Issue Articles
Bobby Charles: Talking to New Orleans
Legendary songwriter Bobby Charles has the soul of a Native American. In the history of rock and roll, Charles is one of the genre’s great mysterious spirits, a man who feels guided by his art. He doesn’t play any musical instruments and can’t read music, yet he’s composed such songs as “See You Later Alligator,” “Walking To New Orleans,” “But I Do,” Ain’t Got No Home,” and “The Jealous Kind,” as if he was pulling them out of the wind.
Interview with Aaron Neville
Aaron Neville, born January 24, 1941, is “the” voice of New Orleans. In a city that has a long history of diverse song stylists—from the early originators such as Louis Armstrong in jazz and Mahalia Jackson in gospel, to distinctive and influential R&B shouters such as Professor Longhair and Fats Domino, to generations of major movers on the pop scene such as Dr. John and the new heir apparent, Harry Connick, Jr.—it’s saying a lot to say that anyone singer is “the” voice, but Aaron Neville has certainly earned the honor.
Blue Lu Barker Remembers
Music has always surrounded the life of Blue Lu Barker. The living room of her Sere Street home is filled with the mementos of a lifetime of jazz she shared with her husband, the late great jazzman Danny Barker. Photos and awards hang and lean from the walls and along tabletops. Boxes filled with memorabilia crowd a comer of the low-ceilinged room, while yet another room is devoted entirely to storage of similar treasures.
Interview with Dr. John
Twenty years have elapsed since Mac Rebennack set aside the extravagances of his “Dr. John” character to record the acclaimed Gumbo album, a relatively low-key homage to New Orleans R&B that included such pillars as “Iko Iko” and Professor Longhair’s “Tipitina.”
An Interview with Zachary Richard
Ralph Zachary Richard, 42, writes in the liner notes to Snake Bite Love, his 12th and latest album, released last fall: “I have careened through this life like a 12-pound cannonball thrown from a privateer’s frigate toward the galleon fleet off Southwest Pass.”
Dining Out: Audubon Clubhouse
Nestled beneath the majestic oaks of Audubon Park, you’ll find Audubon Clubhouse by Dickie Brennan & Co., 6975 Magazine Street. This charming restaurant invites you to experience a unique dining setting that’s open for brunch, lunch, and dinner.
Joe Hall (1971-2024)
Old-time Creole music lost one of its finest torchbearers with the unexpected passing of accordionist and vocalist Joe Hall on Thursday, November 21, 2024, due to congestive heart failure. Hall, 52, is survived by his wife Linda and son Justin.
Sweden’s Jonas Bernholm Publishes His Soul Odyssey: U.S. 1968
In his native Sweden, Jonas Bernholm is known as Mr. R&B. A music researcher, writer and record label owner, Bernholm became enraptured with American rhythm-and-blues and rock and roll music in the late 1950s. He began writing about music in the late 1960s, publishing much of his work in the Swedish blues magazine Jefferson. In 1976, he launched the first of his many reissue record labels.
Vintage vinyl treasures (Episode 45)
It is now time to move forward to 1970 from a vintage vinyl collection place in time. Like the year before, covered in earlier installments, there were some great releases this year from some of our favorite artists of the day. Here are five gems, still well worth a listen during these crazy days of an “old world,” listed in chronological order by date of release.
Christmas Without Tears: A conversation with Harry Shearer and Judith Owen
Welsh multi-potentialite and quadruple-threat performer Judith Owen sits next to her husband, Harry Shearer, as she brings up the concept of hiraeth—a Welsh term that defies direct translation into English. Hiraeth evokes a profound mix of homesickness, longing, and a deep sadness for what has been lost. When Owen moved to Southern California, she certainly felt a pining for her “melancholy” home across the Atlantic.
