Another Blast From The Past

It's Carnival time once again and I only know of two places to be for the seasonal celebration, Rio de Janeiro and New Orleans. I know there are many others that hold parades and fun things, but these two cities are the embodiment of this event.

Personally, I have never been to the Rio celebration. But I have some information that my friend Mustang woke up on a park bench there. It was some years ago, after an episode of heavy drinking and some other forms of mainstream debauchery (which shall remain nameless). It is also my understanding that Ed McMahon was found just two benches down, after his own little fling.

No folks, no Rio for me. But I have been to NOLA. I was there in 1995, visiting my dad (adoptive, the one who actually raised me) after he had some minor surgery.

Most people would think that this was great enough on it's own merits, a man scheduling something like this so his relatives could be in town for a big event like this. But Dad always had an angle. Not only did he talk me into coming down, he got his brother to fly down as well. He wanted someone to party with.

I arrived by automobile on Lundi Gras (Fat Monday). Sadly for me, his directions had me lost enough to make several trips around the Superdome. Getting into the right lane to get across that bridge to Algiers was no easy task when there are a million extra people in town, trying to get some place. But I made it and the next day we were all three on Bourbon Street, right after a late morning brunch.

Three days after getting out of the hospital (and a bottle of his trusty liquid Vicodin, in his pocket), he showed us Fat Tuesday in style, the local way. A few drinks in the Quarter and later that evening, we went out to Deanie's -- a great little seafood joint on the lake in Metarie. The food was good and the drinks were stout. The atmosphere was festive and the music set the tone for some great fun.

(As it turned out, he passed away two years later. I was glad that I had gone down then. I only saw him once afterward, and that was in Indiana. I think he knew more about his health then, than he was willing to tell the rest of us.)

So in keeping with the season of celebration, here are some great Louisiana Mardi Gras tunes to mark the occasion.

First up is a great little ditty, you will hear a million times in Nawlins right about now. This is Carnival Time by Al Johnson:



New Orleans native, Dr. John knows how to play a tune. Here is his version of Mardi Gras Mambo:



Next up is Buckwheat Zydeco performing with the Neville Brothers, singing his famous song simply called, Ya Ya:



Allen Toussaint and Irma Thomas team up for this powerful and bluesy little number. It is one that puts you somewhere in a roadside bayou honky tonk, with moss on the outside, a boiling pot of crawfish on the backside, and a jukebox inside. This one is called, Blackwater Blues:



Enjoy.