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Dr. John: The Voodoo Practitioner of Blues

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Popularly known as Dr. John, Malcolm John Rebennack Jr was born on November 21, 1940 in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Dr. John’s unique style has positioned him as the most colorful songwriter, singer and pianist. Thanks to the smart combination of boogie woogie, blues and rock and roll he puts in his music, he has earned himself an important place in the taste of the Americans.

During the 1950s, Dr. John participated as a session musician in New Orleans. In this way, his music career began; he played the guitar and called himself Mac Rebennack. Later on, he started playing the bass and soon after a shooting in which he lost his index finger, he learned to play the piano. Nevertheless, fame came to him until the late 1960s and early 1970s, when he started combining rhythm and blues with psychedelic rock. Along with the extravagance of his music, Dr. John added a touch of glamour by wearing elaborate costumes and headdress. Actually, he got his name after a popular and legendary voodoo practitioner from the start of the 19th century whose name was Doctor John.

In 1973, Dr. John reached position #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 with his song “Right Place, Wrong Time”. He also made several jingles for many ads, theme songs for TV shows, and participated in a couple of movies. In recent years, Dr. John had performed in various benefit concerts among stars such as Aretha Franklin and Aaron Neville.



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