Happy Birthday, Big Sam!

Trombonist and band leader Sammie 'Big Sam' Williams was born in New Orleans on February 20, and in his youth, he studied at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and with saxophonist Kidd Jordan, and was a founding member of the Stooges Brass Band in his teens. He joined the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, allowing him to perform with luminaries such as James Brown, Karl Denson, Dave Matthews, and Widespread Panic. A year after joining the Dirty Dozen, he began a side project broadening his musical ambitions, and in 2006, he played with Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint on their album The River in Reverse and tour.

Big Sam's Funky Nation, a funk and rock band, became his main band, and incorporated elements of traditional jazz, contemporary jazz, acid jazz, dance, hard rock, and punk into their music. They performed at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Voodoo Music Experience, Bonnaroo, South By Southwest, and Austin City Limits. Williams had a recurring role in the HBO series Tremé, and in 2014, he proposed to his wife on stage at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. He learned in adulthood that he is the great-grandson of cornetist Buddy Bolden. Happy birthday to this energetic and supremely talented musician!

Photo: bigsamsfunkynation.com

Happy Birthday, Irma Thomas!

Singer songwriter Irma Thomas, known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans", was born on February 18, 1941, in Ponchatoula, Louisiana. She got her start as a teen singing in a Baptist church choir, and later sang at New Orleans’ Pimlico Club where she worked as a waitress … until she was let go for spending more time singing than waiting tables! Pimlico Club bandleader Tommy Ridley helped her land a record deal, and in 1960 her record “You Can Have My Husband (But Don’t Mess with My Man)” reached number 22 on the Billboard R&B chart. Thomas went on to collaborate with legendary New Orleans songwriter and producer Allen Toussaint, and later recorded “Break-a-Way” which was a huge radio hit in New Orleans. She also recorded “Time Is on My Side”, a cover of which became a massive hit for the Rolling Stones. Hurricane Camille hit, and Thomas relocated to California in 1969, ultimately returning to New Orleans in 1976. She and her husband opened the Lion’s Den club in New Orleans, where she headlined regularly while also accelerating her live schedule, including touring Europe. In 2007, Thomas won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album for After the Rain. In 2008, she released Simply Grand, featuring preeminent piano players Dr. John and Ellis Marsalis. While she may not have achieved the commercial success of some of her contemporaries like Aretha Franklin, her talent is undeniable, and she has ascended to the pantheon of great American soul artists. Irma Thomas is one of New Orleans’ greatest musical ambassadors and has certainly earned the title of Soul Queen of New Orleans. Happy Birthday, Irma!

Photo by: ETownHall

Happy Birthday, Kirk Joseph!

R&B and Jazz Sousaphone player Kirk Joseph was born in New Orleans on February 16, 1961, and is the son of trombonist Waldren "Frog" Joseph, Kirk Joseph began playing the sousaphone in middle school, and took part in his first professional gig at the age of fifteen when his brother Charles invited him to play a funeral with the Majestic Band. In 1977 he became one of the founding members of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, a group which is credited with reviving the brass band tradition in New Orleans. He has played with the Treme Brass Band and Forgotten Souls Brass Band, and currently leads his own group called Kirk Joseph's Backyard Groove.

Described as a "modern sousaphone pioneer", Joseph claims inspiration from renowned New Orleans tuba player Anthony "Tuba Fats" Lacen, who made it sound like bass. The style of playing created by Lacen and Joseph was instrumental in establishing the modern New Orleans brass band sound, which combines traditional marching band and Dixieland traditions with strong jazz and funk influences. Joseph developed his innovative approach to the sousaphone, replacing the instruments limits, as perceived by his predecessors, with a rich musical vocabulary. Never before had such a creative and stylistic range been demonstrated. But the new standards set by Kirk Joseph have prompted many since to follow his lead.

Kirk Joseph has earned his seat at the table of New Orleans’ greatest musicians and will surely claim his place in music history as perhaps the greatest innovator of his instrument, the sousaphone. Today we wish this innovative artist a very Happy Birthday!

Photo: Derek Bridges

Celebrating the Birthday of King Floyd

Soul singer and songwriter King Floyd was born in New Orleans on February 13, 1945, and is best known for his Top 10 hit from 1970, "Groove Me". His musical career started as a singer at the Sho-Bar on Bourbon Street. Following a stint in the army, Floyd went to California, where he joined up with record producer Harold Battiste. His debut album, A Man In Love, featuring songs co-written with Dr. John, failed to make an impact on the charts. Floyd returned to New Orleans in 1969 and worked for the Post Office.

In 1970, Floyd recorded "Groove Me" as a B-side to another song, "What Our Love Needs." New Orleans radio DJs started playing "Groove Me" and the song became a local hit. Eventually, the song’s national distribution led to it topping the R&B chart, reaching #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and selling over one million copies. In December 1970, Floyd quit his job at the post office to perform a U.S. tour. His follow-up single, "Baby Let Me Kiss You" climbed up to number 29 on the Billboard Top 40 charts in 1971.

However, differences with Quezergue soon emerged and his 1973 follow-up album, Think About It, failed to make a commercial impact. However, Atlantic released a song from the album, "Woman Don't Go Astray," as a single. His 1975 album, Well Done, was released through TK Records with Atlantic distributing. "I Feel Like Dynamite" from the album, written by Larry Hamilton, was released as its single. 

None of his subsequent songs achieved the same, as disco dominated the charts for the remainder of the 1970s. However, Floyd had credits for "Boombastic," recorded in 1995 by Shaggy, which became a big hit. Floyd reunited with Malaco Records in 2000 for the Old Skool Funk album, but it failed to make an impact. However, his song "Don't Leave Me Lonely" was prominently sampled by the Wu-Tang Clan for the song "For Heaven's Sake" off their album Wu-Tang Forever. Sadly, he died on March 6, 2006 from complications of a stroke and diabetes. 

Today we celebrate the life and legacy of a New Orleans musician who continues to “groove” us to this day.

Photo: source and disclosure

Celebrating the Birthday of Uncle Lionel Batiste

Jazz and blues musician and singer "Uncle" Lionel Batiste was born in New Orleans on February 11, 1931, and began his music career at the age of 11 playing bass drum with the Square Deal Social & Pleasure Club. He was the bass drummer, vocalist and assistant leader of the Treme Brass Band; known for his kazoo playing and singing as well, and has recorded a CD as a vocalist. He was an inspiration an role model to many young musicians. Trumpeter Kermit Ruffins called Batiste his "total influence," saying that Batiste "taught [him] how to act, how to dress, how to feel about life." Uncle Lionel was a New Orleans Legend who led many second line parades throughout the city and around the world, including Europe and Africa. In 2003, he became the first African American King of Krewe Du Vieux, a parading krewe known for showcasing many of New Orleans' best brass bands, as well as for its wild satirical and adult themes. Sadly, he passed away on July 8, 2012, but his influence lives on.

Photo: Infrogmation

Celebrating the Birthday of Rockin' Dopsie

Zydeco singer and accordionist Alton Jay Rubin, who performed as Rockin' Dopsie, was born on February 10, 1932, in Carencro, Louisiana, and was the son of Walter Rubin, who played accordion at local dances. Dopsie was given his first accordion at age 14, and since he was left-handed, he learned to play it upside down. He performed at local parties, until he was 19, at which time he moved to Lafayette with his parents. He began playing in clubs in the mid-1950s, and took his stage name from a dancer called Doopsie, including pronouncing his name the same way. In addition to performing as a zydeco musician, he continued working his day job, eventually becoming an electrical contractor.

Dopsie performed around Louisiana, and recorded occasionally the 1950s and 1960s, and his appearance at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1976 led to the release of his first album, Doin' The Zydeco. His music assimilated R&B influences into zydeco, even covering R&B hits in a zydeco style. Starting in 1979, he toured Europe regularly with his group, the Twisters, and his popularity there led to him recording a string of albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1986, he played accordion on the zydeco-influenced song "That Was Your Mother" on Paul Simon's Graceland album, and recorded the album Crowned Prince Of Zydeco in 1987. His final album in 1991, Louisiana Music, received a Grammy Award nomination. Sadly, he passed away at 61 on August 26, 1993.

Dopsie’s band continues to perform, now known as Rockin' Dopsie, Jr. & The Zydeco Twisters. The band is led by his son Dopsie Jr., who is an accordionist, vocalist and washboard player, and with his son Alton Jr., on drums. Dopsie's younger son Dwayne also plays accordion and leads his own band, Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers. Today we celebrate the birthday of this gifted musician and appreciate his musical legacy!

Photo: Cover art for the album Crowned Prince of Zydeco