Unlike the vast majority of popular music historians today, first-time book author Preston Lauterbach admirably resists the temptations of “fan club worship”—complexly detailed biographies of popular entertainers— and “the new academia”—the same thing, but with impenetrable technical jargon. Instead, The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road to Rock and Roll offers a colorfully rich portrait of [...]
Tag Archives: Dew Drop Inn
The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road to Rock and Roll by Preston Lauterbach (W.W. Norton & Co.)
September 1, 2011 – 12:21 am
Obituary: Benny Spellman (1931-2011)
July 1, 2011 – 12:12 am
Benny Spellman, who accounted for the wonderful two-sided 1962 national hit “Lipstick Traces” b/w “Fortune Teller,” and supplied the baritone interjections on Ernie K-Doe’s number one hit “Mother- In-Law,” died June 3 at an assisted living facility in Pensacola, Florida, of respiratory failure. He was 79. “Benny was a great entertainer,” confirms Irma Thomas, who [...]
Dew Drop Inn, Fess’ House on Endangered List
May 30, 2010 – 7:11 am
Friday night, the Louisiana Landmark Society named its Endangered Nine for 2010, and on the list are Professor Longhair’s home and the Dew Drop Inn. Both buildings are in serious states of disrepair; in fact, the society considers Longhair’s house at 1740 Terpsichore St. uninhabitable. The Dew Drop Inn is still owned by the grandson [...]
A Sense of Place
April 8, 2010 – 8:03 am
I’m reading Harold Battiste’s autobiography, Unfinished Blues, and he writes about growing up across the street from the Dew Drop Inn. Yesterday as I drove by the Dew Drop on my way to work, that knowledge made the neighborhood seem a little more alive with possibility. How many other musicians lived within 10 or so [...]
The Other Side
March 4, 2010 – 10:32 am
In a blog post elsewhere on this site, Jan Ramsey writes about the need to memorialize the important sites in New Orleans’ musical history. I don’t mean to be contrarian, but I’m not sure why. It might just be me, but I remember in my youth visiting the homes of famous American authors in the [...]
Lifetime Achievement in Music: Deacon John
January 1, 2010 – 12:01 am
At some point this year, Deacon John Moore will celebrate his 50th anniversary as the bandleader of Deacon John and the Ivories. Over the years, Deacon John established himself as the most sought-after performer for private parties in the city; built a shadow career as a session guitarist on a series of recordings that reads [...]
Earl King’s World
May 1, 1993 – 12:01 am
40-odd years worth of recording sessions, live dates and good times are stored in Earl King’s magnificently-coiffed head, and he possesses the uncanny ability to recall names and anecdotes from most of them. “When you talk about things,” he explains, “there are so many things that are related to something…when I try to think back [...]
Carol Fran and Clarence Hollimon, Soul Sensation (Black Top Records)
March 1, 1992 – 12:01 am
Once again Black Top reintroduces the world to some master blues musicians who could easily have slipped through the cracks of time. And once again the world should thank them for the results. Both are a living history of rhythm and blues: Fran, a stalwart at New Orleans’ Dew Drop Inn during its hey-day, and [...]
The Dew Drop Inn
May 1, 1991 – 12:01 am
On May 1st the Jazz and Heritage Festival will present a concert titled “Dew Drop Inn Revisited: The Toussaint Legacy” at Riverboat Hallelujah Concert Hall at 8 p.m. Though not all of the New Orleans R&B artists included performed regularly at the famed Dew Drop Inn nightclub, they represent an awesome chunk of New Orleans [...]
