A Tribute To Dr. John

A great story from client John Papa Gros...

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The first time I met Dr. John…

In the late 90s I was asked to be the band leader for a New Orleans piano tribute at the "Best of the Beat Awards."

I had to put together a medley of "Hey Pocky Way," "Tipitina," and one other song. And the medley had to feature all of the piano players at the show. They were Dr. John, Henry Butler, Allen Toussaint, Joe Krown, Ivan Neville, and myself. I was the youngest of them all. I was the new kid.

We gathered in a back room for a quick talk before the award ceremony started. There was no rehearsal.

I passed out a sheet to everybody. And Henry Butler, being hilarious and blind, said, "Where's my chart?"

So I handed him one.

He said, "Oh. Well, thank you!"

When I handed one to Dr. John, he was sitting on the couch and I was standing. He looked up at me and said, "Who made you the straw boss?"

Those were his first words to me.

I just basically panicked. "Well, they asked me to put this medley together, and so I don't know why, but here we go."

Mac had the whole room just cracking up at me.

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See Papa's Dr. John Tribute Concert, "Papa Plays The Nite Tripper"

• New Orleans

• November 18, 2023

• Tipitinas

Tickets at https://tipitinas.com/e/13621138/papa-plays-the-nite-tripper-a-john-papa-gros-tribute-to-dr-john/