Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. (born November 21, 1940), better known by the stage name Dr. John (also Dr. John Creaux), 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 1950s, he came to wider prominence in the early 1970s with a wildly theatrical stage show inspired by medicine shows, Mardi Gras costumes and voodoo ceremonies. 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.
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, his professional musical career began there in the 1950s. He originally concentrated on guitar and he gigged with local bands including Mac Rebennack and the Skyliners, (Paul Staele/Dennis "Bootsie" Cuquet, drums; Earl Stanley, bass; Charlie Miller, trumpet; Charlie Maduell, sax; Roland "Stone" LeBlanc, vocals), Frankie Ford and the Thunderbirds, and Jerry Byrne and the Loafers. He had a regional hit with a Bo Diddley-influenced instrumental called "Storm Warning" on Rex Records in 1959. During these days he was an A&R man producing, with Charlie Miller, monophonic singles on 45s for Johnny Vincent and Joe Corona for such local labels as ACE, RON, RIC and others. For these sessions he oversaw A&R and the rhythm section while Miller wrote the horn arrangements and headed up the horns. It was a productive team until Miller decided to move to New York and to study music formally.
Rebennack's career as a guitarist came to an end when his left ring finger was injured by a gunshot while he was defending singer/keyboardist Ronnie Barron, his bandmate, Jesuit High School classmate, and longtime friend. After the injury, Rebennack concentrated on bass guitar before making piano his main instrument; pianist Professor Longhair was an important influence on Rebennack's piano stylings.
Beginning in the late 1960s, Rebennack gained fame as a solo artist after adopting the persona of "Dr. John, The Night Tripper". Dr. John's act combined New Orleans-style rhythm and blues with psychedelic rock and elaborate stage shows that bordered on voodoo religious ceremonies, including elaborate costumes and headdress (reflecting and presumably inspired by Screamin' Jay Hawkins's stage act). The name "Dr. John" came from a legendary Louisiana voodoo practitioner of the early 19th century. On the earliest Dr. John records, the artist billing was "Dr. John, The Night Tripper", while the songwriting credits billed him as "Dr. John Creaux". Within a few years the "Night Tripper" subtitle was dropped, and Rebennack resumed using his real name for writing and producing/arranging credits.
Gris-Gris, his 1968 debut album combining voodoo rhythms and chants with the New Orleans music tradition, was ranked 143rd on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
The winner of five Grammy awards, Rebennack was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by singer John Legend on Monday, March 14, 2011.
Mardi Gras Mambo
St Bernard Civic Center
New Orleans, Louisiana
March 5th, 1973
Soundboard
1. Instrumental Intro (Mardi Gras Day - Instrumental)
2. Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya
3. Let The Good Times Roll
4. Right Place, Wrong Time
5. Iko Iko
6. Huey Smith Medley : High Blood Pressure/Don't You Just Know It/Well I'll Be John Brown/Jackomo
7. I Been Hoodooed
8. Loup Garou
9. Wang Dang Doodle
10. Junko Partner
11. Qualified
12. I Walk On Guilded Splinters
13. Mess Around
14. Mardi Gras Day
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