"Mardi Gras Mambo" is a

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 ...

-themed song written by Frankie Adams and Lou Welsch. The song's best known version was recorded in 1954 by

the Hawketts The Hawketts were an American R&B combo from New Orleans, Louisiana who are best known for their 1954 recording of "Mardi Gras Mambo", a song that has become an iconic classic of the New Orleans Carnival celebration. The band's members hailed f ...

, whose membership included

Art Neville Arthur Lanon Neville Jr. (December 17, 1937 – July 22, 2019) was an American singer, songwriter and keyboardist from New Orleans. Neville was a staple of the New Orleans music scene for over five decades. He was the founder of the funk band ...

, a founding member of the Meters and

the Neville Brothers The Neville Brothers were an American R&B/soul/funk group, formed in 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana. History The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art (1937–2019), Charles (1938–2018), Aaron (b. 19 ...

. It is one of the iconic songs frequently played during the

New Orleans Mardi Gras The holiday of Mardi Gras is celebrated in all of Louisiana, including the city of New Orleans. Celebrations are concentrated for about two weeks before and through Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday (the start of lent in the Western ...

Jody Levens song

The original version of the song was written in 1953 by Frankie Adams and Lou Welsch as a country song. It had a syncopated Latino beat. The song was recorded 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 ...

's studio in

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

by singer Jody Levens. Huey Bourgeois was the original guitarist. The song was released as a single in 1953 by Sapphire Records. In 1996, the song was re-released on the

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

''The Best of Sapphire''.

The Hawketts song

In the early 1950s, The Hawketts were a seven-piece New Orleans R&B group comprising teenage musicians. Led by Carroll Joseph, in 1953 they recruited 16-year-old

(later of the Meters and

). At the time the band's style was calypso-

rumba The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba ...

, modeled after Professor Longhair's style. The band was approached by Ken Elliot, aka Jack the Cat, to record the song. Elliot was the disc jockey of WWEZ radio station and knew the local R&B market. Elliot changed some of the original lyrics and kept the song's Latino feel. In January 1954 the song was recorded with two microphones in the studio of WWEZ radio station, with Elliot as the recording engineer and Neville on lead vocals. According to band drummer,

John Boudreaux John Mortimer Boudreaux, Jr. (December 10, 1936, New Roads, Louisiana – January 14, 2017, Los Angeles) was an American drummer who was active in jazz, soul, and rhythm & blues idioms. Early Years Boudreaux moved to New Orleans at age ten or ...

, they tried to play the song in a calypso style. The song has a distinct saxophone opening followed by a grunt by the band members. The song was released on

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll ...

in 1954 and became a local hit. It has become a standard of the New Orleans Mardi Gras. Success of the song boosted the band's popularity.

Larry Williams Larry Williams (born Lawrence Eugene Williams, a.k.a. Lawrence Edward Williams; May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Williams ...

sought them and The Hawketts toured as his backing band. The exposure also helped Neville and he released several singles as a solo artist with

Specialty Records Specialty Records was an American record label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by Art Rupe. It was known for rhythm and blues, gospel, and early rock and roll, and recorded artists such as Little Richard, Guitar Slim, Percy Mayfield, and Lloyd P ...

. Neville led the band in later years. The song has since been recorded by The Meters,

Buckwheat Zydeco Stanley Dural Jr. (November 14, 1947 – September 24, 2016), better known by his stage name Buckwheat Zydeco, was an American accordionist and zydeco musician. He was one of the few zydeco artists to achieve mainstream success. His music gro ...

and many others. Years later, Boudreaux and Neville spoke about the pride they felt at the time in having a hit song, and the fact that the song has remained popular for so long.

Personnel

Credits adapted from ''Mardi Gras in New Orleans'' liner notes. *Ken Elliot (aka Jack the Cat) – producer, engineer *Carroll Joseph – trombone *

– vocals, piano *

– drums *Israel Bell – trumpet *August Fleuri – trumpet *Morris Bechamin – tenor saxophone *George Davis – alto saxophone *Alfred August – guitar

References

External links

* {{authority control 1953 singles 1954 singles Carnival songs Rhythm and blues songs Mardi Gras in New Orleans Songs about New Orleans 1953 songs Mardi Gras songs