Artist
Malcolm John Rebennack (born November 20, 1941, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA – died June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music combines blues, pop, jazz, boogie woogie and rock and roll.
Rebennack began playing the piano at the age of six and, as he grew up, he became strongly influenced by the style of Roy Byrd (aka Professor Longhair). He immersed himself in the music and voodoo cultures of New Orleans, where he became known as Mac Rebennack, playing the organ in strip-clubs with 'make-up' bands in the French Quarter.
However, it was as a session guitarist with John Vincent's Ace Records that gave him his first break, around 1957. He worked with the New Orleans R&B session crew at Crescent City's 'Cosimo V. Matassa' studio and with an 'All For One' co-operative formed by Harold Battiste- cutting "Storm Warning" (Rex, 1957) and singles on Ace, Rex and AFO (an acronym of All For One) .
Rebennack then moved to California in 1962 with Battiste's crew, where they played on Sam Cooke's final recording session. Rebennack subsequently undertook a lot of session work around LA (appearing briefly for a "Freak Out!" album session with Frank Zappa) and developed his 'Mardi Gras' persona of "Dr. John Creaux, The Night Tripper" with Battiste's help, assembling the "Gris-Gris" album whilst sessioning for Sonny & Cher.
His drawled and ponderous style, tinged with a husky Southern Comfort delivery, caught the mood of the moment upon the album's release in 1968 giving him the commercial freedom to explore the many facets of the Louisiana blues and Memphis funk cultures in following releases. His recordings have been supported by such alumni as Clapton, Jagger, Allen Toussaint, The Meters, Jerry Wexler and Mike Bloomfield. He had a top-ten hit with "Right Place, Wrong Time", and he appeared in the Martin Scorsese film The Last Waltz (1978).
Unexpectedly passed away of a sudden, massive heart attack on June 6, 2019.
Tracks
A1
Iko Iko
A2
Blow Wind Blow
A3
Big Chief
A4
Somebody Changed The Lock
A5
Mess Around
A6
Let The Good Times Roll
B1
Junko Partner
B2
Stack-A-Lee
B3
Tipitina
B4
Those Lonely Lonely Nights
B5
Huey Smith Medley: High Blood Pressure/Don't You Just Know It/Well I'll Be John Brown
B6
Little Liza Jane
Releases
Formats
Vinyl, Acetate, Cassette, CD, File, 8-Track Cartridge
Labels
Music On Vinyl, Atlantic, ATCO Records, Rhino Atlantic, Analogue Productions, Alligator Records
Countries
Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Japan, Philippines, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Europe, USA & Canada
years
1972, 1974, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1997, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020
