The Meters are an American funk band formed in 1965 in New Orleans by Zigaboo Modeliste (drums), George Porter Jr. (bass), Leo Nocentelli (guitar) and Art Neville (keyboards). The band performed and recorded their own music from the late 1960s until 1977 and played an influential role as backing musicians for other artists, including Lee Dorsey, Robert Palmer, Dr. John, and Allen Toussaint. Their original songs "Cissy Strut" and "Look-Ka Py Py" are considered funk classics.
The music of Louisiana can be divided into three general regions: rural south Louisiana, home to Creole Zydeco and Old French, New Orleans, and north Louisiana. The region in and around Greater New Orleans has a unique musical heritage tied to Dixieland jazz, blues, and Afro-Caribbean rhythms. The music of the northern portion of the state starting at Baton Rouge and reaching Shreveport has similarities to that of the rest of the US South.
Malcolm John Rebennack Jr., better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. His music combined New Orleans blues, jazz, R&B, soul and funk.
Aaron Joseph Neville is an American R&B and soul singer. With Art, Charles, and Cyril, he is a member of the Neville Brothers. On his own, he has had four platinum albums and four Top 10 hits in the United States, including three that reached number one on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.
Maurice White was an American musician, best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter and chief producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, also serving as the band's co-lead singer with Philip Bailey.
Laten John Adams Jr., was an American blues, jazz and gospel singer, known as "The Tan Canary" for the multi-octave range of his singing voice, his swooping vocal mannerisms and falsetto. His biggest hits were his versions of "Release Me" and "Reconsider Me" in the late 1960s.
Playing Possum is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Elektra Records, on April 21, 1975.
Gris-Gris is the debut album by American musician Dr. John. Produced by Harold Battiste, it was released on Atco Records in 1968. The album introduced Rebennack's Dr. John character, inspired by a reputed 19th century voodoo doctor. The style of Gris-Gris is a hybrid of traditional New Orleans R&B elements and psychedelia. It was recorded in California, albeit with several native New Orleans musicians.
Oh, My NOLA is an album from Harry Connick Jr. with his big band. The album was released in 2007, and contains well-known songs associated with New Orleans, as well as 4 new songs composed by Connick, who sings and plays the piano, conducts, arranges and orchestrates the album.
In the Right Place is the sixth album by the New Orleans R&B artist Dr. John. The album was released on Atco Records in 1973, and became the biggest selling album of Dr. John's career.
Jonathan Michael Batiste is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, composer, and television personality. He has recorded and performed with artists including Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Willie Nelson, Lenny Kravitz, ASAP Rocky, Ed Sheeran, Lana Del Rey, Roy Hargrove, Juvenile, and Mavis Staples. Batiste appeared nightly with his band, Stay Human, as bandleader and musical director on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert from 2015 to 2022.
The Four Tops are an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1953 as the Four Aims. They were one of the most commercially successful American pop music groups of the 1960s and helped propel Motown Records to international fame. The group's repertoire has incorporated elements of soul, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Lead singer Levi Stubbs, along with backing vocalists Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton remained together in the group for over four decades, performing until 1997 without a change in personnel. Along with fellow Motown groups the Miracles, the Marvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, the Temptations, and the Supremes, the Four Tops helped to establish the "Motown sound"; pop-friendly soul and R&B with a clean, polished production quality. They were notable for having Stubbs, a baritone, as their lead singer, whereas most other male and mixed vocal groups of the time were fronted by tenors.
Gary Lee Clark Jr. is an American guitarist and singer who fuses blues, rock and soul music with elements of hip hop. In 2011, Clark signed with Warner Bros Records and released The Bright Lights EP. It was followed by the albums Blak and Blu (2012) and The Story of Sonny Boy Slim (2015). Throughout his career, Clark has been a prolific live performer, documented by Gary Clark Jr. Live (2014) and Gary Clark Jr Live/North America (2017).
Dorothy LaBostrie, later Dorothy LaBostrie Black, was an American songwriter, best known for co-writing Little Richard's 1955 hit "Tutti Frutti".
Locked Down is a studio album by American singer-songwriter Dr. John. It was released on April 3, 2012, through Nonesuch Records. Recording sessions took place in 2011 at Easy Eye Sound in Nashville. Production was handled by Dan Auerbach. It features contributions from Dan Auerbach, Max Weissenfeldt, Leon Michels, Nick Movshon, Brian Olive and The McCrary Sisters. At the 55th Annual Grammy Awards held in 2013, the album won a Grammy Award for Best Blues Album.
Danielle Nicole is an American blues/soul musician from Kansas City, Missouri, United States. Her self-titled solo debut EP was released March 10, 2015, on Concord Records. The self-titled EP features Grammy Award-winning producer and guitarist Anders Osborne, Galactic's co-founding drummer Stanton Moore, and keyboardist Mike Sedovic. On February 25, 2015, American Blues Scene premiered the track "Didn't Do You No Good" off the EP.
Renaissance is the ninth solo studio album by American musician Marcus Miller. It was released on May 28, 2012 through Concord Jazz. Recording sessions took place at Sear Sound in New York City with additional recording at Hannibal Studio in Santa Monica and at the Music Shed in New Orleans. The album features contributions from Dr. John on vocals, Federico González Peña, Kris Bowers and Bobby Sparks on keyboards, Adam Rogers, Adam Agati and Paul Jackson Jr. on guitar, Louis Cato on drums, Ramon Yslas on percussion, Alex Han on alto saxophone, Maurice Brown and Sean Jones on trumpet, with guest appearances from Gretchen Parlato and Rubén Blades.
We Are is the sixth studio album by Jon Batiste. It was released on Verve Records on March 19, 2021. In April 2022, We Are won Album of the Year at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards; it earned Batiste nine nominations in total, with five wins.
Things Happen That Way is the final studio album by American musician Dr. John. It was released on September 23, 2022, through Rounder Records, making it his only posthumous release after he died of a heart attack on June 6, 2019 at the age of 77. Recording sessions took place at Esplanade Studios and at The Music Shed in New Orleans, at Dirty Power Studios and at Chateau Oblivion. Production was handled by Shane Theriot and Dr. John himself, except for the song "I Walk on Guilded Splinters", which was produced with Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real. It features guest appearances from Aaron Neville, Lukas Nelson and Willie Nelson. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Americana Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, but lost to Brandi Carlile's In These Silent Days.
City That Care Forgot is the first full-length studio album by American musician Dr. John and his band the Lower 911. It was released on June 3, 2008, via 429 Records/Cooking Vinyl. Recording sessions took place at Dockside Studio in Maurice, with additional recording at The Music Shed in New Orleans, Pedernales Studio in Spicewood and Legacy Recording Studios in New York City. Production was handled by Jeff Jones, Herman Ernest III and Dr. John himself. It features guest appearances from Eric Clapton, Terence Blanchard, Ani DiFranco, James Andrews, Terrance Simien, Trombone Shorty and Willie Nelson.
