Mac Rebennack (born November 21, 1940), better known by the stage name Dr. John (also Dr. John Creaux, or Dr. John the Night Tripper), is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll. Active as a session musician since the late 1950’s, he gained a cult following in the late 1960’s following the release of his album Gris-Gris and his appearance at the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music. Rebennack has recorded over 20 albums and in 1973 scored a top-20 hit with the jaunty funk-flavored “Right Place Wrong Time”, still perhaps his best-known song. (More from Wikipedia)
Even in the context of the late 1960’s, King Crimson’s debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King seemed to come out of nowhere, even after other bizarro albums had already come along (both of which are excellent by the way): the 1968 debut Gris-Gris by Dr. John the Night Tripper (the stage name of premier New Orleans pianist Mac Rebennack, and later shortened to Dr. John), which features voodoo rhythms and chants; and, in the same year, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, which spawned the hit single “Fire”. In the Court of the Crimson King featured powerful music and dense lyrics, particularly on the title song, “In the Court of the Crimson King” and “21st Century Schizoid Man”, interspersed with quieter songs like “I Talk to the Wind” and an extended free-form jazzy interlude on “Moonchild”. I have already discussed this album at length on an earlier post about another UARB, Trillion.
Besides Glen Campbell, several members of the Wrecking Crew went on to great prominence in the music world, among them Mac Rebennack (better known as Dr. John) and Leon Russell.
(February 2015)
