Although he didn't become widely known until the 1970s, Dr. John had been active in the music industry since the late '50s, when the teenager was still known as Mac Rebennack. A formidable boogie and blues pianist with a lovable growl of a voice, his most enduring achievements have fused New Orleans R&B, rock, and Mardi Gras craziness to come up with his own brand of "voodoo" music. He's also quite accomplished and enjoyable when sticking to purely traditional forms of blues and R&B. On record, he veers between the two approaches, making for an inconsistent and frequently frustrating legacy that often makes the listener feel as if the "Night Tripper" (as he's nicknamed himself) has been underachieving.

In the late '50s, Rebennack gained prominence in the New Orleans R&B scene as a session keyboardist and guitarist, contributing to records by Professor Longhair, Frankie Ford, and Joe Tex. He also did some overlooked singles of his own, and by the '60s had expanded into production and arranging. After a gun accident damaged his hand in the early '60s, he gave up the guitar to concentrate on keyboards exclusively. Skirting trouble with the law and drugs, he left the increasingly unwelcome environs of New Orleans in the mid-'60s for Los Angeles, where he found session work with the help of fellow New Orleans expatriate Harold Battiste. Rebennack renamed himself Dr. John, the Night Tripper when he recorded his first album, Gris-Gris. According to legend, this was hurriedly cut with leftover studio time from a Sonny & Cher session, but it never sounded hastily conceived. In fact, its mix of New Orleans R&B with voodoo sounds and a tinge of psychedelia was downright enthralling, and may have resulted in his greatest album.

He began building an underground following with both his music and his eccentric stage presence, which found him conducting ceremonial-type events in full Mardi Gras costume. Dr. John was nothing if not eclectic, and his next few albums were granted mixed critical receptions because of their unevenness and occasional excess. They certainly had their share of admirable moments, though, and Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger helped out on The Sun, Moon & Herbs in 1971. The following year's Gumbo, produced by Jerry Wexler, proved Dr. John was a master of traditional New Orleans R&B styles, in the mold of one of his heroes, Professor Longhair. In 1973, he got his sole big hit, "In the Right Place," which was produced by Allen Toussaint, with backing by the Meters. In the same year, he also recorded with Mike Bloomfield and John Hammond, Jr., for the Triumvirate album.

The rest of the decade, unfortunately, was pretty much a waste musically. Dr. John could always count on returning to traditional styles for a good critical reception, and he did so constantly in the 1980s. There were solo piano albums, sessions with Chris Barber and Jimmy Witherspoon, and In a Sentimental Mood (1989), a record of pop standards. These didn't sell all that well, though. A more important problem was that he's capable of much more than recastings of old styles and material. In fact, by this time he was usually bringing in the bacon not through his own music, but via vocals for numerous commercial jingles. It continued pretty much in the same vein throughout the 1990s: New Orleans super sessions for the Bluesiana albums, another outing with Chris Barber, an album of New Orleans standards, and another album of pop standards.

In 1994, Television did at least offer some original material. At this point he began to rely more upon cover versions for the bulk of his recorded work, though his interpretive skills will always ensure that these are more interesting than most such efforts. His autobiography, Under a Hoodoo Moon, was published by St. Martin's Press in 1994, and in 1998 he resurfaced with Anutha Zone, which featured collaborations with latter-day performers including Spiritualized, Paul Weller, Supergrass, and Ocean Colour Scene. Duke Elegant followed in early 2000. Additional albums for Blue Note followed in 2001 (Creole Moon) and 2004 (N'Awlinz: Dis Dat or d'Udda). Sippiana Hericane, a four-song EP celebrating his beloved hometown of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, arrived in November of 2005. Mercernary, an album of covers of songs made famous by Johnny Mercer, appeared on Blue Note in 2006. City That Care Forgot followed in 2008.

by Richie Unterberger

 

Slicni muzicari / Similar Artists	Uticaj od ... / Influenced By	Uticaj na ... / Followers
* Doug Sahm * Ivan Neville * Harold Battiste * Jessie Hill * Shirley Goodman * Joe Tex * The Neville Brothers * The Band * John Hammond, Jr. * Rickie Lee Jones * Van Morrison * Frankie Ford * Jim Ford * Exuma * Harry Connick, Jr. * Frankie Miller * Ringo Starr * Davell Crawford * Ronnie Barron * Art Neville * Aaron Neville	* Professor Longhair * Fats Domino * Lloyd Price	* Harry Connick, Jr. * Spiritualized * Johnny Adams * Chuck Leavell * Happy Chichester * Caceres * Swampadelica * Michael Kaeshammer * Marc Broussard * Mardi Gras BB * JJ Grey

1972 Dr. John Superpah — Trip 1972 Dr. John — Springboard  ¦ 1991 Zu Zu Man [Zillion] — Zillion 1993 Mos' Scocious: Anthology — Rhino 1994 Dr. John's Gumbo/In the Right Place — Mobile Fidelity 1995 The Very Best of Dr. John — Rhino 1997 Voodoo Blues — Hallmark  ¦ 1999 Next Hex: The Nashville Sessions '74 — Cleopatra 2000 Funky New Orleans — Metro Music 2000 Golden Legends — Direct Source 2001 Woman Is The Root Of All Evil — Absolute  ¦ 2005 Right Place Wrong Time — Collectables 2006 Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack: The Legendary Sessions, Vol. 2 — Clean Cuts 2006 The Rebennack Chronicles, Vol. 2 [live] — Hyena 2006 Live at Tipitina's: Mardi Gras '89 — Hyena 2006 An Introduction to Dr. John — Fuel 2000 2006 I Pulled the Cover Off You Two Lovers Buy Now! DBK Works 2006 New Orleans Man Buy Now! Atom  ¦ 2008 The Best of Dr. John: The Night Tripper — Music Club Deluxe

1968 Gris-Gris — Collectors' Choice Music 1969 Babylon — Wounded Bird 1970 Remedies — Wounded Bird 1971 The Sun, Moon & Herbs — Wounded Bird 1972 Dr. John's Gumbo — Atco 1973 In the Right Place — Atco 1974 Desitively Bonnaroo — Label M 1975 Hollywood Be Thy Name [live] — One Way 1975 Mardi Gras — Atlantic 1978 City Lights — Horizon 1979 Tango Palace — Horizon 1981 Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack — Clean Cuts 1981 Love Potion — Accord 1982 Loser For You Baby 1983 The Brightest Smile in Town — Clean Cuts 1984 Such a Night! Live in London — Spindrift 1989 In a Sentimental Mood — Warner Bros. 1990 On a Mardi Gras Day [live] — Great Southern 1992 Goin' Back to New Orleans — Warner Bros. 1994 Television — GRP 1995 Afterglow — Blue Thumb 1997 Trippin' Live — Wind-up 1998 Anutha Zone — Virgin 2000 Duke Elegant — Blue Note 2001 Creole Moon — Blue Note 2001 Sippiana Hericane 2002 Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack: The Legendary Sessions, Vol. 1 — Clean Cuts 2003 All by Hisself: Live at the Lonestar — Skinji Brim 2004 N'Awlinz: Dis Dat or d'Udda — Blue Note 2004 Storm Warning — Westside UK 2005 Live at Montreux, 1995 — Montreux Sounds/Eagle 2005 Sippiana Hericane — Blue Note 2006 Right Place, Right Time: Live at Tipitina's — Hyena 2006 Mercernary — Blue Note 2008 City That Care Forgot — 429