Dr. John November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019
New Orleans folk know how to honour their dead. On June 7, a day after Dr. John’s passing (aged 77, following a heart attack), a huge crowd thronged through the Big Easy streets to celebrate a life well lived, sashaying to the sound of tom-toms and whooping as a traditional second-line parade worked its way through the Tremé district.
Born Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. on November 20, 1941 (his stage name taken from Dr John Montaine, a witchdoctor of African descent), he was a man of multiple guises. Known as Mac or Reb to his friends,) and eventually Grammy awards, of which he notched up six, including for Best Vocal for with Rickie Lee Jones.
