The Funky Lee Dorsey

Well it's April (just about) and that means it's time to start thinking about the greatest music festival of them all, New Orleans Jazz Fest.  It breaks my heart to say it but I can't make it this year.  To make up for it I am determined to listen to a ton of funky, soulful music from that fabulous city.

Let's start with the great Lee Dorsey.  The fact that Dorsey never became a household name outside of New Orleans is a damn shame.  Besides having one of the most soulful and joyful voices in modern music, Dorsey was known to be one of the warmest, nicest guys in the music business.  Before (and after) his music career he was a car mechanic and the story goes that he was discovered by a talent agent who was in a fender bender while traveling through New Orleans.  Lee crawled under the car and began singing to pass the time while he worked, banging on the under carriage of the car for rhythm.

Check out this amazing record from 1970 "Yes We Can and then Some"  - it was produced by another one of my all-time favorites Allen Toussaint, who also wrote most of the tunes.  Even though they weren't in the studio at the same time as Dorsey, The Meters also appear throughout the record.  The highlights (for me) are "Yes We Can," the original "Sneakin Sally Through the Alley" and what might possibly be my current favorite song "Lonely Avenue." 

I will dig up some more Lee Dorsey soon but this album is a great place to start - a truly timeless record that is soulful without being sappy and funky without being over the top.  Enjoy it and think New Orleans.

Pigpen

March 8th marked the anniversary of the passing of the great Ron "Pigpen" McKerran, one of the founding members of the Grateful Dead. Pigpen was the heart and soul of the original Dead lineup and in his prime he was in many ways their leader. As Pigpen's health began to decline the band started to leave their blues roots behind a bit (though the blues always remained a big part of the Dead's music).

In the years before he died Pigpen put in some work on a solo record that never got released. Thanks to the magic of the internet you can hear it right here, it's called "Bring Me My Shotgun" - which is awesome.

"Pigpen was and is now forever one of the Grateful Dead"

Mark Linkous

Sad news over the weekend.  Mark Linkous, better known as the musician Sparklehorse, died at his own hand.  Mark was a gifted singer/songwriter and producer who created dark and beautiful music.  As a producer he had a gift for bringing out the best in his collaborators as demonstrated on the albums he did with Daniel Johnston and his recent collaboration with Dangermouse (and David Lynch sort of) Dark Night of the Soul.  

I loved his music and he will be missed by MANY.