Dr. John
| Dr. John | |
|---|---|
Dr. John at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 2007
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Malcolm John Rebennack |
| Also known as | Mac Rebennack, Dr. John Creaux, Dr. John the Night Tripper |
| Born |
November 21, 1940 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Piano, keyboards, vocals |
| Years active | 1950s–present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | nitetripper |
Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack (born November 21, 1940), better known by the stage name Dr. John, is an American singer, songwriter, voice actor, pianist, and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz, zydeco, boogie woogie, and rock and roll.
Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he gained a cult following in the late 1960s following the release of his album Gris-Gris and his appearance at the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music. He performed a wildly theatrical stage show inspired by medicine shows, Mardi Gras costumes, and voodoo ceremonies. Rebennack has recorded more than 20 albums and in 1973 scored a top-20 hit with "Right Place Wrong Time".
The winner of six Grammy Awards, Rebennack was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by singer John Legend on March 14, 2011. In May 2013, Rebennack was the recipient of an honorary doctorate of fine arts from Tulane University. He was jokingly referred to by Tulane's president, Scott Cowen, as "Dr. Dr. John".
Born in New Orleans in 1940, Dr. John has said that his French lineage took root there some time in the early 1800s. Growing up in the Third Ward, he found early musical inspiration in the minstrel tunes sung by his grandfather and a number of aunts, uncles, sister and cousins who played piano. He did not take music lessons before his teens, and only endured a short stint in choir before getting kicked out. His father, the owner of an appliance store and record shop, exposed him as a young boy to prominent jazz musicians like King Oliver and Louis Armstrong, who inspired his 2014 release, Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch. Throughout his adolescence his father's connections enabled him access to the recording rooms of burgeoning rock artists such as Little Richard and Guitar Slim. From these exposures he advanced into clubs and onto the stage with varying local artists, most notably, Professor Longhair.
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