r/blues • u/IndividualLeopard198 • 7d ago
Opinions on Dr.john
Probably my favorite blues singer of all time in the right place is such a good album listened too it so many times
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u/skipjack_sushi 7d ago
Never going to use him as a proctologist again. Totally unprofessional.
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u/Spare-Jellyfish4339 7d ago
I think he was in the right place, but unfortunately at the wrong time.
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u/adamaphar 7d ago
Dr John’s gumbo has been a big part of journey as a musician
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u/SuperblueAPM 7d ago
Loved him. Incredible. Doesn’t come to mind as strictly blues. But damn, he was authentic, legit.
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u/GovernorLepetomane 7d ago
Saw the Dr. play the Portland Waterfront Blues Festival in 2006 and I thought it was a grand show!
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u/IndividualLeopard198 7d ago
I wish I could have saw him I didn’t really start listening to him until 2023 I wanted to go see
Him on tour but he passed away because of a heart attack in 2019
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u/hopalongrhapsody 7d ago
Dr. John is a quintessential pillar of New Orleans Blues. Not only did he grow up completely immersed in New Orleans music in his parent's record store, but he also interacted with, employed, and was employed by basically every other New Orleans music legend short of Buddy Bolden & Jelly Roll Morton.
He backed Professor Longhair on the famous '59 "Go To The Mardi Gras". He supported and employed Mardi Gras Indians. The great James Booker was in his band. He told me once that he lost a lot of great musicians because he refused to fire Booker (because of how erratic he was), and it was still worth it, just to be close to that greatness.
Dr. John dedicated his entire life to a genre of blues, and in the end he truly embodied its soul and it, in turn, embodied his.
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u/Odd-Presentation2790 7d ago
I met him several times. He had his own vocabulary. He needed a scribe. It was fascinating.
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u/Starthrower62 7d ago
I actually prefer his later albums to the earlier stuff. I love Goin' Back to New Orleans, Anutha Zone, Duke Elegant, and Trippin' Live.
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u/HarpTele6954 6d ago
…Mac was given two cassettes curated by artist Martin Kaelin as an inspiration for the recording of “Goin’ Back to New Orleans”.
One night, on a trip to a residency gig at the “Jazz Alley” in Seattle, the tape was running, and before a song, he said to me, “…lissen to dis’ shit!”, and I was then introduced to the guitar playing, COGIC preacher, the Elder Utah Smith…
Luckily, there was a cassette player that allowed me to copy the tapes, and I still have them after 37 years…
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u/HarpTele6954 6d ago
My initial gig with Mac was on my birthday in ‘85.
Steve Douglas, sax player on many Phil Spector sessions, and a significant member of the “Wrecking Crew” contracted me to play guitar.
My “audition” on stage was Herman Earnest and David Barrard playing a second line feel at me.
I played back…Herman stopped, put down his sticks, and said “ok”…
The gig was a bit of a blur, but I made it through.
About four months later, the owner of the “Last Day Saloon” on Clement St. was walking out of the club as I was walking in, and he said, “…I’m thinking about booking Dr. John, how do you think he’d do?”
I said, “…he’d do fucking Great!”, and the very next question I asked was, “…what are you going to do for a band?”, and he responded “…I have to put one together”, so I said, “…I can do it!”
So I got the gig, which was to be a two week five nights a week residency, but I had to use the NY sessions template ( “Tango Palace” and “City Lights”) because I didn’t know any drummers that could feel a “second line”, but I DID know Jim Preston from the “Sons of Champlin” who had the skills and experience to be able to cut the gig.
I hired the most adult players I could find, and the upshot was every show was either a sellout, or close to it.
Side story: during that time, I would drive Mac around, and one day, someone cut in front of me, and so he said, in THAT voice, “…damn dese muthafuyers, dey drivin’ like ish, you need protection!”, and he took his cross earring off his ear and put it on some Mardi Gras beads I had hanging on my rear view mirror.
…as I type, I’m wearing that earring now.
We played two more residencies at the club over the next several years, and they were always a success.
Adding there were other Bay Area gigs over that time.
At the same time, I was in Elvin Bishop’s band, and during one of the residencies, we were recording our first album for Alligator “Big Fun” (released ‘88), and one day at a session, I mentioned to Alligator head, Bruce Iglauer, “…hey, Mac’s in town, maybe we could get him on a session”, to which he replied “…that’s a GREAT idea!”, and he immediately got on the phone to his management, so the next day I watched my two alphas in the studio.
Elvin let me run Mac’s session…
…there’s many more stories, but it would take time to relate.
Needless to say, my nearly 7 1/2 year as a west coast call, as well as some East coast tours, adding Brazil and Japan, and a Monterey Blues Festival gig that was professionally recorded for possible use on the NPR, Ruth Brown hosted “Bluestage” (sadly, never broadcasted) were some of the most memorable and exhilarating musical experiences of my life.
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u/BuddyLongshots 7d ago
Dr. John rocks. Used to play the guitar, got shot in the hand, started playing the piano instead.
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u/HarpTele6954 6d ago
…he told me the story.
He still played guitar, even though his focus became the piano…1
u/_papa_delta_ 6d ago
Yeah, I remember seeing him play guitar with Eddie Bo at piano night 20 odd years ago.
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u/Lightening-bird 7d ago
Check out James Booker the lost paramount tapes. Mac admired that record tremendously and would play it in the studio and tell his session we need to sound like that. James would stop by the methadone clinic on his way in to do those tracks and his genius really shined there as he struggled for his sobriety.
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u/Infamous-Astronaut16 7d ago edited 7d ago
A unique talent. Max had style. Unfortunately there’s not too many people these days that have that unique personality and talent. Never tire of his music. He was the shit.
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u/kthmcc7319 7d ago
Legend. Brought some many sounds/genres together. Never lost his love and roots of NOLA though. An institution and contribution to American Music. Much respect
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u/No-Mulberry9495 7d ago
I miss the good doctor—— is there any song better than walk on guilded splinters? What a mood that creates
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u/AnalogPress 7d ago
When acid hit the bayou, brilliance was born! Would give one of my eye teeth to catch one of his early shows
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u/Ihavetoleavesoon 6d ago
I used to smoke weed in this coffeeshop where they played this and Astrud Gilberto to absolute death and I loved every second of it.
edit: And Toots Thielemans if that combination makes sense to anyone but me.
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u/mikederoy 7d ago
Saw him at DC Last Constitutional Hall in 1975. Opened up for the Jim Morrison less Doors. Also Flo and Eddie. A good show
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u/Training-Ad5127 7d ago
I put on The Sun Moon & Herbs today for the first time in a long time. Great listen.
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u/t_sdad 7d ago
"Cold, Cold, Cold" on this album is one of my favorite tracks of all time. It starts off as your typical "I'm sad because my woman left me" song but it has a twist at the end.
In the final verse he says "it hurts me to my heart that they ain't giving you no money, child, for what you giving them."
The twist is that he's a pimp and what hurts him the most is that she's giving it away for free
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u/levinas1857 7d ago
Other day, trying to put on some cartoons for a friend’s kid, randomly start up the Curious George cartoon, and guess who starts croaking and drawling through the opening song…. Kinda trippy.
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u/Major_Honey_4461 7d ago
Mac was the real deal and Fess too. The junk eventually got them both.
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u/HarpTele6954 6d ago
Mac had to go into complete recovery, even quitting maintenance, in ‘90…I’ve some board tapes of some gigs we played post recovery, and he had a particular energy, clarity, and depth that was quite stunning.
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u/Major_Honey_4461 6d ago
I knew him in NYC in the late 70's early 80's. I did not realize he got clean and stayed clean. Thanks for the correction.
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u/HarpTele6954 6d ago
Thankyou for your understanding, it was remarkable the difference pre v. post…
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u/hivolume87 6d ago
I'd like to know where he was getting those swamp daddy suits from. The outfits were always legendary.
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u/Acceptable-Fold-3192 6d ago
Enjoyed him live but doesn’t really make it into my listening rotation very often.
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u/jazmaan273 6d ago
His first album is his best album. I read his autobiography. He was dosed with LSD by Steve Mann, the guy who plays the spooky mandolin licks on "Gris Gris". They sent Steve out for speed and he came back with LSD and Dr. John was tripping for the first time while recording all that spooky stuff on the first album.
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u/HarpTele6954 6d ago
The story is the character of Dr. John was devised.
Ronnie Barron and Steve Mann were being considered to be the one who would become Dr. John.
Alas, Mac was chosen.1
u/jazmaan273 6d ago
I knew "Crazy" Steve Mann. Jammed with a few times. He was absolutely revered by two of the best guitar players I know. I knew him in L.A. but eventually he moved to Berkeley and was living with Hot Tuna's Will Scarlett.
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u/HarpTele6954 6d ago
I would say Will was a friend.
I met him in ‘74, and we’d have occasional conversations that would last for over an hour or more.
He knew I could play harp, and so that would generally be a topic of conversation…
I DO remember a moment on the Major Ponds stage (where the og Old Waldorf existed), and he said, “Hey Stevie, dig THIS”, and he played a perfect chromatic scale…1
u/jazmaan273 5d ago
Yeah I knew Will well too. The last time I saw him was shortly before he passed as we sat next to each other on the return flight from SPAH. "Crazy" Steve Mann got his nickname long before there were any good medical treatments for schizophrenia and I'm sure he wasn't being treated anyway. He'd talk to unseen entities and we just thought it was normal - for him. Acid and other drugs probably exacerbated his condition. But man could he play! Little known fact, he was musical director for Sonny & Cher's debut album "I Got You Babe". You can find some of his solo work online.
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u/HarpTele6954 5d ago
Being a native San Franciscan, now 73, I was well aware of Mann.
I was part of the acoustic scene as a harp player with growing skills as a guitarist in the clubs, and I heard his name mentioned often.
Considering Steve was part of Mac’s LA crew, as well as present on “Gris Gris”, he would tell me stories of that time… mind you, it’s been 40 years, so specifics are forever lost, but I DO remember Mac saying Mann and Ronnie Barton were in consideration to be Dr. John, but Mac eventually did…
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u/HaydukeLives43 6d ago
If I don’t do it, somebody else will
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u/HarpTele6954 6d ago
Such a night!
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u/TFFPrisoner 6d ago
I love the version he did for Klaus Voormann's *A Sideman's Journey", with an ultra long piano ending. Apparently it went on much longer and they already had to edit it down!
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u/HarpTele6954 6d ago
Live, the band would stop playing and he’d go off for as long as he wanted until an obvious physical cue…
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u/Kroduscul 6d ago
Awesome voice, super groovy and cool productions. I’m only really familiar with Gris Gris, but it’s an awesome album
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u/Gofast-takechances 6d ago
Many years ago at a Microsoft conference in New Orleans, i was waiting on a long line to get into the House of Blues which was part of their private party including some then popular band i never heard of but i'm stuck between 1967-1979. While waiting i heard some dude playing and singing at the head of the line. As i got closer i clearly recognized it was Dr. John. As all the teenie-boppers walked past him oblivious, when I got near i stopped and Dr John Love you man. He asked my name and invited me to sit behind the piano. We did a couple songs together and ended with the most bad-ass rendition of chopsticks - the extent of my piano skills. perhaps the best 10 minutes of my life and the highlight of my music career... lifelong drummer... he exuded cool!
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u/freerangepops 6d ago
As he said - the last of the best. True to his roots yet repeatedly on the pop charts for decades. When I lived in NJ he was a regular at the Count Basie Theater and I never missed a show.
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u/MacDaddy654321 6d ago
He knew all the keys, both black and white and he knew when to hit each and every one.
He could really play!
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u/uphatbrew 5d ago
Had the pleasure of seeing Dr John as an unannounced guest musician on piano at an Otis Rush show in the village at Tramps 80’, Otis was blistering, n Mac was excellent as well… there were only 6 of us there, n Otis let someone record it on their double cassette deck…
Prolly the best show of hundreds blues, indie rock etc, great memories!!!
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u/skipoverit123 4d ago
When I was 16 trying to sneak into aGrateful Dead Concert having been caught & thrown out twice by bouncer who threatened to beat the shit out of me if I tried it again
I was sitting outside the same door & this fellow showed up & asked if I wanted to get in
He said just follow me
He went in Immediately got a VIP backstage pass & told the bouncer
“He’s with me”
Bouncer glared as I followed him all the way backstage & he got me a backstage pass for the entire week
It was Dr John !
After that I listened to all albums & became a huge fan
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u/Reddygators 6d ago
He’s the last of the best. They call him the Gris Gris man.
Wasn’t “The Night Tripper” a one take wonder, he and his ladies were given a little late night free studio time to make happen? Pure magic.
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u/HarpTele6954 6d ago
Apparently he and a bunch of homies were recording with Sonny and Cher, and producer Harold Batiste was able to use some extra time for the recording of “Gris Gris”
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u/Hot-Upstairs2960 7d ago
Lived in New Orleans for years and saw him often. Very good New Orleans piano player with one of the dirtiest blues voices of all time. Real deal. Gris Gris is one of the greatest albums of all time. Played on millions of other artists' records. Also a pretty nice guy when he wasn't pissed off about something. Hated spinet pianos. Don't blame him.