From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Thu Nov 21, 2002  6:16 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Mac Rebennack
 
MAC REBENNACK aka DR. JOHN

Born Malcolm John Rebennack, 21 November 1940, New Orleans, Louisiana

Singer / songwriter / pianist / other instruments
Dr. John has built a career since the 60s as a consummate New Orleans
musician, incorporating funk, rock 'n' roll, jazz and R&B into his sound.
Rebennack's distinctive vocal growl and virtuoso piano playing brought him
acclaim among critics and fellow artists.
At the age of 14 he began frequenting recording studios, and wrote his first
songs at that time. By 1957 he was working as a session musician, playing
guitar, keyboards and other instruments on recordings issued on such labels
as Ace, Ric, Rex and Ebb. He made his first recording under his own name,
"Storm Warning" (an instrumental), for Rex during that same year, and others
followed on Ace and AFO Records with little success.
In 1958 he co-wrote "Lights Out", recorded by Jerry Byrne, one of the most
intense R&R records of all time, and toured with Byrne and Frankie Ford. He
had his first taste of success in 1960 when "Lady Luck" became a # 14 hit
for Lloyd Price. After a gun accident damaged his hand in the early '60s, he
gave up the guitar to concentrate on keyboards exclusively. By 1962
Rebennack had already played on countless sessions for such renowned
producers as Phil Spector, Harold Battiste, H.B. Barnum and Sonny Bono .
Rebennack formed his own bands during the early 60s but they did not take
off. By the mid-60s he had moved to Los Angeles, where he fused his New
Orleans roots with the emerging west coast psychedelic sound, and he
developed the persona Dr. John Creaux, The Night Tripper. The character was
based on one established by singer Prince La La, but Rebennack made it his
own through the intoxicating brew of voodoo incantations and New Orleans
heritage.
In 1968 Dr. John was signed to Atco Records and released "Gris-Gris", which
received critical acclaim but did not chart. The same musical formula and
exotic image were pursued on follow-up albums, "Babylon" and "Remedies".
Meanwhile, he toured on the rock festival and ballroom circuit and continued
to do session work. In 1971, Dr. John charted for the first time with the
album "The Sun, Moon & Herbs".
In 1972, he recorded a New Orleans "roots" album, "Gumbo", produced by
Jerry Wexler and Harold Battiste. It charted, as did the single from it, "Iko
Iko".
His biggest US hit came in 1973 with the single "Right Place,Wrong Time",
which reached # 9. The accompanying LP, "In The Right Place" (produced
by Allen Toussaint), was also his best-selling, reaching # 24. This colourful
album featured the instrumental muscle of the Meters, but despite a new-found
popularity, the artist parted from his record label and subsequent work failed
to achieve a similar status. During that year he toured with the Meters, and
recorded "Triumvirate" with Michael Bloomfield and John Hammond.
Dr. John continued to record throughout the 70s and 80s for numerous labels,
among them United Artists Records, Horizon and Clean Cuts, the latter
releasing Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack, a solo piano album, in 1981. In the
meantime, he continued to draw sizeable audiences as a concert act across
the USA, and added radio jingle work to his live and recorded work (he
continued to play on many sessions).
Despite employing a low-key approach to recording, Dr. John has remained
a respected figure. His live appearances are now less frequent, but this
irrepressible artist continues his role as a tireless champion of Crescent
City music. He played on the "Crescent City Gold" album (1994) with Allen
Toussaint, Lee Allen, Alvin Tyler, Edward Frank and Earl Palmer. In 1997,
he signed to Parlophone Records, and recorded tracks with UK artists
Spiritualized, Supergrass , Paul Weller and Primal Scream for the following
year's Anutha Zone, which broke into the UK Top 40. A relaxed tribute to
Duke Ellington followed in 1999.

More info: http://www.jazzitude.com/doctorjohn1.htm
Recommended listening:
- Return of the Mac : In the studio with  Mac Rebennack a.k.a. Dr. John,
1959-1961 (Westside WESA 835). His early work, both as a solo artist
and as a session musician, for the Ace group of labels.
- Dr. John's Gumbo (Atco 7006-2).
- Goin' Back to New Orleans (Warner Bros  926940-2)
- Mos' Scocious : The Dr. John Anthology  (Rhino, 2 CD-set)
Autobiography: Mac Rebennack with Jack Rummel, Under a hoodoo moon :
the life of Dr. John the Night Tripper. New York : St. Martin's Press, 1994.