Celebrating the Birthday of Bo Dollis

Theodore Emile "Bo" Dollis was born in New Orleans on January 14, 1944, and grew up in Central City. While in high school, he secretly attended Sunday night Indian "practice" at a friend's house, following The White Eagles tribe, playing and singing the traditional repertoire. In 1957 he masked for the first time with The Golden Arrows, not telling his family of his involvement with the Indians. He made his suit at someone else's house and told his folks he was going to a parade. Hours later his father discovered him, having recognized his son in the street, underneath a crown of feathers. In 1964, Bo Dollis became Big Chief of The Wild Magnolias, having previously participated in other Mardi Gras tribes.

Bo Dollis' name is virtually synonymous with the Wild Magnolias Mardi Gras Indian Tribe. Dollis’ talent is legendary, as he could improvise well and sing with a sweet voice, or a rough edge. Dollis’ childhood friend Monk Boudreaux, Chief of the Golden Eagles, has appeared with The Wild Magnolias since 1970. In that year, The Wild Magnolias recorded a single called "Handa Wanda," that, in addition to featuring their usual ensemble of vocalists and battery of percussion instruments, made history as the first time Mardi Gras Indians performed in the studio with a full band backing them up. The single found success in jukeboxes and through local word-of-mouth, if not on the radio, and ultimately led to a record contract. Two critically acclaimed full-length albums followed, in 1974 and 1975, and a single, "Smoke My Peace Pipe (Smoke it Right)", went to #74 on the Billboard Black Singles chart in 1974. 

In the late 1980s, The Wild Magnolias’ career got a boost from Allison Miner who booked them on new tours, along with signing them to Rounder Records, who released an album of theirs, I'm Back...at Carnival Time (featuring the ReBirth Brass Band) in 1990. In 1992, the Magnolias toured Europe as part of Willy DeVille's "New Orleans Revue", along with Dr John, Johnny Adams, and Zachary Richard. In 1999 they released Life is a Carnival, and with a permanent backing band, they embarked on worldwide tours. 2013's New Kind of Funk  marked the first Wild Magnolias record fronted by Dollis' son, Gerard "Bo Jr.," who also now serves as Big Chief of the tribe. Sadly Big Chief Bo Dollis died on January 20, 2015. Today we celebrate the birthday of this unique artist whose authentic music features prominently in the glorious fabric of New Orleans culture.

Photo: Derek Bridges

Celebrating the Birthday of Allen Toussaint

Pianist, songwriter, arranger and record producer Allen Toussaint was born in Gert Town in New Orleans on January 14, 1938. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, described as "one of popular music's great backroom figures". Many musicians recorded Toussaint's compositions, including “Whipped Cream”, "Java", "Mother-in-Law", "I Like It Like That", "Fortune Teller", "Ride Your Pony", "Get Out of My Life, Woman", "Working in the Coal Mine", "Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky", "Here Come the Girls", "Yes We Can Can", "Play Something Sweet", and "Southern Nights". He was a producer for hundreds of recordings, among the best known of which are "Right Place, Wrong Time", by his longtime friend Dr. John ("Mac" Rebennack), and "Lady Marmalade" by Labelle. Toussaint was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2009, the Songwriter's Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame in 2011. In 2013 he was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama In 2016, he posthumously won the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player title at the Blues Music Awards. Sadly, Toussaint passed away on November 10, 2015, while on tour in Madrid, Spain. Today we celebrate the birthday of a true New Orleans luminary.

Photo by Henryk Kotowski

Happy Birthday, Trombone Shorty!

Trombone and trumpet player, singer songwriter, producer, actor and philanthropist Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews was born in New Orleans on January 2, 1986. Andrews grew up in Tremé and comes from an exceptional New Orleans musical family, including his grandfather, singer songwriter Jessie Hill, older brother, trumpeter and bandleader James Andrews, and cousins, trombonist Glen David Andrews and the late Travis “Trumpet Black” Hill.  He appeared onstage with Bo Diddley at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival at age 4, was a bandleader by age 6, and was a member of the Stooges Brass Band in his teens. He attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) with fellow New Orleans musician Jon Batiste. In 2005, Andrews toured with Lenny Kravitz as a featured member of the horn section, and since 2009 he has toured with his own band, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue. Notably, in 2010, Andrews released the album Backatown, which was No. 1 on Billboard magazine's Contemporary Jazz Chart for nine consecutive weeks and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. Andrews added “actor” to his resumé in 2010, and in 2013, when he appeared in seven episodes of HBO’s Treme series. In 2011, he released For True, in 2013 Say That to Say This, and in 2017 Parking Lot Symphony. In 2018, Andrews received a Blues Foundation Award in the Blues Instrumentalist, Horn Category. 

Andrews has performed with a Who’s Who of musical talent, including The Neville Brothers, Dr. John, U2, Green Day, Rebirth Brass Band, Maceo Parker, Jeff Beck, Dave Matthews Band, Earth, Wind & Fire, Gary Clark Jr., Janelle Monáe, Madonna, Queen Latifah, and many, many more. Since 2014, he has built a friendship with Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters that has seen them sit in on each other’s performances throughout the years. Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue’s annual Tremé Threauxdown (New Orleans) and Voodoo Threauxdown (worldwide) tours bring his amazing music to fans every year. 

Andrews collaborated with former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to form the Horns For Schools Project, which ultimately evolved into the Trombone Shorty Foundation, which works "to preserve and perpetuate the unique musical culture of New Orleans by passing down its traditions to future generations of musicians." In 2012, the Foundation, in partnership with Tulane University, created an After School Academy in New Orleans to mentor aspiring, high school musicians. In 2016, Andrews received the Heinz Award in Arts and Humanities for “his achievements as a musician and for his community work to preserve and pass on to youger generations the rich musical heritage of his native New Orleans”. Happy birthday to one of the Big Easy’s most talented, charismatic and altruistic musical performers. 

Photo by: I, Information - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Infrogmation

Happy Birthday, Zigaboo Modeliste!

Drummer and songwriter Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste was born in New Orleans on December 28, 1948, and is best known as a founding member of New Orleans funk band The Meters. He grew up in New Orleans’ 13thWard and was nicknamed Zigaboo at 10 by his teens the name had stuck. His first drum set was a three-piece bought by his grandmother, and he learned by watching and emulating New Orleans drum greats such as Smokey Johnson. He started playing gigs at an early age, including with Art Neville’s band that evolved into The Neville Sounds, and ultimately, The Meters in 1965. Allen Toussaint’s record label eventually signed The Meters, and in 1975 and 1976 they opened for the Rolling Sotnes, and they also backed acts such as Dr. John, Robert Palmer, Lee Dorsey, and Paul McCartney. In the late 1970s when The Meters disbanded, Modeliste toured with various musicians, including The New Barbarians, featuring Keith Richards and Ron Wood. 

Modeliste's work is credited on hundreds of recordings by a variety of artists, including hip hop artists such as Run DMC, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, Ice Cube, LL Cool J, Queen Latifah and Salt-N-Pepa, who have all sampled his drum patterns. Modeliste released three studio albums and a live album as a leader, and in 2011 he collaborated with producer-musician Mark Ronson, Erykah Badu, Mos Def and Trombone Shorty for the song "A La Modeliste", named his influence on funk drumming and the New Orleans sound. 

In the 1980s Modeliste moved to California, ultimately settling in Oakland He got involved in the business side of the music industry, starting the label, JZM Records, and a music publishing company, Jomod Music. Fortunately for music fans, he continues to perform regularly, and in 2018, as the Recording Academy honored Modeliste and The Meters with a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award. Today we celebrate this innovative musician’s many achievements and wish him a happy birthday!

Photo: Carnaval.com Studios

Celebrating the Birthday of Charles Neville

R&B and jazz Saxophonist and vocalist Charles Neville was born in New Orleans on December 27, 1938, and was part of the Grammy Award winning Neville Brothers band. Known as “Charlie the horn man”, he was the second oldest of the four Neville brothers, including Art, Aaron and Cyril, he left home when he was 15 to play saxophone with the Rabbit’s Foot Minstrel Show. After serving in the Navy, he toured with B.B. King and Bobby (Blue) Bland, later joining the band of fellow New Orleanian Larry Williams. Struggles with addiction resulted in trouble with the law, landing him in jail and later in Louisiana State Prison for three and a half years for possession of marijuana. After his release in the mid-1960s, he moved to New York City and explored modern jazz. In 1976, he returned to New Orleans to record with his brothers and their uncle George “Big Chief Jolly” Landry’s Mardi Gras Indian group, blending traditional and funk music on the iconic “The Wild Tchoupitoulas” album.  

Shortly afterward, the four brothers formed The Neville Brothers and recorded over a dozen albums and built a following all over the world. Charles's saxophone playing was especially notable on the title track of their best-selling album, Yellow Moon. He moved to rural Massachusetts in the 1990s with his wife, Kristin, and children and continued to perform and record with family members and a wide variety of musicians for the rest of his life. Sadly, he passed away from pancreatic cancer on April 26, 2018. On his birthday today, we celebrate the life of Charles Neville with great appreciation for how his music has enriched our lives.  

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/people/30595457@N00

Happy Birthday, George Porter, Jr!

Bassist and songwriter George Joseph Porter, Jr, was born in New Orleans on December 26, 1947. Best known for his work in the Meters, progenitors of funk and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners, George has performed and recorded with a Who’s Who list of artists from around the world, as well as performing regularly in several bands.

Porter grew up in New Orleans next to Joe "Zigaboo" Modeliste, his future Meters bandmate, and as teenagers, they played jam sessions together with Porter playing a box guitar. Porter was inspired to play bass guitar by another New Orleans native, Benjamin "Poppi" Francis, and when Porter was still in his teens, he sat in with legendary New Orleans R&B and blues guitarist Earl King. The beginnings of The Meters came after one of those shows when Art Neville approached Porter to start a band called Neville Sound. After a short time, the band’s four core members - Art Neville, Zigaboo Modeliste, Leo Nocentilli and Porter Jr., played six nights a week at a bar called Ivanhoe on Bourbon Street. Allen Toussaint ultimately signed the band to a record deal, but changed their name to something that better reflected their sound, “The Meters”. 

In 1975, they opened for the Rolling Stones, but by 1977, The Meters broke up, and Porter Jr. formed a band called Joyride. He played with Joyride and other New Orleans musicians in the 1980s, and in 1989 he reunited with Art Neville and Leo Nocentelli as The Meters, with Russell Batiste, Jr., on drums in place of Zigaboo Modeliste. In 1990, he started The Runnin Pardners, and he also became a highly sought after studio bass player. In 1994, Porter and Neville formed The Funky Meters to carry on The Meters sound, including Brian Stoltz on guitar and Russell Batiste Jr. on drums. 

In 2000, the original four Meters reunited for a show, and they did not reunite again until the first New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival after Hurricane Katrina in 2006, which meant a lot to the city. Porter, Leo Nocentelli, Joe Modeliste, Phish keyboardist Page McConnell, have performed a limited number of shows as The Metermen in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Sadly, Meters keyboardist Art Neville passed away on July 22, 2019. Porter still performs with Joyride and The Funky Meters, and tours consistently with the Runnin Pardners. Porter also frequently collaborates with other musicians, many from New Orleans, to the delight of his many fans. Happy birthday, George! 

Photo: Masahiro Sumori