"We don't do pity parties. We do parties": New Orleans sends Dr. John off in style
Dr. John loved New Orleans. But it is possible New Orleans loved Dr. John more.
The sun rose at 6 a.m. Saturday morning (June 22) in New Orleans and an hour later the doors of the Orpheum Theatre opened. For the next four hours, a stream of people, as varied as Dr. John’s music, arrived to pay their respects and bid adieu to the beloved musician, who died in the early hours of June 6 from a heart attack at age 77.
Many donned feathered and beaded top hats with voodoo-themed details, in homage to the musician’s mystic panache. A handful of others wore typical funeral garb, while one opted for a comic-book themed blazer. One woman marched through in amateur Mardi Gras Indian dress. A man arrived ready to star in a western film. Each one was allowed inside.
The scene was quintessentially New Orleans and therefore quintessentially Dr. John. The psychedelic rhythm and blues master born Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. defied boundaries and lived a decidedly singular life. His music spanned rock and roll, blues, jazz, funk and Mardi Gras Indian sound. His speech combined his Dr. Seussian gift of conjuring lyrical, yet logical new words with the gravelly accent of a bayou mobster bullfrog.
Read more: https://www.nola.com/music/2019/06/we-dont-do-pity-parties-we-do-parties-new-orleans-sends-dr-john-off-in-style.html
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