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Tuts Washington: Tipitina’s ’78 (Tuff City)

It’s a travesty that the great pianist Isadore “Tuts” Washington wasn’t recorded more often.

Jessie Hill (1932-1996)

New Orleans lost one of its more colorful rhythm and blues artists September 17, when Jessie Hill succumbed to kidney and heart failure. He was 64. Hill is best known for recording one of New Orleans’ most distinctive — and successful — records, “Ooh Poo Pah Doo,” Jessie Hill was born December 9, 1932.

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Backtalk with Earl King

The seventh son of a seventh son, Earl King, composes songs that are witty, wry observations of human nature. Earl’s guitar playing, inspired by Guitar Slim and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, directly influenced Jimi Hendrix, whose rendition of Earl King’s “Come On (Let the Good Times Roll)” is a highlight of the Electric Ladyland album.

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How “Mardi Gras Mambo” Became An Unlikely Carnival Anthem

Like flashy parades, vibrant costumes, custom krewe beads, Bloody Mary’s (or cheap white port and lemon juice) at dawn—and the likelihood of multiple college students vomiting warm beer on Saint Charles Avenue even before Zulu rolls—New Orleans music is very much an intricate part of Carnival Day.

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In Memoriam: Classie Ballou (1937–2022)

Classie Ballou, once described as a “bearish guitar slinger,” died on July 27 in Waco, Texas. He was 84. Just a few months earlier, Ballou lost his bass-playing son, Classie […]

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In Memoriam: Robert Keller (1954–2022)

Robert Keller, a.k.a. Red Kelly, the founder of two outstanding R&B websites the Soul Detective, and the New Orleans favorite, The Cosimo Code, died unexpectedly July 14 at South Jamesport, […]

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In Memoriam: Joe Simon (1936–2021)

Belatedly, the legendary Dan Penn alerted OffBeat of the passing of the Southern soul great Joe Simon, who died on December 13, 2021, at his Chicago home. He was 86. […]

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Son House, Forever On My Mind (Easy Eye Sounds)

For many blues lovers, the discovery and release of these long-forgotten tapes recorded by Son House, one of the titans of the Delta blues, is like finding the winning Powerball […]

In Memoriam: Classie Ballou Jr. (1954–2022)

Born November 17, 1954, Classie Ballou Jr. was a larger-than-life Creole bass guitar player from Lake Charles who redefined zydeco over a career that spanned more than 50 years. He […]

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Howard Grimes with Preston Lauterbach, Timekeeper (DeVault Graves Books)

“When we cut [Ann Peebles] ‘I Can’t Stand the Rain’ the track was tight, but naked. [Producer] Willie Mitchell thought it needed something. I saw these timbales sitting in the […]