Dr. John

Malcolm John Rebennack (born November 20, 1941, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA - died June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music combines blues, pop, jazz, boogie woogie and rock and roll.

Rebennack began playing the piano at the age of six and, as he grew up, he became strongly influenced by the style of Mac Rebennack, playing the organ in strip-clubs with 'make-up' bands in the French Quarter.

However, it was as a session guitarist with Harold Battiste- cutting Storm Warning (Rex, 1957) and singles on Ace, Rex and AFO (an acronym of All For One) .

Rebennack then moved to California in 1962 with Battiste's crew, where they played on Sonny & Cher.

His drawled and ponderous style, tinged with a husky Southern Comfort delivery, caught the mood of the moment upon the album's release in 1968 giving him the commercial freedom to explore the many facets of the Louisiana blues and Memphis funk cultures in following releases. His recordings have been ed by such alumni as Clapton, Jagger, Allen Toussaint, The Meters, Jerry Wexler and Mike Bloomfield. He had a top-ten hit with Right Place, Wrong Time, and he appeared in the Martin Scorsese film The Last Waltz (1978).

Dr. John kept touring and releasing records. He unexpectedly ed away of a sudden, massive heart attack on June 6, 2019.