I wonder how many people,
like me, loved the song “Right Place Wrong Time” when they first heard it on
the radio, but had no idea it was Dr. John who wrote and sang it. I was only
about 10 when it was released in the early 1970s, and to my untrained ear, it was
just another cool tune to shake my pre-teen hips to—alone in my bedroom, of
course. I couldn’t let anyone see me dance at that point in my life.
What I was learning at that
time was that I liked funk and soul music, though I didn’t use those terms yet.
Growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and having first heard the song on
local radio, I assumed the artist was local, too.
Philadelphia, after all,
had its share of soul music, but it wasn’t until later that regional musical
dialects began to come clear to me, and I realized that “Right Place Wrong
Time” wasn’t from Philly at all, but from New Orleans, and from Mac Rebennack
aka Dr. John.
What many of us know now is
that the album on which that song was released—In the Right Place (1973)—stands
out as Dr. John’s best-known and best-selling album, arriving as a commercial
and artistic breakthrough after years of under-the-radar releases that ranged
from the spooky psychedelic voodoo of his debut Gris Gris (1968) to the
old-school New Orleans R&B sound of Dr. John’s Gumbo (1972).
With the release of In
the Right Place, Dr. John was transformed from Crescent City eccentric to
down-home funkster, although that label, like any other critics tried to place
on him, slid off as smoothly as a gator swimming around a bayou swamp.
Rebennack (born on Nov. 20,
1941) grew up in New Orleans’s 3rd Ward, and started his
career as a guitarist when he was barely into his teens. He was producing
records by the time he was 16, and after he moved to Los Angeles, he started
playing sessions as a keyboardist for artists like Frank Zappa and Sonny and
Cher.
After Dr. John started
releasing solo records, he landed sessions with artists ranging from jazz
greats like Lee Morgan and Stanley Turrentine to stars like the Rolling Stones
and B.B. King.
He was in his early 30s
when he recorded In the Right Place, and already a music veteran, he
could have hired just about anyone to join him on the sessions. He chose
wisely, bringing in first-call New Orleans composer and pianist Allen Toussaint
to produce, along with legendary locals, the Neville Brothers, to be his
backing band.
All 11 tracks on the album
are tremendous, but there are two that stand out for me.
There is, of course, the
title track, which, heard years later, sounds initially like it could double
for a decades-old detective TV show theme, but grooves so hard, thanks to the
Meters and Toussaint’s horn arrangement, that it generated crossover appeal
placing it in the U.S. Top Ten. And the self-effacing lyrics sung by
Rebennack—about a man painfully aware of his personal failings—are
simultaneously straightforward and clever. Never before had atonement ever sounded
like so much fun.
The other song that became
an instant classic was the second single from the album, “Such a Night.”
Thematically, it’s a fitting companion to “Right Place Wrong Time,” as the
untrustworthy narrator describes his strategy for stealing his best friend’s
lover. The image of “sweet confusion under the moonlight” in the chorus—both
specific and vague—remains a favorite all-time achievement in lyric writing.
I must admit that I’m not a
fan of the song’s keyboard sound—it strikes me as a somewhat cheesy, toy organ
patch—but it is somehow the right choice for what feels like an instant
standard, one that any couple with a healthy sense of humor would enjoy dancing
to. That said, I prefer subsequent live versions featuring Dr. John playing the
part on acoustic piano.
When Dr. John was in his
60s or early 70s, I heard him play a club show in Boston, and, frankly, it
wasn’t one of his best nights. There were some great moments, but it just
didn’t feel like the hoodoo voodoo was fully kicking into gear.
Rebennack died in June
2019, leaving a legacy of great recordings and songs. One of Boston’s great
local bands, the Giant Kings, often perform “Such a Night” in their live shows,
and it is one of the best covers of the song that you’ll hear. Duke Levine
replaces the Dr. John organ with his guitar, and vocalist Chris Cote not only
sings it with guts and style every time, he provides a vocal trombone solo that
underscores the song’s inherent sense of humor.
I’ll celebrate Dr. John’s
birthday on my November 17, 2019 show with music from In the Right Place
and other albums. Any day spent listening to the music of Mac Rebennack is one
in which you know you’ll walk with some bounce in your step and a good feeling
in your soul.
