jeffcrom Posted January 21, 2015 Report Share Posted January 21, 2015 Bo Dollis, longtime Big Chief of the Wild Magnolias New Orleans Indian gang, died today at home. He was 71. Under Dollis' leadership, the Wild Magnolias were the first Mardi Gras Indian gang to fuse the traditional songs and chants with New Orleans R & B and funk. The process started in 1970, when Dollis and the Wild Magnolias did some "experimental" (for lack of a better word) gigs with The Gaturs, Willie Tee's funk quartet. There is a stunning recording of Dollis and The Gaturs performing the traditional "Ho Na Nae" at the 1970 Tulane Jazz Festival. It's very tentative at first - it takes a few measures for The Gaturs to figure out what key Bo is singing in - but by the time it ends six minutes later, it's some kind of incredible psychedelic Mardi Gras funk. After that performance, Dollis and the Magnolias went into the studio and recorded a single: "Handa Wanda," parts one and two. A couple of years later, they recorded another single and a full album for Polydor, with Tee, his brother Earl Turbinton on saxophone, Snooks Eaglin, and others. Many other albums followed, and the Wild Magnolias performed frequently as a band, not just a Mardi Gras social organization. For many of those years, the great guitarist June Yamagishi, a Japanese transplant, was the sparkplug of the band. I saw Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias perform a couple of times; one pre-Katrina performance at the Funky Butt on Rampart Street was one of the funkiest shows I've ever witnessed. The band was great, and Dollis just soared. Part of the ensemble was a Wild Magnolia in full Mardi Gras regalia who didn't sing, didn't play percussion, and didn't even dance; his sole function was to stand there and look pretty. So long, Big Chief. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GA Russell Posted January 21, 2015 Report Share Posted January 21, 2015 RIP. I never saw Dollis, but in '68 I had the pleasure to see and chat with Willie Tee. Tee had a hit in New Orleans (1966? 1967?) call "Teasin' You." He later re-recorded the song with slightly different lyrics and called it "Thank You John." Thank You John became a huge hit in the Carolinas, and is a beach music standard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted January 21, 2015 Report Share Posted January 21, 2015 No bow down. RIP, and all the love and respect in the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 I didn't really know shit about the Indian gangs and local New Orleans musicians until the HBO series Treme came along. Now I'm familiar with a lot of the names mentioned and feel like I know a lot more of what Big Chief Dollis was about. RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John L Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 (edited) In addition to all of the fanfare, Bo Dollis could just flat out sing. RIP Edited January 23, 2015 by John L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffcrom Posted January 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 In addition to all of the fanfare, Bo Dollis could just flat out sing. RIP Hell, yeah! There's an Eddie Bo album on which the great Johnny Adams and Dollis trade verses with Eddie on "Every Dog Has His Day." The Big Chief more than holds his own, not only with Mr. Bocage, but with Adams, who is one of the great New Orleans voices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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