown's Shakespeare Park, as well as in Treme, home of some of the city's best brass bands.

At 19, Bunchy went on tour with King Floyd, Johnnie Taylor, and Candi Staton. He returned to New Orleans to perform with Clarence "Frogman" Henry and The Deacons, the precursor to Chocolate Milk. He also performed and/or recorded with Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, The Dixie Cups, Irma Thomas, Lloyd Price, Jean Knight, Ernie K-Doe, Johnny Adams, and Ruth Brown. When drummer James Black passed away Bunchy was chosen to take his place in Dave Bartholemew's band, where he remains to this day. Bunchy's first self-titled CD/DVD will be released in the fall of 2009.

http://www.jointsjumpin.com/band.htm

http://www.offbeat.com/2010/04/29/two-nights-of-bobby-charles/

Probably leans more toward jazz, but I just picked this up and highly recommend it. This is the album Baptiste moved to a higher spot in hopes of saving it from the Katrina floods in HBO's Treme.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51AM9vPFvML._SL500_AA300_.jpg

As good a thread as any to mention that Chris Kenner's "Land of 1000 Dances" is just amazing. So simple -- one chord, no real chorus -- but so entrancing. I'd known that Pickett was covering someone, but I didn't realize the original was so vastly different.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2721/4122865025_29792a5d8e.jpg

This book:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DM4BWRGGL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

(typo-ridden as it sometimes is) has great chapters on unsung heroes like Kenner -- who comes off mostly as as an amiable drunk who could never really get his act together. If I had a time machine, I would go to 50s New Orleans to hang with Chris Kenner and Smiley Lewis.

I just ordered both of Hannusch's books -- thanks for the recommendation Dan!

I have "I Hear You Knockin'" and must still finish reading it. Hannusch also writes for Offbeat Magazine out of New Orleans.

I need to get the John Broven book- "Rhythm and Blues in New Orleans."

http://johnbroven.com/jjb/books.html

I've had the Broven book from the library at some point, and can't remember whether I thought it was good, bad or mediocre.

I've reread "I Hear You Knockin'" numerous times. Even though, as noted above, crazy editing things happen (Ernie K-Doe turns into Ernie K-9 at one point!!) he gets some really great reminiscences from Tuts Washington, Earl King and others about guys like Smiley Lewis, who was never interviewed before he died.

I don't know if this recent CD compilation has been mentioned, but I can't recommend it highly enough.

http://www.louisianamusicfactory.com/images/product/5591.jpg

Broven did an appearance at a suburban W. DC library a year ago that I missed cuz I was out of town.

I have to get that comp.

Broven's book is definitive. The Cosimo box contains a lot of Little Richard stuff and other things that have been collected pretty thoroughly elsewhere. but it does have "Travelin' Mood" by Wee Willie Wayne, a New Orleans standard you can't find too easily, and which Snooks Eaglin used to do. The Wilson Pickett version of "Land of 1000 Dances" was cribbed from not the Kenner recording but from Cannibal and the Headhunters. The Pickett version is far less nuanced than the Kenner version. This is typical of all covers of New Orleans r&b, I've found.

Also got a copy of Aaron Neville's Tell It Like It Is LP from '67. A little lighter and sweeter than the run of NOLA r&b but a real good record nonetheless.

I found a bunch of Eddie Bo productions over the last year and my favorite of all of them is "Timber" by Chris Kenner, recording under a souldenym of, I believe, "Candy Lewis." Just incredible. Chris Kenner gives me hope for the human race in all its imperfections.

Yeah, the Cosimo box contains a fair amount of songs I already owned, but a TON I had never heard before. The oft-anthologized stuff sits next to Little Leo (Lloyd Price's brother,) Peewee Crayton and vocal groups like The Barons. It works like the Stax boxsets for me (with Otis Redding and Sam & Dave interspersed with Mable John and Ruby Johnson) in that it plays really well across 4 discs, and there really aren't any duds in the set.

And yeah, "Timber" is fab!

http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/2010/09/cosimo_matassas_jm_recording_s.html

Cosimo Matassa's J&M Recording Studio named Rock and Roll Landmark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlBuc863hU0

http://cosimocode.com/

Author Broven, plus Red kelly and others re producer Cosimo Matassa

Totally into the idea of the Cosimo Code, still not exactly sure what it is. Have a few of those Broven books but haven't really gotten around to reading them yet.

http://cosimocode.com/scarface.html

After the launch of The Cosimo Code last year, John Broven was contacted by Deborah Williams, the daughter of the late John 'Scarface' Williams. Through telephone conversations and other corresepondence, she has provided us with the first in-depth look at this New Orleans legend, together with some incredible unpublished news clippings and family photographs.

Williams was an integral member of Huey Smith's Clowns in the golden age of New Orleans R&B and, along with Bobby Marchan, was the voice of the Clowns with his declamatory, enthusiastic vocals. Then Williams formed his own group, the Tick Tocks, which was recorded by Harold Battiste and Allen Toussaint in the 1960s. Williams, much revered among the New Orleans music community - especially by Dr. John and Aaron Neville - was murdered in 1972 before the New Orleans R&B revival took place, hence his comparative anonymity for far too many years... Lovingly written by Williams' own daughter, the profile below will hopefully change all that!

http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/2014/09/cosimo_matassa_new_orleans_rec.html

Cosimo Matassa, New Orleans recording studio owner, engineer and rock 'n' roll pioneer, has died

Keith Spera, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
on September 11, 2014 at 8:53 PM, updated September 11, 2014 at 11:10 PM

Cosimo Matassa, the New Orleans studio owner and recording engineer who helped craft timeless recordings by Fats Domino, Little Richard, Irma Thomas, Professor Longhair, Lee Dorsey, Lloyd Price, Aaron Neville, Dr. John and many others, died Thursday (Sept. 11) at Ochsner Medical Center. He was 88.

The sound created by Domino, producer Dave Bartholomew and Mr. Matassa at J&M Recording on North Rampart Street staked New Orleans' claim as the birthplace not just of jazz, but of rock 'n' roll as well.

excerpt from link. RIP oh great engineer

So many amazing records

RIP

we like birdland

It's like a million degrees in Minneapolis (well, 90+ F) so I am pretending I am in New Orleans and listening to a Jessie Hill compilation. These sessions must have been an amazing, drunken party. Half the songs sound the same, trying to rewrite "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" to find another hit, but they're all great! "Scoop Scoobie Doobie" is the most ridiculous piece of hollering nonsense, riding that unstoppable New Orleans beat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyHDh4rKGXI

Ridiculous & great, love that swung tambourine against everything else.

Also in case people don't know:

He was grandfather to brothers Troy "Trombone Shorty" and James Andrews, and their cousins Glen David Andrews and Travis "Trumpet Black" Hill

Damn, that Jessie Hill song is creating a great disturbance in my mind (and yeah, the swung tambourine is indeed esp awesome); wish I could be walking across Frenchmen Street right now sweating through my mask--thanks!

xp I had actually just been listening to James' Satchmo of the Ghetto, which opens with a song about Jessie that borrows bits from both "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" and "Scoop Scoobie Doobie." That prompted a deep dive into his granddad's stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPmiD4bNop4

Very, very informative thread, with lots of appealing comments, enticing descriptions, thanks! For me the gateway was Dr. John's early 70s Gumbo, ace choice of singles way the fuck OOP then, don't know if they ever did all make it to the same place again. if you can stand his vocal jive-shtick at all (and indeed, his voice in extended interviews was much the same)longtime NOLA studio rat Mac Rebbenack is the guide for this, with a round-up of the right players and roungh & ready sound, and yeah sounds like they've known all these songs from an early age (some of the records weren't really that old, but wtf OOP).
Also New Orleans as Hell, though he finally hit big in Vegas (think he started working in late 1930s?): leavu us not forget my man Louis Prima; can't top xgau's description of another gateway:
Zooma Zooma: The Best of Louis Prima [Rhino, 1990]
A Vegas fixture for a quarter century before he died at 67 in 1978, this Storyville-born Sicilian singer-trumpeter shared his entertainment philosophy as well as his Christian name with Armstrong and Jordan. He crossed over r&b with 1950's "Oh, Babe!" but it was the honking tenor and rough vocal cameos of his compatriot Sam Butera that added rock and roll anti-class to a jazz act that pitted Prima's jocular leads against the sensible musicality of his consort Keely Smith. Prima was a go-for-the-gut clown whose signature musical tactic was to intersperse flat-out novelties like "Robin Hood" and "Jump, Jive an' Wail" with two-song medleys that moved the crap-shooting punters on to "I Ain't Got Nobody" before "Just a Gigolo" got old. Since 1990, when Rhino assembled these 18 tracks (14 on cassette, remember that one?), there have been more straight reissues, reshuffled comps, radio transcriptions, and live exhumations than I want to hear or count. More likely to cost four bucks than the 40 some chiselers are charging, this out-of-print 18-track laff-fest is probably the best, probably because it keeps the rock market in mind. The best alternative I've heard is the 1991 Capitol Collectors Series, which has eight more tracks but omits the nostalgic "Robin Hood" and the fat "Them There Eyes"/"Honeysuckle Rose." Forget Capitol's 26-track 2007 Jump, Jive an' Wail: The Essential Louis Prima, with its non-NAACP "Civilization (Bongo Bongo Bongo)," pre-IIADL "Luigi," and bored run-throughs of "Hello Dolly" and "Cabaret." The pura the zooma the betta. A Although those others are worth checking out online, if you can't get enough.

I have an 8CD Bear Family box of Prima's stuff. It's not all essential, not by half, but the peaks are fantastic. (I didn't pay what Bear Family's asking; I got it on eBay for about half that — dead stock from a record store that went out of business.)

Yeah, most of his comps are best approached as berry picker's baskets for your own mixes--8 CDs!! can't imagine, but congratz for getting it at a great price.
A variety of good-to-primo Prima here, also interviews w his co-stars, perfect foil Keely Smith and right hand man Sam Butera, although (with two hours to fill) sometimes the Vegas side of the conceptualizing is too much: Flying Burrito Bothers' "Sin City," perfect---Kay Starr's Wheel of Fortune," (starting w spooky, thrilling sound of the wheel itself), amen---Wayne Newton's "Danke Schoen" o shit. But overall it's---quite a riide:
http://americanroutes.wwno.org/archives/show/1116/Bourbon-Street-to-Vegas-with-Louis-Prima

I wish there was more footage of them on YouTube; the dynamic between Prima and Smith is fantastic. An obvious precursor to Sonny & Cher, too...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAP9hC4GP_U

Yeah, look at her eyeing him, "Mm-hmm." But she's listening.

dow, Gumbo was not a singles collection (it was all recorded in '72) but rather a tribute to songs that were local hits for others in the 50s and 60s: Sugar Boy Crawford, Longhair, Earl King. I'm sure Mac heard a song like "Blow Wind Blow" by Junior Gordon on local radio often when he was young; it was the golden era of local and regional hits, and New Orleans produced a bunch of 'em.

I was listening to Tommy Ridgley the other day, another guy like Jessie Hill who really never made it nationally, but had many local hits, so when Snooks Eaglin would cover "Lavinia" or "Ooh Lawdy My Baby" those weren't obscurities to him, those were songs he would have heard on the radio in his youth.

And yes, that Rhino Prima comp is excellent fun.

Yeah, I said it was Dr. John rounding up other guys who knew the old stuff.

AKA Mac or Mack Rebennack (right spelling?), already a New Orleans sessioneer in his teens, like late 50s.

Sorry, reading and working at the same time!

No prob, I do type a lot. One of those Gumbis guys, one of the main guys on there, was Ronnie Barron, AKA Rev. Ether--made an album of that title I've never heard, but xgau nails this 'un too:

Ronnie Barron: Blues Delicacies, Vol. 1 [Vivid Sound, 1980]
The erstwhile Reverend Ether, who worked as Paul Butterfield's sideman after declining Dr. John's shingle, here adds a respectfully raunchy collection of standards to the modest store of first-rate New Orleans rock and roll LPs. This is no Wild Tchoupitoulas or Fats Domino or Crawfish Fiesta, but it sure holds its own against Mac Rebennack's Gumbo or Lee Dorsey's Yes We Can. A minor delight for the aficionado and a revelation for the uninitiated. Problem is, it'll cost you 15 bucks as a Japanese import, if you can find it. Rounder, Alligator, Flying Fish--help! Warners--oh never mind. A-

Cool, didn't know about that one. Definitely in a Dr. John bag.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MubYIY1XJgk

Cool, thanks! Reminds me of Bobby Charles s/t '72 LP---he was a swamp pop country bandleader also into Fats Domino, who had a hit w BC's "Walkin' To New Orleans," declined' See You Later Alligator," but Charles did alright with it on Chess---Ed Ward tells his story here, w good musical excerpts https://www.npr.org/2012/06/13/150960729/the-untold-story-of-singer-bobby-charles">:https://www.npr.org/2012/06/13/150960729/the-untold-story-of-singer-bobby-charles As Ward says, Charles was on the lam from a Nashville pot bust, made his way up to Woodstock, chosen cos he liked the name, and stumbled into the right crowd, where he got to record his s/t, which we-uns used to meller out with after playing The Meters' Cabbage Alley and xp Dr. John's Gumbo---Light In The Attic reissued the original LP version, which they aptly describe here:
A virtual who’s who of classic ‘roots’ rock – the album features 10 Bobby Charles classics supported by the likes of Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, and Richard Manuel of The Band, long time Neil Young sidekick Ben Keith, Bob Dylan’s former running mate Bob Neuwirth, session maverick Amos Garrett, the esteemed Dr. John, Geoff Muldaur and several others.

But this is far from an all-star jam session – this is an ensemble record in the truest sense of the word – with each musician simply supporting the Louisiana vibe that flows thru the 10 song collection of country, blues, R&B, and folk that all have that distinctive Bobby Charles signature sound..
Later it was a CD with three bonus tracks, and then a Rhino Handmade triple-CD! Expected to have way too many alt-takes, demos, etc., but here are a lot of titles I hadn't seen before:
https://media.rhino.com/press-release/bobby-charles Handmade CDs are ltd. ed. and go OOP fairly quickly, but this and others are still available as downloads, reasonably priced.
I find a lot of swamp pop (not that I've really heard a lot, but a lot of what I've heard) to be clunkly, at least compared to NOLA slippin'-bouncin' etc, but his LP has enough of the latter (and never clunks), though it is his boondocks stoner voice, making its way over the beat, floatin' to New Orleans:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFzBmPBVUPs

That's the original 10 tracks, although I think this playlist starts w the LP's closer? Good audio, anyway.

I can't believe how late to the game I am discovering Rockie Charles. He played many Jazzfests I attended in the 1990s/early oughts, but I never saw him, and I'm just now hearing his 1996 debut album Born for You. His vocals are very Al Green-inspired, and he had a great, soulful touch on guitar as well. Really kicking myself for never seeing him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5xzG1pZ_A4

Thanks, hadn't heard of him! Here's a better link for the whole Bobby Charles s/t playlist:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh0ysVWgxTiz5GHBmHfAhrXMDsRlt_8-l

Hurricane Ida destroyed or severely damaged thousands of homes in south Louisiana after the category 4 storm roared ashore on August 29. WWL-TV in New Orleans reports that among those whose homes have been made all but unlivable is New Orleans R&B singer Clarence “Frogman” Henry. His residence in Algiers suffered extensive roof damage which has led to collapsed ceilings and a mold outbreak, yet the music icon continues to live amid the damage while he awaits his insurance claim.

https://www.offbeat.com/news/clarence-frogman-henry-continues-to-live-in-home-severely-damaged-by-hurricane-ida/?fbclid=IwAR16tVgUSxHrydphyr55A6UWYfT-zvrT3BjhMbCPEgf7nt9gj_56ejP7Vhw

Aw, that's sad. And frustrating.

Oh man, I didn't even know he was still alive! That's really terrible, I've gone through something similar but to a much milder extent. Dealing with the insurance companies was like having AAA come over and take a shit on you while you're sitting by your wrecked car.

Awful! In happier news, as I said over on[The Band.
The greatly expanded xpost Bobby Charles turned out to be all worthwhile:
Yall I just listened to the xpost Rhino Handmade 3-CD expansion digital ghost on Spotify (also available as downloads, like maybe all the Handmades; I've noticed Fugs, Beefheart, Television: two more LPs-worth of good-to excellent tracks, which hopefully he still had the rights to put (w/o re-recording) on yon self-released albums, when he reportedly fled Woodstock Babylon for Sweet Home Louisiana(nuthin weird goin' on down there, nuh-uh). Listening this way, I don't have the CD booklet, but who specifically played what on what has always been conjectural, according to my not-very-extensive research, and a lot of this sounds as Bandy as the original s/t; also, several cuts sound like they might incl. Garth *and* Dr. John, ideally enough. Anybody looking for cover material should def. check this out, "You Were There" def. rec. to Willie.

X-post-https://www.wwltv.com/article/weather/hurricane/help-rallies-around-frogman-henry-to-repair-ida-damaged-home/289-6eb6bd54-ebda-43aa-af78-97b4e18e4e12?fbclid=IwAR0pXgj_D6USnqc1tP2IeU8C_T_yCEcQDuyF5WuDoolmbWWjQch7_16SXwU

Volunteers helping Frogman Henry address Ida insurance issue and moldy clothes

Great thread, listening to Vol. 1 of the Cosimo Matassa Story comp, so many great songs.

https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/american-south/2021/09/23/new-orleans-dew-drop-inn-revival-green-book-hotel/7413340002/

The home to much mid- 20th century New Orleans sounds the Dew Drop Inn may be coming back. Article has some interesting anecdotes on its historic roots

I see I first posted about Sugar Boy Crawford in this thread 15 years ago. I’ve had my eye out for a compilation of his stuff all these years and never found one. Even looked in record stores in New Orleans.

I've never actually seen this Sugarboy comp in the wild, but it does exist.

https://www.louisianamusicfactory.com/product/sugar-boy-crawford-the-chronological-sugar-boy-crawford-1953-1954/

And I hope the revitalization of the Dew Drop comes to pass. It's been floated a few times in the past without success.

I've been catching up on Lee Dorsey - I don't think I've ever seen his records pop up during any visit to a record store, partly due to their sporadic availability - and I noticed that Elvis Costello's 2006 collaboration with Allen Toussaint is mostly Dorsey's stuff, and the tracks are primarily drawn from two albums that EC listed in his own list of 500 favorites for Vanity Fair. Anyway, great stuff, and it's kind of astonishing that despite a healthy amount of recording activity and a handful of sizable hits, Dorsey turned to auto repair as his main trade just to make a living.

I was super sad to read that about Clarence Henry. I would guess he never got near his fair share of what his records sold. Absolutely love the news of a local cleanup company owner, a fan, volunteering his services, and the insurance deductible. (Obviously, everybody dealing with disastrous damage like this should get similar support, but, welcome to America.)

As a listener, I've never dug beyond "Ain't Got No Home," its sequel song, and "I Don't Know Why," which I have on comps. Have always adored them. I should seek out a good best-of.

This is a good thread! I finally picked up a Huey "Piano" Smith best-of recently, the old Rockin' Pneumonia disc, and it's fantastic listening. It is sadly missing the fabulous "Free, Single, and Disengaged," with its surprisingly wistful hook... which I think is played by a typical small horn section but has always merged together in the lo-fi recording to sound almost like a bassoon to me.

Oh I gotta look up that disc, thanks!
xpost xgau sees Lee Dorsey w The Clash:

Yes He Can Can
Lee Dorsey saunters onto the Palladium stage in cream-colored three-piece suit, chocolate shirt and hankie that match his skin, and low boots of lemony patent leather. This is the kind of man for whom the word dapper was invented. No more than five-six and slender, he dances with a rolling gait that's spry rather than spectacular. After all, he's 55 years old. Anyway: "I guess you heard about my motorcycle accident. I broke this leg"--indicating the left--"in four places. But I refuse to sit down."

I doubt that 10 per cent of this audience even know his name, much less his medical history, although "Holy Cow" and "Do-Re-Mi" and "Ya Ya" and "Working in a Coal Mine" and "Ride Your Pony" all ring bells. Dorsey isn't a legend like the Clash's previous openers, Bo Diddley and Sam & Dave, and if there were any justice he wouldn't need to be, because he's recorded good music right into the '70s, with two classic albums to his credit: Yes We Can (1970 Polydor cutout) and Night People (1977 ABC cutout). Dorsey hasn't appeared in New York since he and the Apollo were in their commercial prime around 1966, but he's completely at ease, lilting through his hits with occasional well-aimed shouts and uttering his "thank you very kindly"s and "heh-heh-heh"s with vaudevillian charm and esprit. Unlike most oldies acts, he's not going through the motions, probably because he's never put himself on the block as an oldies act. His band, four "funky white boys"--Dorsey's description--from New Orleans called Skor, sing way too loud and quite flat on "Holy Cow" but then settle into a pleasing, slightly rockified Meters groove, with drummer Ronnie Arcement's versions of Ziggy Modeliste's impossible accents and crossbeats especially deft. Somebody should bring Dorsey back to this city, preferably with Skor, before 1994.

I should add that the headliners were spectacular. I just figure they'd want me to give the spry its due.

Village Voice, Mar. 17, 1980

Here he checks the 70s albums, and some subsequent collections---man I gotta get to these:

https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Lee+Dorsey

setlists from that tour:
https://www.concertarchives.org/concerts/the-clash-lee-dorsey
Cool pic of him w them (linked in case not spozed to paste image)
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/535295105691504657/

Excellent write-up and capsule reviews from xgau.

Re: Huey "Piano" Smith, I would recommend this compilation, and it does have "Free, Single, and Disengaged":

https://www.discogs.com/release/3385873-Huey-Piano-Smith-His-Clowns-Having-A-Good-Time-The-Very-Best-Of-Volume-1

From Rounder:

Legendary New Orleans Musician Dr. John’s Final Studio Album Things Happen That Way
Set for September 23 Release on Rounder Records

Guests Include Willie Nelson, Aaron Neville,
and Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real

...The first single from the album – a haunting and hypnotic new rendition of “I Walk on Guilded Splinters” (which originally appeared on Dr. John’s groundbreaking 1968 debut Gris- Gris) – is released today.
http://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lic4OqpAbPS4vDrWAvLkv31NiGI5v9Hm0

Things Happen That Way opens on the delicate surrender of the Willie Nelson-penned “Funny How Time Slips Away,” a track whose soulful harmonies and smoldering horns never overpower the sheer vulnerability of Dr. John’s performance on piano and vocals. A co-conspirator of Rebennack’s for countless years, Nelson shares a warm remembrance that perfectly encapsulates the album’s transportive power: “Dr. John had the most unique musical style and language that would take me to another time and place whenever I heard him play or sing.” Spotlighting his endless ingenuity as a song interpreter, Dr. John also masterfully reimagines Hank Williams’ “Ramblin’ Man” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.” Elsewhere on the album, Aaron Neville joins in for a joyfully brass-heavy take on The Traveling Wilburys’ “End of the Line,” while Willie Nelson lends his balm-like vocals and signature guitar work to a soul-stirring rendition of the traditional gospel song “Gimme That Old Time Religion.”

Though much of Things Happen That Way bears an exquisitely reflective mood, the album also offers up several new uptempo originals from Dr. John: “Holy Water” (a savvy and poignant look back at his early-’60s criminal charge for narcotics and subsequent two-year prison sentence, with backing vocals by Katie Pruitt), “Sleeping Dogs Best Left Alone” (a swinging and self-aware piece that knowingly speaks to the danger in playing with proverbial dynamite), and “Give Myself A Good Talkin’ To”(a world-weary but high-spirited reflection on the vicissitudes of human nature).

With each track once again illuminating his outsize imagination and idiosyncratic yet profoundly insightful storytelling, the album then closes out with a captivating cover of “Guess Things Happen That Way.” In a departure from the buoyant determination of Johnny Cash’s version, Dr. John delivers an aching expression of grief and quiet hope, imbuing every line with so much unvarnished emotion. At turns devastating and triumphant, elegant and raw, with his unexpected passing, this album serves as a glorious farewell from one of the most singular, essential, and infinitely fascinating figures in music history.

The album’s liner notes, penned by Rebennack’s longtime friend, renowned television producer Ken Ehrlich (creator of PBS’ groundbreaking music series Soundstage, and producer of the GRAMMY Awards for four decades) offer the sage observation that Things Happen That Way is “the most personal and intimate journey into his soul that has ever been put on tape.”

On May 8, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival – now in its 52nd year – will celebrate Dr. John’s vast musical legacy with a tribute concert featuring performances by Irma Thomas, Cyril Neville, Davell Crawford, John Boutté, Ivan Neville, Jon Cleary, and Papa Gros. Last weekend, the festival honored Dr. John with a second line jazz funeral procession gloriously led by the Young Fellaz brass band.

For more information, contact regina dot joskow at rounder.com

Things Happen That Way Track Listing:

Funny How Time Slips Away
Ramblin’ Man
Gimme That Old Time Religion (feat. Willie Nelson)
I Walk On Guilded Splinters (feat. Lukas Nelson & Promise of The Real)
I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry
End Of The Line (feat. Aaron Neville)
Holy Water
Sleeping Dogs Best Left Alone
Give Myself A Good Talkin’ To
Guess Things Happen That Way

I’m eagerly awaiting this, thanks for the update.

Thanks for the update too. I revisited Locked Down recently - excellent album, I regret missing the BAM residency that accompanied it.

Also very happy that New Orleans has officially renamed Robert E. Lee Boulevard as Allen Toussaint Boulevard. (The change had won a unanimous vote in January, and they just finished implementing it recently.)

Toussaint's Austin City Limits episode is reairing this week.

https://acltv.com/

Nice! (And they're even streaming it at that link post-broadcast) Thanks for the tip!

Elvis Costello interview about New Orleans. He just did a tribute to Dave Bartholomew with Dirty Dozen Brass Band @ Jazz Fest

But mostly Costello spoke of Bartholomew, New Orleans music and culture and his excited anticipation of this return.

Let’s talk about Dave Bartholomew. How did you first become aware of him?

Well, the same as with Allen, although Allen started in the late ’50s and Dave started working in the late ’40s. I was aware [of Dave], even if it was via other people doing Fats Domino sounds. I’d heard Fats Domino. I don’t think I was aware of many Dave Bartholomew records growing up in England. I think mostly as I learned more about rock ’n’ roll—in the same way you know Sam Phillips was the man responsible for Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis—you kind of learned that Dave Bartholomew was the man working the gears behind Fats Domino. All that sound.

And then, little by little, I learned what records he had produced other than those and then I heard his own—a lot of the instrumental records. Basin Street Breakdown [from 1949] is my favorite. I could play that guitar solo. Give me a couple of notes and play them over and over and over and over and over and over and over, over and over and over again. I’m pretty good at that. Going up and down the neck? Not so hot. I couldn’t play you any Eddie Van Halen solos. I’m Basin Street Breakdown, for sure. That’s right in my attitude.

...Dave Bartholomew was one of those people. I don’t know of him producing so many people from outside the city, do you? I don’t think people sought him out in the same way as in the ’70s people did with the next generation—Frankie Miller or Paul McCartney, Robert Palmer [all working with Allen Toussaint].

But it’s as if the stack of records that he made was so influential that a resonance of him—even though some of them were made in 1951—we were still hearing him. We’re still decoding them, and they sound superficially simple. Try playing any of those things and get them to sound as good as they do. You can play the changes, but you won’t get that feel.

And the studio factored into that, Cosimo Matassa’s J&M.

In some ways, New Orleans is more connected to the way in which music is conceived in Kingston [Jamaica] than in Chicago, in that there’s a recognizable disposition in a lot of the music, even though the styles of the producers are so different. But there’s something distinct from the rest of America in the same way as, you know, music from Trinidad is very different to music from Jamaica. As somebody who learned almost everything from records, I puzzle the records out of New Orleans the same way I puzzle the records out of Kingston. “What are they doing?” It’s not just that the beat is different. It’s everything is different. The sound, the approach to sound is different. The approach to harmony is different. The intonation of horns and voices is distinct to cities. And for myself, because I grew up around brass players in a dance band that my dad was with, I can tell you in two seconds whether a record’s made in England or America. I can tell from what town.

https://www.offbeat.com/articles/elvis-costello-talks-back/

Elvis Costello has so much music knowledge and plays with such great musicians, I just wish his music was at all listenable for me.

Ha, otm. And I like to consider myself a fan of sorts, although of course I prefer his earlier work.

I haven't paid much attention to Elvis post-Imperial Bedroom, but I closed out one of the last Jazzfests I attended in 2008 seeing him with Toussaint and it was excellent.

...although his new album's getting rave reviews as a return to vintage form and it left me kinda flat.

By far my favorite EC records came from the classic years (1977-1986). I still like certain things after that, but it's like comparing McCartney's solo/Wings stuff with the Beatles in that there's just no comparison, in terms of quality, consistency, innovation, influence, etc.

The stuff he did with Toussaint is very enjoyable, but it also leans heavily on Toussaint's work. (EC's two favorite Lee Dorsey albums in particular.) The album they made together only has a few originals on it IIRC, but to be fair, they've collaborated on a few things before like "Deep Dark Truthful Mirror" from Spike (which is nice). And yes, I'm one of those who really liked the new album. The comparisons to his earliest work feel a little misleading - it's more rocking, but I wouldn't mistake it for older songs. Like Hey Clockface had a few excellent rockers on there that feel more apiece, it's just that this time around he did an album focused of them instead of just a few cuts alongside a lot of experiments.

RIP Clarence Frogman Henry at 87...of "Ain't Got No Home" fame

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/09/arts/music/clarence-henry-dead.html

One year at Jazzfest Frogman was trying to get the crowd to sing along to “You Always Hurt The One You Love” and heckling the frat boys/sorority babes in the front rows (probably staking their spot for Jimmy Buffett or somebody later): “You don’t even know this song! What are you doing up here?”

Interesting. I saw him at Jazzfest too but only remember those distinctive ways he sang the various verses of his hit