New Orleans musical ace Mac Rebennack — known to the world as Dr. John — has died. He was 77.
The piano-playing singer worked in countless genres, but came to musical fame as the psychedelic voodoo chief Dr. John Creaux, the Night Tripper.
His first album was keyed by the frightfully mysterious epic “I Walk on Guilded Splinters,” which ranks No. 16 on this web site’s list of top psychedelic songs.
The cause of death was a heart attack, his family said:
“Towards the break of day on June 6, 2019, iconic music legend Malcolm John Rebennack Jr., professionally known as Dr. John, passed away of a heart attack. “As a Rock N Roll Hall of Fame inductee, six-time Grammy winner, songwriter, composer, producer and performer, he created a unique blend of music which carried his hometown, New Orleans, at its heart, as it was always in his heart.”
Rebennack began his career as a teen in New Orleans, worked as a producer at Ace Records and did a tour of duty with L.A.’s Wrecking Crew of studio musicians. Reportedly among his studio gigs was playing piano on the Mothers of Invention’s “Freak Out!” album. In 1968, he caught the psychedelic bug and started performing under the creative handle the Night Tripper.
His brew of voodoo rhythms, New Orleans R&B and psychedelic sounds produced at least one etched-in-vinyl masterpiece: the frightfully mysterious “I Walk on Guilded Splinters.”
The tune came from Dr. John’s debut LP “Gris-Gris,” a concept album built around the Night Tripper character. It was recorded in L.A. with a group of fellow New Orleans expatriates, notably Harold Battiste.
At a time when psychedelic-tinged bands favored longer and longer songs, Rebennack showed the hippies how it’s done: “Guilded Splinters” (aka “Gilded Splinters”) slithers and flow-times its way across 7 minutes and 43 seconds. The song takes almost a minute to end, as if the singer were drifting off into a dream state, or perhaps emerging from a trance. Rebennack was in his element, since he had a longtime heroin addiction.
His commercial breakthrough came in 1973 with the funky single “Right Place, Wrong Time.” Other essential tracks included “Iko Iko” and “Such a Night.”
Rebennack kicked heroin in the late 1980s, toured with Ringo Starr, appeared in the films “The Last Waltz” and “The Blues Brothers,” and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. He performed with many of the top musicians of the mid- and late-20th century. He inspired a Muppet character (Dr. Teeth) and a Frank Zappa parody song.
Rebennack remained a tireless advocate for the music of New Orleans and was an expert on its history.
Rebennack’s extensive discography includes about 30 albums, many smooth listening such as “In a Sentimental Mood” and “Duke Elegant.” His earlier edgy works included “Babylon,” “Remedies” and “Dr. John’s Gumbo.”
Memory eternal!!!
Another painful loss . . .
lmagine that somewhere amidst the masterpiece that is ‘Electric Ladyland’, was Jimi’s homage to the masterpiece that is, ‘l Walk On Gilded Splinters’.
Check out Humble Pie’s cover/rendition of, Walk on Guilds Splinters from their Rockin the Fillmore album. They Progged it out for 23 minutes. Just goes to show where Humble Pie’s heads were at the time. In 1971, when HP played the Fillmore, they could have covered anything they wanted, but they covered Walk on Guilded Splinters. Listen closely at the beginning, and you’ll hear the audience yelling and asking for it. That’s beautiful.