Concrete Playground

In an awfully racist book called Voodoo in New Orleans, 1940s writer Robert Tallant describes a voodoo priest — a freed slave who claimed to be a Senegalese prince. According to the book, the priest claimed to have 15 wives and 50 children, and wore a frilly white shirt. He specialized in curses, clairvoyance and selling 'gris-gris'. His name was Dr. John.

Around the same time as Tallant wrote Voodoo, Mac ‘Dr. John’ Renneback was born in New Orleans. He started out as a session musician, providing backing for Canned Heat, among others, and released his debut album Gris-Gris in 1968. This first record is indisputably his best and, although he has since adjusted his act, still indicative of Dr. John’s essence. It is unrefined, noisy and more satisfying than a big bowl of gumbo.

Dr. John has drawn much from his namesake’s legacy. His 1960s stage persona was one of a psychedelic voodoo king, with robes, headdresses and the occasional chant. These days, he’s swapped the robes for suits and hats but has kept the feathered staff and magical presence — he’s not known as the Night Tripper for nothing, you know.