Pops and the Doctor

Published on

October 10, 2014

Portrait of Louis Armstrong, between 1938 and 1948.

Photo: William P. Gottlieb/Ira and Leonore S. Gershwin Fund Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress/Getty Images

Dr. John’s debut Concord album is out now and on it he pays tribute to Louis Armstrong. ‘Ske-Dat-De-Dat…The Spirit of Satch’ features some impressive guest appearances from the likes of Bonnie Raitt and the Blind Boys of Alabama.

The album features 13 tracks taken from throughout Satchmo’s long career, with Raitt duetting with Dr. John on ‘I’ve Got the World on a String.’ The Blind Boys make two appearances, on ‘What a Wonderful World’ and ‘Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams,’ while R&B singer-songwriter Anthony Hamilton is on ‘Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child.’ The Dirty Dozen Brass Band feature on ‘When You’re Smiling (The Whole World Smiles With You)’ and Arturo Sandoval guests on ‘Tight Like This’ and ‘Memories Of You.’ Shemekia Copeland also appears with the good Doctor on ‘Sweet Hunk O’ Trash‘, while ‘Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen’ features another R&B name, Ledisi, and gospel-soul group the McCrary Sisters.

We have put together a playlist of the album and interspersed it with Satchmo’s original recordings to create a unique album. You can hear it here…