Dr. John: 1941-2019

[Milestones]

I'm seeing in several places that Dr. John has passed away.

Certainly an interesting and often enjoyable singer and pianist.

R.I.P.

 

[Chuck Nessa]

Saw him with Allen Toussaint and Fathead Newman at the Village Gate around 1980. Great show.

[Matthew]

Sad news, his Duke Elegant cd was great, as were so many other albums of his. RIP to the good Doctor.

[CJ Shearn]

Sad news RIP

[medjuck]

2 hours ago, Chuck Nessa said:

Saw him with Allen Toussaint and Fathead Newman at the Village Gate around 1980. Great show.

Playing together? Even as a triple bill that's pretty great. 

[medjuck]

 I saw him several times over the years. Ran into him on the street in Cleveland the day after I'd seen him on a double bill with Aaron Neville. I couldn't stop myself: I wandered up to him and said "Hey Mac, What's up? You were great yesterday!". He thanked me and continued getting on to his tour bus.

 

[JSngry]

12 hours ago, Matthew said:

Sad news, his Duke Elegant cd was great...

That's one of the greatest, most stealth of the post-comeback blue Notes, a real gem in every way. I knew a DJ who would pack his dance floors with "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'" off it.

RIP to a guy who I was once a little unsure about in the early days, but more than won me over, more than all the way. He always represented, and he always came correct.

 

[Dan Gould]

12 hours ago, Matthew said:

Sad news, his Duke Elegant cd was great, as were so many other albums of his. RIP to the good Doctor.

 

5 minutes ago, JSngry said:

That's one of the greatest, most stealth of the post-comeback blue Notes, a real gem in every way. I knew a DJ who would pack his dance floors with "I'm Gonna Go Fishin'" off it.

 

 

Woh, never even heard about it definitely have to fix that.

I saw him just once, opening for BB King in Boca Raton. A fine show, a great talent. RIP.

[mikeweil]

R.I.P.

I must admit I always had mixed feelings about him and his music. On one side, I'll be thankful forever that he introduced me to that New Orleans R & B tradition via his Gumbo LP, which I drew from a bin with drastically reduced LPs forty years ago. On the other side, his flirts with voudou had some black magic tinge about them that made me shudder. And some of his music did not sound loose enough to me, compared to his African-American idols. Nevertheless, I respect his life and quest.

Edited June 7, 2019 by mikeweil

[catesta]

I'm not particularly fond of his vocal style so I never really got to deep into the music.  

The HBO series Treme certainly gave him respect.

R.I.P.

 

[JSngry]

I very much appreciate how he didn't try to hang on to the "rock star" thing after that little bit of glitch was over. Instead he became an advocate for his home town and it's heroes.

That first Bluesiana Triangle album was what sealed the deal for me.

[soulpope]

Brilliant Toussaint/Meters collaboration ....

[Hardbopjazz]

RIP. 

[Balladeer]

A true original. "Right place, wrong time" was the groove of my youth.
Later I enjoyed him pure at the keys: "Dr, John plays Mac Rebennack" remains gorgeous.
Thanks for those special vibes, Doc!

[JSngry]

https://www.nola.com/entertainment/2019/06/dr-john-a-true-new-orleans-music-legend-dies-at-age-77-report.html

 

[jlhoots]

Gris Gris

R.I.P.

[felser]

Musically,  actually liked the gris gris stuff best, but realize I'm best off not thinking too much about what it all means.  Basically tuned out very soon after the "Right Place, Wrong Time" period.  RIP.  I do highly recommend this, seven remastered albums, everything up through 1974's Desitively Bonnaroo, available for about $30 on ebay and amazon.

 

Edited June 7, 2019 by felser

[JSngry]

 

So many ways for all that to have gone wrong, but they all went right. That was when I said, hey, this cat's not bullshitting or posing, he's coming to play. Never spectacular, but always true within himself, which is about all anybody can get to anyways.

Now, were they all high? Maybe so. But oh well about that. They all came out with a long game, so ain't my concern.

[John L]

13 hours ago, felser said:

Musically,  actually liked the gris gris stuff best, but realize I'm best off not thinking too much about what it all means.  Basically tuned out very soon after the "Right Place, Wrong Time" period.  RIP. 

 

Some of his later records are quite worthwhile, including the one highlighted by Jim S above.  When people used to request "Right Place, Wrong Time" at his shows since the 1980s, he would often reply "I don't play that shit no more."

RIP.  It feels like Mac took a piece of New Orleans with him when he left.  

[JSngry]

 

[medjuck]

https://www.nola.com/entertainment/2019/06/dr-johns-second-line-parade-rambled-through-the-treme-friday.html

[sgcim]

I never realized how powerful he was live, until my dept. chairman, an art teacher, saw him in concert. He raved about the experience for months. 

If he can walk on gilded splinters, he can find a way to come back...