104.3, broadcasting from Radio Free Elsewhere. Your glitch in the airwaves.
The Glitch WeeklyExtra
Professor Longhair
American blues musician (1918–1980)
Henry Roeland Byrd, better known as Professor Longhair or Fess for short, was an American singer and pianist who performed New Orleans blues. He was active in two distinct periods, first in the heyday of early rhythm and blues and later in the resurgence of interest in traditional jazz after the founding of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1970.
His piano style has been described as "instantly recognizable, combining rumba, mambo, and calypso".
American pianist, vocalist and songwriter, better known by his stage name Professor Longhair.
Born 19 December 1918 in Bogalusa, Louisiana.
Died 30 January 1980 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Professor Longhair can be considered as the creator of the New Orleans Rhythm & Blues. Musically active from 1949 to 1964, he made a comeback in the early 1970s. Inducted into Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 (Early Influence).
Also known as: B. Byrd, Byrd, H. Byrd, H. R. Byrd, H. Roy Byrd
From Discogs (free to use). Their entry
Liner notes
Professor Longhair, the records, oldest first
Rock ’n’ Roll Gumbo
1974 album
Crawfish Fiesta
1980 album
Mardi Gras in Baton Rouge
1991 album
Fess' Gumbo
1996 album
Meet Ya At Tipitina's
2016 album
Fess at Home
2021 album
Records from MusicBrainz; covers from the Cover Art Archive.
"Big Chief" is a song recorded by Professor Longhair. It was released as a single by Watch Records of New Orleans in February, 1965.
The song was written by Earl King though the single credits Ulis Gaines and Wardell Quezergue as the writers.
Background
The song refers to Mardi Gras Indian groups; an important part of the African American Mardi Gras tradition. The "Indian Nation" of Mardi Gras Indian "gangs" in New Orleans includes the Wild Magnolias, the Golden Eagles, and several others. Mardi Gras Indian gangs have existed since the early 20th Century. Each gang performs its own original songs and dances on Mardi Gras Day, on "Super Sunday" (the Sunday before St. Patrick's Day) and at other functions in the community. The "Big Chief", the "Spy Boy", the "Flag Boy" and several other roles or offices are important to the Mardi Gras Indian tradition of "masking" (parading through the street in full costume). These characters are mentioned in Earl King's song, as well as many other...
"Junco Partner", also known as "Junco Partner (Worthless Man)", is a blues song first recorded by American rhythm and blues singer James Wayne in 1951. It has been recorded and revised by many other artists over several decades, including Louis Jordan, Michael Bloomfield, Dr.
John, Professor Longhair, James Booker, Hugh Laurie, and the Clash. It has been covered in various genres of music including blues, folk, rock, reggae, and dub.
Early recordings
Singer James Wayne made the first recording of "Junco Partner" in 1951, for Bob Shad's record label "Sittin' in with...". The song is credited to Shad and "Robert Ellen" (a pseudonym Shad used on some recordings), though it was directly inspired by the Willie Hall song "Junker's Blues". According to musician Mac Rebennack ("Dr. John"), James Waynes' recording made the song popular, although it was already widely known among musicians in New Orleans and elsewhere as "the anthem of the dopers, the whores, the pimps, the cons. It was a song they sang in Angola, the state prison farm, and the rhythm was even known as the 'jailbird beat'."
"Tipitina" is a song written and originally recorded by New Orleans pianist and singer Professor Longhair. His original version was recorded and released in 1953 by Atlantic Records.
Although the nature of his contributions are unknown, recording engineer Cosimo Matassa is listed as the song's co-writer along with Roy Byrd, Professor Longhair's legal name.
Background
Pianist Henry Roeland "Roy" Byrd, known as Professor Longhair, was a prominent New Orleans musician. He played syncopated music that combined blues, ragtime, zydeco, rhumba, mambo and calypso. His singing was characterized as hoarse. His peripatetic recording career began in 1949 with "Mardi Gras In New Orleans" and "She's Got No Hair" with a group credited as "Longhair and his Shuffling Hungarians." A year later at Mercury Records and Roy Byrd & his Blues Jumpers rerecorded "She's Got No Hair" as "Bald Head", which broke through as his only national R&B hit. In 1953, at Atlantic Records, he recorded "Tipitina", which is now regarded as his "signature song".
In popular culture
A version by Bo Dollis & The Wild Magnolias is in the Bones season 1 episode "The Man in the Morgue" (an episode set in New Orleans).
