A mere nine days after the announcement that Dan Auerbach, frontman for The Black Keys, would make his directorial debut with a documentary about Mac Rebennack, better known by his stage persona Dr. John, the estate of the late musician issued a statement stating that it had not authorized the proposed film.
OffBeat received an email with clever references to Dr. John’s song titles and albums that read, “The Official Estate of Malcolm John Rebennack, Jr., p/k/a Dr. John, clarifies that the Estate has not authorized the recently announced documentary on the life of Dr. John purportedly to be produced by Impact Artist Productions (and Management) and Radical Media. For clarity, Impact Artist Productions (and Management) does not manage or speak for the Estate, which has its own team with, as Mac would say, ‘a gang and a half of legalizers.’ The Estate thanks Mac’s fans for their support and assures that the Estate will ‘Walk On Guilded Splinters’ to deliver new music and an officially authorized documentary, to be announced In The Right Place at the right time.”
On July 9, OffBeat received a press release from RadicalMedia and Impact Artist Productions with a quote from Auerbach: “I’m thrilled to try my hand at directing a documentary feature for the first time and I’m honored to have the subject be my friend Dr John. He was such a unique individual and a shining example of the great melting pot of American music. From his mysterious voodoo stage persona Dr John, to his real, humble self Mac Rebennack—the street poet, the family man, the junkie, the Grammy award winner and all that’s in between—this documentary will introduce the world to him in a way they haven’t seen him before.”
Among the executive producers for the film is Dan Himburger, a former manager for Dr. John who was fired in 2013 along with a booking agent, and the veteran members of his band, the Lower 911, including David Barard, and guitarist John Fohl, along with drummer Raymond Weber. Himburger later sued Dr. John.
At the time of the dismissals, Rebennack told Keith Spera of The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate, “I have no beefs with none of the guys. They worked hard. Anybody that’s a hard worker, that’s big props to them.
“I just have some important thoughts about where I want to be going right now. I’m working on doing some different kind of stuff. I think it will be music to my ears.”
In 2012, Auerbach produced Dr. John’s album Locked Down which was named number 15 on Rolling Stone‘s list of the top 50 albums of that year. The album went on to win a Grammy in 2013 for Best Blues Album. Rebennack died on June 6, 2019, and jazz funeral was held on June 22.
For more information about Dr. John, visit the website of his official estate at nitetripper.com.
This is a developing story. OffBeat will provide updates as we learn more.
