This Just In ...

Goodnight everyone and have a Gris-Gris weekend

Posted by Kevin Fischer on Nov. 12, 2010

It's Friday night. Time to unwind with our regular Friday night feature on This Just In.

The weekend has finally arrived.

The sun has set.

The evening sky has erupted. 

Let's put controversy and provocative blogs aside for the rest of this work week and smooth our way into Saturday and Sunday.

Tonight, such a night!

I recall vividly an ABC program during the 1970’s, “In Concert.” Broadcast very late on Friday nights after the evening news and whatever late-night programming the network aired, “In Concert” showed live performances of the biggest acts.

I had never seen Dr. John in concert. I had only heard him on the radio. On TV, I saw him strut around onstage in New Orleans costume tossing over 20 pounds of glitter on the stage and into the audience.

Richie Unterberger of All Music Guide writes:

"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 1960s 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. 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 appeared this week in Milwaukee.  His music, tonight, on our cozy little blog.

We begin with a selection that demonstrates how well this guy can pound the keys.

Again, Dr. John's real name is Mac Rebenack. Here he performs Mac's Boogie.

Are you ready for another, music lovers?

Of course you are!

Because if I don't do it, somebody else will.....

In the early 70's, a major, major , major  hit, the kind that comes around only once.

Do you remember?

 

That's it for this week.

Goodnight.

Sleep tight.

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a great weekend.

We close with more from the Doctor, introduced by a gent I think you'll recognize.


 

Iko iko, iko iko unday
Jockomo feeno ah na nay
Jockomo feena nay

My spy boy told your spy boy
Sitting on the Bayou
My spy boy told your spy boy
I'm gonna set your tail on fire

Talking bout hey now (hey now)
Hey now (hey now)
Iko iko, iko iko unday
Jockomo feeno ah na nay
Jockomo feena nay

My Marie told your Marie
Sitting on the Bayou
My Marie told your Marie
I'm gonna set your flag on fire

We going down to
Iko iko unday
We gonna catch a little?
With jockomo feena nay, now

Talking bout hey now (hey now)
Hey now (hey now)
Iko iko, iko iko unday
Jockomo feeno ah na nay
Jockomo feena nay

All right

See Marie down the railroad track
Iko iko unday
Said put it here in the chicken sack
With jockomo feena nay

My little boy told your little boy
Get your head on my-o
My little girl told your little boy
We gonna get your chicken wire

Talking bout hey now (hey now)
Hey now (hey now)
Iko iko, iko iko unday
Jockomo feeno ah na nay
Jockomo feena nay

We going down to Bedford town
Iko iko unday
We gonna dance
Bout to mess around
Jockomo feena nay

Watch all what you tell them to
Iko iko unday
Cause we ain't do what you tell us to
Now you can jockomo feena nay

Talking bout hey now (hey now)
Hey now (hey now)
Iko iko, iko iko unday
Jockomo feeno ah na nay
Jockomo feena nay

Jockomo feena nay
What I say, unday
Jockomo feena nay
What I say, unday...

Iko iko unday
Jockomo feena nay
Iko iko unday
Jockomo feena nay...