Professor Longhair

The pundits love him, he is a legend, he defines the New Orleans style, etc. etc. Professor Longhair, whose real name was Henry Byrd. He is also very obscure, he never had a hit single, and his music is an acquired taste.

The first two tracks here come from an album of obscurities, and the rest is a distillation of Fess: The Professor Longhair Anthology.

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Professor Longhair:

• Mardi Gras In New Orleans – Kind of sums up his entire ouvre.
• Hey Little Girl – Not the Dee Clark song
• Bald Head – Not to be confused with Bald Headed Woman by Harry Belafonte / The Who / The Kinks, but the same idea.
• Tipitina – That’s her name, Tipitina, and no I’ve never known a Tipitina
• In The Night – A song about partying
• Professor Longhair Blues – One of those bragging songs.
• Misery – Not The Beatles song.
• Cuttin’ Out
• Go To The Mardi Gras
• Big Chief Part 2
• No Buts – No Maybe
• Stag-O-Lee – A fairly straight rendition of this perennial, which was a hit for Lloyd Price in 1959 and for Wilson Pickett in 1967 – both renditions titled Stagger Lee
• (They Call Me) Dr. Professor Longhair
• Whole Lotta Lovin’ – The Fats Domino song. The professor hams it up.
• Thank You Pretty Baby
• Mean Old World – A more or less straight rendition of the Little Walter song.
• Boogie Woogie – Just what it says…