Dr. John's New Album 'Mercernary' On Blue Note Records

NEW YORK (Blue Note Records) - More than half a century of music making and Dr. John's (Mac Rebennack) head is still brimming with ideas. The latest one, which comes to glorious fruition on the Blue Note Records album Mercernary, came from his daughter Tina, who pointed out that 'Personality,' a 1946 hit for Johnny Mercer, would be a perfect fit for her dad's down-home style.
In fact, Tina suggested, why not do a whole album of songs written or popularized by this giant of American popular music? That got Mac thinking. Mercer was a fellow Southerner and workaholic — the Savannah-born artist wrote the words, music, or both to a good 1,500 songs, a remarkable number of them classics, as well as spending decades as a performer. Mac could relate to that.

Mercernary honors not only the great American songwriter/performer whose music provides its content, but also the great American city in which it was created. Every note played by Dr. John and his fellow musicians is the sound of living New Orleans. May they keep on keepin' on.