Under A Hoodoo Moon - The Life Of Dr. John The Night Tripper - Mac Rebennack & Jack Rummel

By Jens

Dr. John (real name Mac Rebennack) is one of rock'n'roll's great characters, his gravel voice is as unique as Tom Waits or Howlin' Wolf, his music which some labels voodoo blues is a motley mix of r&b, funk, blues & jazz which is deeply rooted in the multi cultural city of New Orleans. His selfbiography "Under A Hoodoo Man" takes the reader on an exotic, strange, drugcrazed and fascinating journey. From the mid50s barely in his teens he had already established himself as session musician (guitarist, composer) for names like Little Richards, Joe Tex and New Orleans royalty like Professor Longhair, who became his mentor. Mac also played in many combos at N.O.'s seedy bars, dragshows and whorehouses where knifefights, gang shootings and a pursuit for heroin was the daily life of this teenager. He even started hustling hookers himself by 18. In 1961 someone shot off his finger and he had focus on the piano. He started working on records for guys like Eddie Bo, Sonny Bono, The O'jays, and Phil Spector. In the mid60s he created his alter ego, Dr. John, and infused his music with occult voodoo imagery, his famous Indian feathery costumes and a wild stageshow with dancers and backup singers. His first real album, "Gris Gris" (1968), which combined N.O. R&B and psychedelic rock, created quite a stir in the music scene. He was actually warned by real N.O. hoodoo priests not to dabble in the occult. Dr. John worked with admirers like Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton in the 70s, and had his biggest hits "Right Place Wrong Time" and "Such A Night" in that decade with The Meters as backing band. His serious heroin habit finally got him a long jail sentence in the infamous Louisiana State penitentiary, but he didn't quit smack until he cleaned up in the late 80s. It's amazing he still could be so productive and tour as much as he did, but The Night Tripper is not an ordinary man as "Under A Hoodoo Moon" unravels. His language is wonderfully unique, using exotic junko fonk lingo I've never read before. A must for people looking for something unusual in the world of rock biographies. For Dr. John rookies there's a great Rhino 2 disc called "Mos' Scocious: Anthology" which goes back to his 50s recordings and include his later hits as well. It was pretty weird reading this book while hurricane Katrina was rampaging the sites Dr. John so lovingly describes in "Under A Hoodoo Moon".