Yeah, You Right! Mardi Gras Is Here!

Discussing Essential Songs for Mardi Gras Season

It is that time of year, ya’ll! Carnival Time is upon us and Mardi Gras is around the corner. Fat Tuesday happens to be on March 4th this year. Though I won’t be in New Orleans to celebrate, I will be DJing a couple Mardi Gras-themed get downs.

The first will be at The Whisk in Greencastle, Indiana for Mardi Monday on the 3rd from 6 til 9pm. On Fat Tuesday, I’ll be at the Jazz Kitchen in Indy. The Pork N Beans Brass Band perform from 7 to 9. I believe the show is close to sold out. But from 9 til midnight, I’ll be spinning New Orleans jams. No door cover!

I’ve been prepping my playlists for these events for the past week or so, digging through my healthy New Orleans record collection to find just the right bops to throw on.

I thought it might be fun to compile some of my essential Mardi Gras jams. Some are pretty obvious, some not so much.

Danny Barker and His Creole Cats - “My Indian Red” (King Zulu Records, 1953)

Guitarist and banjo player Danny Barker was one of the earliest post Louis Armstrong New Orleans musicians to leave the Big Easy and find success in the wider jazz world. In 1930, Barker moved other New York City where he would soon be performing with Albert Nicolas, Lucky Millinder and Benny Carter. Barker also found success in the studios, where he recorded with Cab Calloway and other jazz upstarts, including Sir Charles Thompson, Charlie Parker and Dexter Gordon.

It was most likely in 1953 that Barker recorded four sides of distinctly unique music with a group he called the Creole Cats, which featured bari saxophonist Hayward Henry, pianist Don Kirkpatrick, bassist Johnny Williams and drummer Freddie Moore.

For the recordings, Barker borrowed chants from Black Masking Indians of New Orleans. The Indians, often referred to as Mardi Gras Indians, represent a long tradition of African American men and women who prepare fantastic, feathered and beaded “suits” to wear on Mardi Gras Day and St. Joseph Day. In addition, there are rankings within the tribes and responsibilities for each member. It is worth taking a deep dive into.

One of the most important cultural aspects of the Black Masking Indians has been the proliferation of their chants, many of which have been turned into well-known songs. Barker was one of the first to record Indian chants to music. The four sides that he recorded were “Chocko Mo Feendo Hey” (more famously known as “Jock-O-Mo,” recorded by “Sugar Boy” Crawford in 1953, and later performed by many as “Iko Iko”), “My Indian Red,” “Corinne Died on The Battlefield,” and “Tootie Ma Is A Big Fine Thing” (my fav!).

“My Indian Red” is one of the oldest Black Masking Indian chants and is usually sung before and after the meetings of Indian tribes. The tune announces the arrival of the Big Chiefs (leaders) of various well known tribes. It goes on to run down the various members of the tribe, from spy boy to wild man.

Barker released two shellac 78 rpm discs on his own King Zulu Records. They were sold at the New Orleans Jazz Museum, which had opened its doors in 1948. Unfortunately, Barker didn’t repress on 45 or LP and the majority of the remaining stock was lost during Katrina. Luckily, the good folks at Sinking City Records pressed up 45s of the two releases, which can still be found pretty easily. I’d recommend looking here first!

Hawketts - “Mardi Gras Mambo” (Chess, 1955)

Written by Frankie Adams and Lou Welsh, “Mardi Gras Mambo” was first released as a country single recorded by Jody Levens in 1953. With its twang, swell “geetar” solo and Western swing, the tune is charming enough.

But when it was recorded by eight teenagers at the behest of DJ Ken “Jack The Cat” Elliott, “Mardi Gras Mambo” found its true voice and quintessential version. The Hawketts were led by trombonist Carroll Joseph and featured guitarist Alfred August, tenor player Morris Bechamin, alto player George Davis, drummer John Boudreaux, and trumpeters Israel Bell and August Fleury. The band struck gold when they invited Art Neville to be the vocalist and keyboard player in 1953.

Elliott approached the Hawketts to record an edited version of “Mardi Gras Mambo” in January 1954. The recording was done at the WWEZ radio station and captures what Jelly Roll Morton called “Latin tinge” of New Orleans music so well.

This one off track solidified the Hawketts in New Orleans music lore. While many of the performers didn’t become household names, a few made a real splash in the music world. After a short solo career with rash of singles, Art Neville would become best known as the beloved keyboardist of The Meters and The Neville Brothers. John Boudreaux would become the preeminent keeper of the New Orleans beat, playing on essential tracks by Professor Longhair, Dr. John and Allen Toussaint. Multi-instrumentalist and composer George Davis would co-compose Aaron Neville’s career launching “Tell It Like It Is,” tour the world with Dizzy Gillespie and deftly navigate the jazz and stage worlds of New York City for decades.

Professor Longhair “Go To The Mardi Gras” (Ron, 1959)

Henry Roeland Byrd, or as he is better known, Professor Longhair, first grabbed the attention of listeners with his rumba and calypso infused tunes at the Caldonia Club in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans. His infectious rhythms and boisterous performances left many listeners ecstatic and almost as many pianos busted.

In 1948, Longhair and his band, the Shuffling Hungarians, recorded four songs for Star Talent’s Folk Series. One of the songs was “Mardi Gras In New Orleans,” a shuffling version of what would best become known as “Go To The Mardi Gras.” The tune features a small horn section riding the harmonies and Longhair’s ear catching whistling.

Longhair continued recording, including releasing a hit with “Bald Head” on Ebb, but was hobbled by a stroke in 1957. It was in 1959 that Longhair re-recorded “Go To The Mardi Gras” for Joe Ruffini’s brand new label, Ron Records. The new recording was faster and punchier than the original. John Boudreoux returns with a churning uptempo shuffle and Richard Payne provides a driving bass line. Hawkett tenor player Morris Bechamin and trombonist Eddie Hines keep up the recurrent horn line aligned to the rhythmic thrust of guitarist Mac Rebennack, a decade before he emerged as Dr. John.

Al Johnson “Carnival Time” (Ron, 1960)

Growing up in a musical family in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, Al Johnson began his career in music early. Johnson had recorded a couple tunes for Aladdin Records by the time he was 17 years old. Shortly thereafter, he was signed to Joe Ruffino’s Ric Records, where he released “Lena” in 1958.

Johnson recorded his “Carnival Time” for Ron Records in 1960. Brought in by a boisterous horn assault, “Carnival Time” is an uptempo rocker with a strong backbeat. Johnson’s vocals are wide and expressive on this joyful tune.

But it wasn’t so fun when Johnson returned from the Army in 1964 to find producer Joe Ruffino dead and no money for his efforts. But Johnson fought for and, in 1999, got full rights to the tune that brought him fame. If you are lucky, you might still hear Johnson get out and belt “Carnival Time” during the season.

Bo Dollis and The Wild Magnolia Mardi Gras Indian Band - “Handa Wanda” (Crescent City, 1970)

In 1964, Bo Dollis took the mantle of Big Chief of the Wild Magnolias Black Masking Indian tribe. His electric voice captured many who heard it on Mardi Gras Day, including a young Quint Davis, who had been astounded by Dollis’s voice when he heard the Magnolias’ Big Chief at a White Eagles tribe rehearsal.

The future New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival producer was so smitten with the Dollis and the Wild Magnolias that he invited them to perform at his fraternity on the campus of Tulane. Amongst the tribe and assembled musicians was pianist Willie Tee Turbinton (more on that later).

It was in 1970 that Davis and his J&H Festival peer Allison Miner decided to record Dollis and one of his chants. Along with bassist Gerald French and drummer Zigaboo Modeliste, Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias recorded “Handa Wanda,” perhaps one of the funkiest things to come out of New Orleans, for a one off single on Davis and Miner’s Crescent City label.

Earl King “Street Parade” (Kansu Records, 1970)

The great guitarist and composer Earl King is probably the best blues musician to ever come from New Orleans. King began playing the guitar as a teenager and was quickly introduced to the music biz by entering talent contests and finishing a tour for his wounded hero, Guitar Slim, who had been hurt in a car accident.

For a decade, King worked up the ranks of the exploding New Orleans R&B scene, recording for Savoy, Specialty and Ace Records. It was with the latter that he made a hit with “Those Lonely, Lonely Nights.” King then when on to Imperial records, where he made recorded “Come On” and “Trick Bag.”

King stepped away from recording during the mid-1960s R&B halt in New Orleans brought on by the popularity of white rock and roll, though he continued to write songs for different artists on independent labels.

It was in 1972 that King returned to the recording studio at the behest of Allen Toussaint and Marshall Sehorn. With the help of Toussaint and his regular studio band, The Meters (ft. Art Neville), King recorded an album’s worth of material, including “Street Parade - Part 1” and “Street Parade - Part 2.” Though the album wasn’t picked up by Atlantic Records, as it was intended, the singles were released on the short-lived Kansu Records.

“Part 1” is introduced by the sound of crowd moving down the street, setting the scene for a martial beat of Zigaboo Modeliste’s drums, the insistent twang of Leo Nocentelli’s and the tuba-inspired bass from George Porter, Jr. It is a killer.

The full Street Parade album was eventually released in 1982 by Charly Records in 1981 and has recently reissued by the Tipitina’s Record Club.

Dr. John “Iko Iko” (ATCO Records, 1972)

The history of “Iko Iko” goes back to the Black Masking Indians of New Orleans and their unique language derived from African sources and patois. The tune is based on two chants distilled into a story of a spy boy (advanced scout) looking for other tribes. As a popular song, “Iko Iko” was originally known as “Jock-O-Mo,” credited to and performed by James “Sugar Boy” Crawford. Crawford released “Jock-O-Mo” on Chicago’s Checker Records in 1954.

The tune really took off after it was recorded by New Orleans girl group The Dixie Cups in 1964. One of the singers, Barbara Hawkins, had grown up hearing the song sung by her grandmother. The Cups casually recreated the tune in the studio and it became an unexpected hit.

Fast forward to 1972 in Los Angeles…. Mac Rebennack has recorded four albums as Dr. John for ATCO Records with the assistance of the great arranger and saxophonist Harold Battiste. Rather than conjure up a new batch of pseudo voodoo psychedelic tunes, Rebennack and Battiste arrange classic New Orleans R&B and blues tunes for their new recording, Gumbo.

The lead off tune on Gumbo is “Iko Iko.” With an assemblage of the New Orleans expats, Rebennack records what might be the most essential version of the tune with its glistening piano, snappy snares, singing horns and Dr. John’s unmistakable creole growl.

The Wild Magnolias “New Suit” (Barclay, 1975)

Pianist and songwriter Willie Tee Turbinton remains an under appreciated genius of New Orleans music. From the time he was a teenager, Turbinton was writing and performing original tunes for labels like All For One, Nola and Bonatemp. He nearly crossed into the mainstream on the David Axelrod produced and H.B. Barnum arranged I’m Only a Man for Capitol Records in 1970, a recording that made possible with the assistance of Turbinton’s good friend, Joe Zawinul.

Turbinton wasn’t a stranger at leading his own bands. In the late 1960s, he established an B-3 organ lead jazz ensemble called Willie Tee and The Souls, which featured his brother, saxophonist Earl Turbinton, along with drummer David Lee, Jr. and either guitarist George Davis (Remember him?) or bassist George French. After establishing the Gatur Records label with Ulis Gaines, Turbinton began a new funky band, called The Gaturs, once again with Earl along with drummer Larry Panna, guitarist June Ray and bassist Irving Charles.

It was with a copy of “Handa Wanda” that French record producer, writer and New Orleans music lover Philippe Rault shopped the idea of a Wild Magnolias record to Eddie Barclay of Barclay Disques in France, which was seized upon immediately.

The musical accompaniment to the Magnolias was the New Orleans Project, a band led by Turbinton that featured Earl, Panna, bassist Julius Farmer, guitarist Snooks Eaglin and percussionist Alfred “Uganda” Roberts. It was Quint Davis who suggested the group name. That debut self-titled album is tremendous and possibly one of the most important funk albums to emerge from New Orleans.

A second recording was arranged in February 1975 but this time with the Gaturs as the backing band with the addition of Uganda on congas. They Call Us Wild was another incredible recording of Magnolia songs to funk background. Perhaps the most iconic song on the album was “New Suit,” which speaks to the tradition of the Masking Indians of making a entirely new suit of beadwork and feathers to mask during the Mardi Gras season.

The Wild Tchoupitoulas “Hey Pocky A-Way” (Island Records, 1976)

In the early 1970s, George “Big Chief Jolly” Landry established the Wild Tchoupitoulas Black Masking Indian tribe in Uptown New Orleans. Interestingly, Landry happened to be the uncle of a certain tribe of Nevilles. Of course, the Neville family had already become one of the most beloved musical families in New Orleans. Vocalist Aaron Neville had already had hits and The Meters, which included Art Neville, had already been delivering dance music for funky folks.

Under the production supervision of Allen Toussaint, The Meters along with Aaron Neville, percussionist Cyril Neville, saxophonist/percussionist Charles Neville and guitarist Teddy Royal joined to become the backing band for the Wild Tchoupitoulas, providing a unique blend of soul, funk and Caribbean flavor for the traditional Indian chants.

Though The Meters would record it again in 1974, the Tchoupitoulas version of “Hey Pocky A-Way” is a killer. The amalgamation of all the Nevilles would establish the foundation for what would soon become one of New Orleans’ most treasured musical groups, The Neville Brothers.

Happy Carnival, ya’ll! Let me know your fav Mardi Gras tunes are!

P.S. I’m a compiler of info here. If there seems to be any history out of sort, please let me know.