LIKE THAT

There were tons of great R & B singers that came out of New Orleans in the late fifties and early sixties, and I'm pretty sure every last one of them worked with Allen Toussaint at one time or another. At least it seems that way. Chris Kenner was one of them and, like many of them, the partnership resulted in a couple hits for him. The first one was "I Like It Like That", later a hit for the Dave Clark Five, and the second, "Land of a Thousand Dances", a song he really cleaned up on with royalties. It became an even bigger hit for Wilson Pickett, and to a lesser degree Cannibal and the Headhunters, and Thee Midniters. But the song of his that I'm really digging on is "Cinderella". As usual, it's probably for the wrong reasons. One of the things I like about it is the repetitiveness of it. It allows you to be lulled into the groove. First it starts out a Mighty Hannibal type intro, then it veers towards Junior Walker "Shotgun" territory. But after it continues like that for a while, you realize that it's not really going anywhere. It just continues the same funky beat, with horns blaring, for the next couple minutes. What I really dig is the drummer getting a little flashy with the drum rolls every few measures. It sort of punctuates the song. You get the idea that he's sneaking them in. Though, it being a New Orleans thing, it could just be Earl Palmer behind the kit with a license to do just about anything he wants. I've no idea who produced it, but it was arranged by Eddie Bo, another New Orleans fixture, which explains a little of the repetitiveness. His big one "Pass the Hatchet" (under the name Roger and the Gypsies) was nothing if not repetitive."Sick and Tired" is early Kenner, from 1957. It rules. 

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Listen:
Chris Kenner - Cinderella mp3 at Second Line Social
Roger and the Gypsies - Pass the Hatchet (Pts 1 and 2) mp3 at A Terrible Blogger Is Born
Chris Kenner - Sick and Tired mp3 at The Dregs
Chris Kenner - I Like It Like That mp3 at Corey Barksdale