NOLA Community Blog
New Orleans is the city that lives in you, no matter where you live. And this website is for all of us who don’t live in New Orleans to stay connected with the Big Easy. Welcome to Church of New Orleans!
Happy Birthday, Doug Kershaw!
John Dunlop
Fiddle player, singer and songwriter Douglas James Kershaw was born on January 24, 1936, in Tiel Ridge, Louisiana, surrounded by Cajun fiddle and accordion music. He played the fiddle from the age of five, and had mastered it before he learned English at the age of eight. His first gig was at a local bar, where he was accompanied by his mother on guitar. Playing music continued as a family affair, with Doug forming the Continental Playboys in 1948 with his brothers Nelson (“Peewee”) and Rusty Kershaw , whom he had taught to play guitar. Peewee left the group in the early 1950s, and Rusty and Doug continued performing as a duo. Although they initially sang in French, they were persuaded to incorporate English into their repertoire, and their first single, “So Lovely, Baby” went to number 14 on the country music charts. Shortly thereafter, they became members of the Louisiana Hayride cast, and after appearing at the Grand Ole Opry, they became regular members to the Opry’s cast a year later.
Despite the demands of a music career, Doug earned a degree in Mathematics, and he and his brother enlisted in the army in 1958, at the height of their early career. After fulfilling their three-year military obligation, the brothers recorded an autobiographical song that Dough had written while in the Army, “Louisiana Man.” The song not only sold millions of copies, but it is considered a standard of modern Cajun music, and was eventually covered by more than 800 artists. The brothers released three albums before going their separate ways in 1964.
By 1969, Kershaw had sold more than 18 million records and "Louisiana Man" had been a Top 10 country hit. He became widely known in mainstream America as he played at major concert venues and events. He made his first network television appearance on the debut of the Johnny Cash Show, and was the opening act for Eric Clapton's Derek and the Dominos’ week-long engagement at New York City's Fillmore East. Warner Bros. Records signed him to a long-term contract, and he performed at the Newport folk festival along with Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Don McLean, Big Mama Thornton, and Arlo Guthrie. In November 1969, "Louisiana Man" was broadcast back to earth by the crew of the Apollo 12 moon mission.
Despite his success, Kershaw experience a family tragedy at an early age, and he suffered from depression and sorrow. He battled drug and alcohol abuse until 1984, when he rebounded with his biggest selling hit, “Hello Woman”. In 1988, he scored a Top 50 country hit with “Cajun Baby”, which he recorded with Hank Williams, Jr. In 2009, Doug was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. Today we celebrate the numerous accomplishments of this legendary performer, and wish him a very happy birthday!
Celebrating the Birthday of Snooks Eaglin
John Dunlop
Guitarist and vocalist Fird “Snooks” Eaglin was born in New Orleans on January 21, 1937. Not long after his first birthday, Eaglin lost his sight due to glaucoma. At about five years of age, his father gave him a guitar, and he taught himself to play by listening to and playing along with the radio. Mischievous as a child, Eaglin was given the nickname "Snooks" after a radio character named Baby Snooks. In 1947, at the age of 11, Eaglin entered a radio talent contest, and in 1950, he dropped out of a school for the blind to become a professional musician. Two years later, he joined a local band started by Allen Toussaint called the Flamingoes. Eaglin played both the guitar and the bass parts simultaneously on his guitar, and he stayed with the band until they disbanded in the mid-1950s.
His vocal style was reminiscent of Ray Charles, and he played such a wide range of songs and styles of music, sometimes within the same concert, album, or song, that he was nicknamed “The Human Jukebox.” He usually did not prepare set lists for his live shows, playing songs that came to him on stage and taking requests from the audience. Amazingly, his musical repertoire was said to include 2500 songs. Though he had a lengthy career spanning nearly five decades, Eaglin’s recording and touring as a solo artist were inconsistent. Over the years he worked with luminaries such as James Booker, Dave Bartholomew, Ellis Marsalis, Professor Longhair, and the Wild Magnolias. He was at his most consistent between 1987 and 1999, when he recorded five albums and recorded with other artists including Earl King and Henry Butler.
Eaglin was scheduled to make a comeback appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in the spring of 2009, but sadly he passed away on February 18, 2009. Today we celebrate the life and legacy of one of New Orleans’ own.
Photo by: Masahiro Sumori - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Sumori
Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr Day!
John Dunlop
Photo by History in HD on Unsplash
Celebrating the Birthday of Allen Toussaint
John Dunlop
Pianist, songwriter, arranger and record producer Allen Toussaint was born in Gert Town in New Orleans on January 14, 1938. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, described as "one of popular music's great backroom figures". Many musicians recorded Toussaint's compositions, including “Whipped Cream”, "Java", "Mother-in-Law", "I Like It Like That", "Fortune Teller", "Ride Your Pony", "Get Out of My Life, Woman", "Working in the Coal Mine", "Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky", "Here Come the Girls", "Yes We Can Can", "Play Something Sweet", and "Southern Nights". He was a producer for hundreds of recordings, among the best known of which are "Right Place, Wrong Time", by his longtime friend Dr. John ("Mac" Rebennack), and "Lady Marmalade" by Labelle. Toussaint was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2009, the Songwriter's Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame in 2011. In 2013 he was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama In 2016, he posthumously won the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player title at the Blues Music Awards. Sadly, Toussaint passed away on November 10, 2015, while on tour in Madrid, Spain. Today we celebrate the birthday of a true New Orleans luminary.
Photo by Henryk Kotowski
Celebrating the Birthday of Bo Dollis
John Dunlop
Theodore Emile "Bo" Dollis was born in New Orleans on January 14, 1944, and grew up in Central City. While in high school, he secretly attended Sunday night Indian "practice" at a friend's house, following The White Eagles tribe, playing and singing the traditional repertoire. In 1957 he masked for the first time with The Golden Arrows, not telling his family of his involvement with the Indians. He made his suit at someone else's house and told his folks he was going to a parade. Hours later his father discovered him, having recognized his son in the street, underneath a crown of feathers. In 1964, Bo Dollis became Big Chief of The Wild Magnolias, having previously participated in other Mardi Gras tribes.
Bo Dollis' name is virtually synonymous with the Wild Magnolias Mardi Gras Indian Tribe. Dollis’ talent is legendary, as he could improvise well and sing with a sweet voice, or a rough edge. Dollis’ childhood friend Monk Boudreaux, Chief of the Golden Eagles, has appeared with The Wild Magnolias since 1970. In that year, The Wild Magnolias recorded a single called "Handa Wanda," that, in addition to featuring their usual ensemble of vocalists and battery of percussion instruments, made history as the first time Mardi Gras Indians performed in the studio with a full band backing them up. The single found success in jukeboxes and through local word-of-mouth, if not on the radio, and ultimately led to a record contract. Two critically acclaimed full-length albums followed, in 1974 and 1975, and a single, "Smoke My Peace Pipe (Smoke it Right)", went to #74 on the Billboard Black Singles chart in 1974.
In the late 1980s, The Wild Magnolias’ career got a boost from Allison Miner who booked them on new tours, along with signing them to Rounder Records, who released an album of theirs, I'm Back...at Carnival Time (featuring the ReBirth Brass Band) in 1990. In 1992, the Magnolias toured Europe as part of Willy DeVille's "New Orleans Revue", along with Dr John, Johnny Adams, and Zachary Richard. In 1999 they released Life is a Carnival, and with a permanent backing band, they embarked on worldwide tours. 2013's New Kind of Funk marked the first Wild Magnolias record fronted by Dollis' son, Gerard "Bo Jr.," who also now serves as Big Chief of the tribe. Sadly Big Chief Bo Dollis died on January 20, 2015. Today we celebrate the birthday of this unique artist whose authentic music features prominently in the glorious fabric of New Orleans culture.
Photo: Derek Bridges