Jessie Hill (December 9, 1932 – September 17, 1996) was an American R&B and Louisiana blues

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

, best remembered for the classic

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

Ooh Poo Pah Doo "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" is a song written and performed by Jessie Hill. It was arranged and produced by Allen Toussaint. The single reached No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart and No. 28 on the Hot 100 in 1960. Ike & Tina Turner versions Ike & Tina T ...

Life and career

Hill was born in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. By his

teens Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the ...

he was playing

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s in local bands, and in 1951 he formed his own group, the House Rockers. After periods performing as

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

with Professor Longhair and then

Huey "Piano" Smith Huey Pierce Smith, known as Huey "Piano" Smith (born January 26, 1934) is an American rhythm-and-blues pianist whose sound was influential in the development of rock and roll. His piano playing incorporated the boogie-woogie styles of Pete John ...

, Hill formed a new version of the House Rockers in 1958, which enabled him to focus on singing with the band. He is the grandfather of

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

and Troy Andrews. The origins of "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" were apparently created from a tune played by a local

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

, who was known only as Big Four. Hill wrote the

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

and

melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

, later expanding the work with an

intro Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and ...

taken from

Dave Bartholomew David Louis Bartholomew (December 24, 1918 – June 23, 2019) was an American musician, bandleader, composer, arranger, and record producer. He was prominent in the music of New Orleans throughout the second half of the 20th century. Originally ...

. It was further honed on stage, before Hill recorded a

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

that he shopped to local

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

s, finally

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

a session at

Cosimo Matassa Cosimo Vincent Matassa (April 13, 1926 – September 11, 2014) was an American recording engineer and studio owner, responsible for many R&B and early rock and roll recordings. Life and career Matassa was born in New Orleans in 1926.Komorowsk ...

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

produced by

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descri ...

. Upon its 1960 release on

Minit Records Minit Records was an American independent record label, originally based in New Orleans and founded by Joe Banashak in 1959. Ernie K. Doe, Aaron Neville, Irma Thomas, and Benny Spellman were early artists on the label. Later artists included Bo ...

, "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" emerged as a favorite at

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...

, selling 800,000 copies and reaching #3 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' R&B

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

and #28 in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 pop chart. There have been over 100 cover versions of "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" recorded and performed live over the years by other popular musicians, most notably

The Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McFadd ...

and

Ike and Tina Turner Ike or IKE may refer to: People * Ike (given name), a list of people with the name or nickname * Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969), Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II and President of the United States Surname ...

. His follow-up "Whip It On Me" reached #91 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1960. Further recordings in New Orleans were less successful, and he moved to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

to work with fellow New Orleans

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

s including

Harold Battiste Harold Raymond Battiste Jr. (October 28, 1931 – June 19, 2015) was an American music composer, arranger, performer, and teacher. A native of, and later community leader in, New Orleans, he is best known for his work as an arranger on record ...

and

Mac Rebennack Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...

. In this period, he wrote songs recorded by

Sonny and Cher Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of husband and wife Sonny Bono and Cher. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector. The pair f ...

, and

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

. A 1972

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

was unsuccessful, and he began to suffer financial difficulties exacerbated by a drinking problem. These problems continued after his return to New Orleans in 1977, and several benefit gigs did little to revive his personal or professional fortunes.

Death and legacy

Hill died of

heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

and

renal failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

in New Orleans in September 1996, at the age of 63. He is buried in Holt Cemetery in New Orleans, in a

pauper's grave A potter's field, paupers' grave or common grave is a place for the burial of unknown, unclaimed or indigent people. "Potter's field" is of Biblical origin, referring to Akeldama (meaning ''field of blood'' in Aramaic), stated to have been p ...

for the poorest citizens of the city. Two of his grandsons are

James Andrews (musician) James Andrews (born January 12, 1969) is an American musician from New Orleans. He is from a musical family; he is the grandson of Jesse Hill, the older brother of Troy Andrews (better known by his stage name of "Trombone Shorty"), and cousin of ...

and

Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews Troy Andrews (born January 2, 1986), also known by the stage name Trombone Shorty, is an American musician, producer, actor and philanthropist from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is best known as a trombone and trumpet player but also plays drums, ...

. The pair performed "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" in Episode 7 of the HBO series '' Treme''. A third grandson, Travis "Trumpet Black" Hill, was a rising New Orleans-based performer who died from an infection while on tour in Tokyo on May 4, 2015.

References

External links

''Trumpet Black: The Jazz Funeral of a New Orleans Rising Star'', Anthony Taille. Retrieved 1-20-16.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Jessie 1932 births 1996 deaths Rhythm and blues musicians from New Orleans American rhythm and blues singers Songwriters from Louisiana American blues singers Louisiana blues musicians Chess Records artists Deaths from kidney failure Singers from Louisiana Minit Records artists Downey Records artists Wand Records artists Blue Thumb Records artists African-American male songwriters 20th-century African-American male singers

Life and career

Death and legacy

See also

References

External links