George Thorogood & the Destroyers with John Hammond (1942-2026) doing Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love?"

At New Orleans' House of Blues sometime in the 1980s George Thorogood invited John P. Hammond, who died yesterday, to join him onstage in a rendition of Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love." Hammond's growling vocal and his skill on blues harp, accompanied by Thorogood's guitar, made this a memorable performance. Hammond was the son of John Henry Hammond (1910-1987), record producer and civil rights activist, who promoted the careers of Black musicians. Young John's godfather, from whom he got his middle name, was Paul Robeson.

TBT: Fats Domino, "My Girl Josephine".

Antoine "Fats" Domino turned 88 on February 28. He was an early (1986) inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and had more hit records than any other of the first generation of rockers except Elvis. He was feared dead after he and his wife refused to evacuate their New Orleans house before Hurricane Katrina struck, but they were rescued by helicopter and taken to shelter. He no longer leaves his native city, but has performed there on occasion in recent years.

When I looked for a clip of the song below, a 1960 hit that I remember fondly, my search term was "Hello Josephine", the song's opening words. I immediately found the clip of a live performance, which has the same words in its caption. Some research showed that the song's actual title was "My Girl Josephine". This seems odd, as the words "my girl" don't appear anywhere in the lyrics. Indeed, the song implies that Josephine is anything but the singer's "girl" at the time of their encounter, evidently many years after what seems to have been a lopsided childhood friendship in which the singer's devotion was not reciprocated.

TBT: Chris Kenner, "I Like It Like That"; R.I.P. Allen Toussaint

Allen Toussaint, who died this past Monday at 77, was a commanding, if nevertheless somewhat self-effacing, figure in New Orleans R&B from the 1960s until now. He was better known as a songwriter than as a performer, although he was a first rate musician who got his break into the business subbing for Huey "Piano" Smith at a gig in Alabama. Some of his earlier compositions, such as "Lipstick Traces" and "Fortune Teller", both recorded by Benny Spellman, were published pseudonymously under the name of his mother, Naomi Neville. "Fortune Teller" was later covered by the Rolling Stones.
 
A favorite of mine from his early works is Chris Kenner's 1961 hit "I Like It Like That". It has the springy rhythm and slightly understated quality of much of the best New Orleans R&B. I also like it for the line,"Let me show you where it's at", which brings to my mind the New Orleans greeting, "Where y'at?" That's the reason speakers of New Orleans dialect are called "Yats."
 
After Katrina did her worst to the Crescent City, Toussaint went to New York, and collaborated with Elvis Costello on a CD called "The River in Reverse". The clip above, "Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further?", is from that album.

TBT: Frankie Ford, "Sea Cruise".

Vincent Francis Guzzo, Jr., better known as Frankie Ford, died September 29 at the age of 76. He was long active in the New Orleans R&B scene, and the photo at left shows him costumed as king of the Krewe du Vieux for Mardi Gras in 2009. He had one hit record, "Sea Cruise", which went to number 14 on the pop chart and 11 on the R&B chart in 1959. He also appeared in the movie American Hot Wax.
.The clip above, from the NRRArchives, shows him on the Dick Clark show American Bandstand lip-synching his hit. I can remember around that time saving Beech-Nut gum wrappers which I mailed to get a 45 RPM EP that included, if my memory serves me well, "Little Star" by the Elegants, "You Cheated" by the Shields, "Rebel Rouser" by Duane Eddy, and "To Know Him is to Love Him" by the Teddy Bears (featuring Phil Spector), along with a couple of others that I can't recall.