Before we jump into the heavy, molten psychedelic-voodoo sounds of Dr. John, it’s important to confront the cultural/political issues that are too often white-washed by a school-boy understanding of history (and music). The purpose here is twofold; to provide the music a historical context and touch upon the relevant issues of racism and imperialism.

Vaudou louisianais (Louisiana Voodoo) is the tradition of New Orleans that never gets a serious discussion; the Voodoo religion came to New Orleans through the beliefs and practices of the African population kidnapped and forced into slavery by the Spanish, French and American’s throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Haiti and New Orleans being two of the locations where those beliefs mixed with the Catholicism brought to the region by early colonalists occupying the territories of the indigenous Chitimacha population. Louisiana Voodoo or New Orleans Voodoo was born from that history of European imperialism, exploitation and terror used against multiple populations on multiple continents; making the Voodoo religion one of the oldest traditions of the United States. A tradition that never gets an accurate portrayal in the sanitized, faux-history we so often hear regurgitated through the lens of American Exceptionalism.

Perhaps the most famous practitioner of Voodoo was Marie Laveau who lived in the French Quarter of New Orleans between 1801 – 1895. (There is some ambiguity about those dates). Called the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, Laveau was a women who took her religious faith seriously; doing charity work in the Catholic Church to help sick and hungry escaped slaves, while also acting as Voodoo Advisor to many of the community’s political and business elite. She was a free woman of color, spoke fluent French and was a Black–Creole of African, European and Native American descent. As Voodoo Queen, Laveau was also a respected member of the community. But again, this offical histroy is a white-wash; the laws in New Orleans followed the Black Code rules of Louisiana. These French laws set regulations for slavery and the lives of the Black population. Under the Black Code or Code Noir laws, slaves were forced into becoming baptized Roman Catholic. Any practice of their own religion was made illegal. Marie Laveau emerged as the Queen of Voodoo because she still acted the part of a devout Catholic. A clever alignment that enabled her to exercise the religion of her ancestors, despite the demonization of African religions. As of 2022, her tomb at the St. Louis Cathedral is still often adorn with flowers and candles by those that seek her help from the after-life. Although it may suprise many in the U.S., the Voodoo religion is actually a long standing American tradition that linger just below the surface of the official narrative of history.

The demonization of the Voodoo religion reveals some important questions about what it means to be an “American”; any aspect of the cultural-story that does not fit nicely within the Christian Promised-Land narrative is removed from the definition. This is true of Voodoo and many other cultural items. In truth, the Voodoo has been a distinct part of legacy of the country. And certainly as relevant to history of the nation as anything written about the pursuit of happiness. Voodoo has shared a longstanding partnership with the symbolism, amulets and potions of Catholicism. Today many Voodoo practitioners consider their religion as both Catholic and Voodoo without fear of contradiction. Both religions have the deeply held belief of the supernatural; the Voodoo Spirits and the Catholic Holy-Ghost both convey the sense that the supernatural is living within everything. And we don’t need to look any further then the Catholic Mass to find the ceremonial similarities; the Sacrament of the Communion is clearly the blood sacrifice of the Voodoo religion. Catholic believers pray for the wine and bread used in the ceremony to be transformed into the blood and body of the Christ. In Voodoo,the same is true of the animal-sacrifice; a goat, chicken, and other animals are sacrificed as gifts to the supernatural. The only real distinction between the two is that the Catholic ritual was standardized into the American narrative. While the same rites and rituals of Voodoo were banished as “primitive” and associated with some ridiculous Hollywood version of the religion.

Those differences are based purely on a fictional representation of Voodoo as a sinister practice used to conjure-up zombies; another creation of white-supremacy and American fear of the outsiders. It’s an account that has been successfully embedded deeply within the culture. There are many early examples but let’s use the fascinating 1932 film White Zombie to demonstrate how this campaign has been orchestrated. Early advertising for White Zombie promised movie-goers “black magic and white bodies“. Directed by Victor and Edward Halperin, the film is a crude portrait of the “foreign anxieties” that the U.S. has often projected onto the South American hemisphere. In fact, White Zombie was released during the final two years of a 19 year U.S. occupation of Haiti. Starring Bela Lugos as the “white” zombie master of the Haitian islands. The film is well-worth watching; with lots of the smokey-hot atmosphere that audiences now regularly associate with Voodoo. The details of the plot are insignificant but the film depicts a white man as the “master” of a black population of violent zombies. Furthering the thinly veiled message of white supremcy to the audience. And that zombie connection to race is one used again and again in American films. Reinforcing the racial prejudice against Voodoo as a violent symptom of a non-christian people.

As a young man, Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. was indeed interested in the Voodoo religion and developed the character of Dr. John – the Night Tripper to further a musical career. His original description stated that the character was to be a Senegalese Prince and a Voodoo Healer that came from Haiti to New Orleans and lived on Bayou Road.  A ridiculous premise for a man with a German, Irish, English, and French heritage. And Rebennack was well aware of this critism that he appropriated the characteristics of his public persona. He even addresses the topic specifically in his autobiography, Under a Hoodoo Moon by stating that “Music is something no one person owns” and sighted his early musical training and initiation into Voodoo at a young age as a justification. And perhap’s there is an argument to be made for Rebennack. Born in the city of New Orleans in 1941. At thirteen years old, he began a music career after meeting the legendary New Orleans musican Professor Longhair. Rebennack was so taken by Longhair‘s unique style and musical technic, that he began performing regularly with Fess, affectively beginning his life as a professional musician. Is that justification enough? Perhaps not. Nevertheless, there is some legitimacy to Rebennack‘s ties to Voodoo and the music of New Orleans. Finally, the hope here isn’t to fully explain these complex issues. But to acknowledge the historical and cultural issues in the context of Malcolm Rebennack becoming Dr. John – The Night Tripper. And although there have been undeniable misappropriations, that does not diminish from the art and music created as Dr. John.

Beginning in the late 1960s, Rebennack gained fame as a solo artist because of the persona of “Dr. John, The Night Tripper“. Dr. John‘s act combined the New Orleans-style of R&B and Jazz with an earthy-psychedelia that oozed the darkness of the bayou. This unique sound was coupled with a wild stage shows that incorporated rites of Voodoo with outrageous costumes and headdresses. Between 1968–1971, Rebennack releasing four albums as The Night Tripper; Gris-Gris (1968), Babylon (1969), Remedies (1970) and The Sun, Moon and Herbs (1971). Only on these four early albums can you explore the unique sounds of the doctor’s psychedelic-voodoo. After 1971, the Night Tripper subtitle was dropped and Dr. John moved far away from the graveyard-heat of those wonderful records. Speaking about his 1972 follow album, Gumbo, “I decided I’d had enough of the mighty-voodoo show, so I dumped the Gris-Gris routine we had been touring with since 1967 and worked up a new act—a Mardi Gras revue show that would often feature the New Orleans standards we had covered in Gumbo.” There are other good to great albums in Dr. John‘s disography; both Gumbo (1972) and In The Right Place(1973) are worthy follow-ups to the original four. In fact, In the Right Place was a major hit. Reaching the U.S. top ten with the singles, Right Place, Wrong Time and Such A Night. But it was not until 1998’s Anutha Zone that Dr. John would reemerge for an entire record of the Night-Tripper sound. Below we shall attempt to bring the music of those original records to you. Whatever issues this writer may have with how and why they were created, there really is no denying the unique power and odd beauty of this amazing music.

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