Professor Longhair: Her Mind is Gone (1980)

 |   |  1 min read

Professor Longhair: Her Mind is Gone (1980)

There are dozens of places you can start on a discovery of the genius of New Orleans' legendary pianist/arranger and songwriter Professor Longhair, the man Allen Toussaint called "the Bach of Rock".

Dr John said Longhair "put the funk into music, he's the father of the stuff" and producer Jerry Wexler acclaimed him as "a seminal force, a guru, the original creator of the New Orleans piano style . . . the teacher of all the great players like Fats Domino, Allen Toussaint, Mac Rebennack [aka Dr John], James Booker and Huey Smith".

Born Henry Roeland Byrd, he was soaked in the spirit of his city and he made his first record in '49 for Mercury (called Bald Head ironically) and then label-hopped for most of his career.

By the early Sixties however this massively influential figure wasn't selling as well -- he started making a living as a card player, or just became a gambler depending on who you believe -- but Dr John and others ensured he got mainstream attention again by acknowledging him in interviews.

Some of his early material was reissued in the early Seventies, Paul McCartney had him play a party on the Queen Mary in '75 which was recorded and released to much fanfare, he started playing international jazz festivals and today it isn't hard to source his music.

Longhair died in early 1980 so the significance of the album Crawfish Fiesta (for Alligator) was that it was the last he recorded. But it was also a good one.

He had Dr John on guitar and a decent band, there's was a smart choice of material (his own but also by Big Jay McNeely and Walter Horton) . . .  and it won the inaugural WC Handy Best Blues Album that year.

The great Professor never knew that of course, he died of a heart attack in January.

For more on-offs or songs with an interesting back-story see From the Vaults

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   From the Vaults articles index

Bob Dylan: Pretty Saro (1970)

Bob Dylan: Pretty Saro (1970)

Perhaps this is cheating because this song/clip (below) doesn't come from Elsewhere's voluminous Vaults, but from Dylan's own. In about 10 days Dylan will release another installment in his... > Read more

John Cale; Chinese Envoy (1982)

John Cale; Chinese Envoy (1982)

As with anyone who was there, I have a vivid memory of John Cale's show at the Gluepot back in September '83, and in fact I still have the poster ("Tickets sold! Limited door sales. Be... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

Aquaserge: Deja-Vous? (Crammed Discs/Southbound)

Aquaserge: Deja-Vous? (Crammed Discs/Southbound)

Here's one to have you racing to a web search because this French outfit can hardly be called a household name, although it seems they've been around for a decade, played in 10 countries, have won... > Read more

JOSH ROUSE PROFILED (2002): The stars come out

JOSH ROUSE PROFILED (2002): The stars come out

To say American singer-songwriter Josh Rouse, doesn't arrive with the ballyhoo of our inflated cover star says little. His new album still comes with the obligatory self-congratulatory bio full of... > Read more