June 6 - Dr. John

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On this day, in 2019, Dr. John passed away in New Orleans, Louisiana. Born on November 20, 1941 in the same city, his given name was Malcolm John Rebennack, Jr. His father owned a store that sold and fixed appliances and sold records as well. Through the store, the young Malcolm was exposed to various jazz musicians as well as the minstrel type songs his aunts and uncles would sing at family gatherings. When he was thirteen, he met Professor Longhair, a New Orleans blues singer and pianist, and began performing with him soon afterward as a guitarist. Even though he was getting paid, it wasn't until a few years later, when he was able to join the Musicians Union in 1957, that he considered himself a professional musician. At that time he was struggling with his studies at Jesuit High School (the late gigs at nightclubs weren't helping). The school told him he needed to choose between school and his band. It didn't take long for Malcolm to choose his music.

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In 1957, Malcolm was hired as a producer at Ace Records and began working with artists like James Booker and Jimmy Clanton. He continued to play clubs around New Orleans and by the age of seventeen had written his first rock and roll song, Lights Out, that became a regional hit. In 1960, his musical career was temporarily derailed by an incident in Jacksonville, Florida. A band mate was being pistol whipped and Malcolm tried to save him. Malcolm's finger was over the barrel of the gun when it went off, removing part of a finger on his left hand, effectively ending his time as a guitarist. He returned to New Orleans and refashioned himself as a pianist and remained one for the remainder of his career. Unfortunately, he also got involved in the narcotics trade upon his return (both as a user and a dealer). This illegal activity resulted in another career derailment when he was arrested and spent two years in prison.

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While he was incarcerated, New Orleans decided to clean up its image by closing many of the clubs Malcolm used to perform in. When he was released in 1965, he couldn't find work locally and moved to Los Angeles, California where he became a studio musician. While playing with the likes of Sonny and Cher and Frank Zappa, Malcolm began developing a persona he named Dr. John, fashioned after a Haitian voodoo healer popular in New Orleans. Initially, Dr. John was supposed to be for one of Malcolm's friends, Ronnie Barron, but when Ronnie dropped out of the project, Malcolm took the persona on and released an album, Gris-Gris, in 1968.

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Over the next few years, Malcolm gained a cult following as Dr. John. He toured around the country, releasing several albums. While Dr. John performed for the growing crowds, the name Malcolm Rebennack continued to get the writing and producing credits. With the release of Dr. John's Gumbo, a 1972 album that mostly consisted of covers of New Orleans R&B songs, Dr. John became a mainstay of Louisiana music. It also marked the end of the overtly voodoo portions of his act. Going forward, he modeled his stage presence as a Mardi Gras revue, only occasionally bringing in voodoo influences. In 1973, he released the funk album In the Right Place, which contained the single Right Place Wrong Time, his only song to break into the Billboard Top Ten.

Over the next 46 years, while he would only break into the Top 100 list once more, Dr. John enjoyed immense success as a studio performer and much beloved collaborator. He recorded with The Rolling Stones, Neil Diamond, Van Morrison, Aaron Neville, Harry Connick, Jr., Ringo Starr, Lou Reed, Greg Allman, LeAnn Rimes, Bonnie Raitt and Aretha Franklin, just to name a few of his over 2,000 credits. He was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live in 1977, sang the jingle for Popeye's Chicken, performed the theme songs for the television series Blossom and Curious George, was king of the Krewe du Vieux for the 2010 Mardi Gras season and kicked off the 2017 NBA All-Star Game. Oh, yeah, he also released over forty more albums of his own. During his career he won six Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.

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Dr. John made several contributions to Disneyana over the years. His version of the song Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive was used in 1992's The Mighty Ducks. He sang Cruella de Vil for the live action version of 101 Dalmatians. He joined Steve Tyrell for a duet of You've Got a Friend In Me for Steve's Disney Standards album. In 2009, he sang the opening song of The Princess and the Frog called Down in New Orleans. The Randy Newman written song was nominated for an Academy Award. And, in 2016, he sang a version of Bare Necessities for the live action Jungle Book.

While Dr. John stopped trafficking in narcotics after his stint in prison, he did not stop using them, especially heroin. After battling his addiction for a good chunk of his life, he was finally able to get sober after spending time in rehabilitation in 1989. His decades of drug use took their toll, however. He suffered a fatal heart attack on this day, shortly after recording a farewell album. He was 77.