GET YOUR YA YA OUT

Fresh out of the Navy, Lee Dorsey became a prize fighter (light heavyweight, if you're wondering) in Portland in the early fifties. After hanging up the gloves, he moved to New Orleans, where he was born and had lived until he was ten. He worked as an auto mechanic, singing in clubs at night, until somewhere around 1960, when he met Allen Toussaint who was just getting his feet wet as an arranger. Toussaint was getting a record label off the ground and offered to record Dorsey, resulting in a hit single, "Ya Ya" in 1961. Shortly after recording a follow up, the label went under, and Dorsey went back to working on cars. A few years later, Toussaint went to Amy Records and brought Dorsey with him. They had another hit together, "Working in a Coal Mine" in 1966. Though that was the last big Dorsey hit, they continued working together off and on for years, often with the Meters as backing band, which would explain why Dorsey's music has endured. Holy shit, just think about that. Lee Dorsey, Allen Toussaint and the Meters. Could any combination be more New Orleans?

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Listen:
Lee Dorsey - Ya Ya mp3 at DJ Perro
Lee Dorsey - Yes We Can, Pt 1 mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu
Lee Dorsey - Yes We Can, Pt 2 mp3 at Videogotz
Lee Dorsey - Holy Cow mp3 at Probe Is Turning-On the People
Dorsey Covers:
The Pointer Sisters - Yes We Can Can mp3 at Le Mellotron
Q65 - Get Out My Life Woman mp3 at Stop Smiling
Visit:
Lee Dorsey at Wikipedia