Sad news today in the world of jazz, funk and all around good music as the world lost Dr. John who passed away today (6/6/19) at age 77 from a heart attack. Malcolm John Rebennack, who helped namesake the Bonnaroo Festival. He gained a cult following in the late 1960s following the release of his album Gris-Gris and his appearance at the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music. He performed a wildly theatrical stage show inspired by medicine shows, Mardi Gras costumes and voodoo ceremonies. Rebennack has recorded more than 20 albums and in 1973 scored a top-10 hit with “Right Place, Wrong Time” and most recently recorded Locked Down in 2012 that was featured Black Keys guitarist and singer Dan Auerbach as guitarist, background vocalist and producer and he followed that up with a salute to Louis Armstrong, 2013’s Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch. A mainstay at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Dr. John last appeared there in 2017.
Photo by Leslie Michelle Derrough
