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In July of 2005 Edward St. Martin called Armand one day out of the blue and said, "Armand, I've written a rap song!" Really? "It's a hurricane rap. Can you record it and get it played on the radio?" Sure! So Edward, the prominent New Orleans cardiologist, read his witty lyrics about "the Big One" to his New Orleans musician brother Armand. Mind you, no New Orleanian had ever dreamt that "the Big One" would really occur. For the next couple of weeks, Armand dropped everything else to record his first rap song performance. He and Edward played the production back and forth, refining the single until they were satisfied. At this time, there wasn't even a hint of a hurricane on the horizon. By the end of August, "Contraflow" was ready for radio. Ironically, it was aired for the very first time by DJ Roger on WWOZ Radio in New Orleans within the last half hour of his show on Saturday, August 27th, the night before Hurricane Katrina made landfall. After the storm hit, Armand and Edward were reticent to play the song anymore. But as time has passed, they keep receiving more and more requests for "Contraflow" from folks who got a kick out of the song and now even get a few goosebumps from its uncanny timing. You can now order a custom CD-R copy of the single, "CONTRAFLOW" from info@PattyLeeRecords.com for $3.00 + $2.00 s&h per CD. Critical review: "Whatever possessed the two of you to do that?" -- Mrs. Rap
TIMES PICAYUNE (New Orleans)
Recorded by just about everybody from Joe South, Solomon
Burke and Roland Stone to Junior Parker and The Rolling Stones, that's
pretty much the theme song for a lot of victims of Katrina, and it's no
different for the legendary Al "Carnival Time" Johnson,
the guy sitting at the keyboard. Johnson lost his home on Tennessee Street in the Lower
9th Ward and everything in it, including his music, trumpet and memorabilia.
He's living in Houston now, and he says he cries every time he goes back
to his neighborhood. Johnson was back in New Orleans last week to participate
in the Krewe du Vieux festivities. As 2005's reigning monarch, he was
feted at the irreverent krewe's salute to its aging past rulers and its
welcome to this year's king, environmentalist Walter Williams, of "Mr.
Bill" fame on "Saturday Night Live." The soft-spoken Johnson, now 66, was with Armand "Sizzlin'
" St. Martin, who plays pretty doggone good rollicking New Orleans
rock 'n' roll himself. St. Martin was sitting with me and my wife because we
have a connection. His brother, Dr. Edward St. Martin, is my doctor,
and they had collaborated on a highly unlikely undertaking, the recording
of a rap song written by Dr. Ed named "Contraflow."
"He called me out of the blue in July and said, 'Armand,
I've written a rap song,' " St. Martin said. "That was very
un-Ed-like. But it was wonderful, a project we could do together. I set
up the tracks and I, well, I rapped it." The artists are identified as "Dr. Rap and the
Sound Surgeon."
At the break, Al Johnson joined us at our table. He was
dressed musician-chic, with a Carnival baseball cap and a never-ending
smile. He had no discernible wrinkles in his face and he was sitting right
next to me. Now, I have interviewed Muhammad Ali one-on-one, so I
know what it is to be in total awe. But this guy, well, arguably he wrote
the most famous song in all of Carnival history. And he is talking to
me and asking me how I did during the hurricane. He lost everything, but
he's asking me about my situation and sympathizing. "He's as considerate
a person as you'll ever meet," St. Martin would tell me later. If you wanted to debate the most famous song thing, you
could. But I'd narrow it down to four: The Hawkettes' "Mardi Gras
Mambo," and Professor Longhair's daily double of "Go to the
Mardi Gras" and "Big Chief." And obviously "Carnival
Time." "He embodies Mardi Gras," St. Martin said. "He's
a New Orleans music hero." I asked Al if he was ever worried about the song's future.
He shook his head. "I knew it was a hit as soon as I wrote it,"
he said. He spent years fighting for the rights to his song and the royalties
he deserved, finally got some relief, but the battle goes on. Eleven years Johnson's junior, St. Martin's songs, such as "Be Your Own Parade" and "St. Expedite," are influenced by Allen Toussaint, Fats, Dr. John and Mr. Carnival Time himself. One critic said his boogie-woogie piano style was "reminiscent of the maniac from Ferriday." That would be Jerry Lee Lewis. Quite a few years back, St. Martin and his wife, Patty
Lee, got involved with the cemetery theft issue, when stolen New Orleans
artifacts were being sold in L.A. That led to their later involvement
with the Friends of New Orleans Cemeteries effort to build a New Orleans
Musicians Tomb and the producing of their "Dying to Get In"
benefits for that cause. The St. Martins were the producer-hosts for a gala at
Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World in Algiers on June 20, to celebrate Johnson's
66th birthday and recognize his contribution to Carnival. Subsequently, he and St. Martin have written a song, "You'd
Have to Be Crazy to Miss Mardi Gras," which has yet to
be recorded. "I just love Mardi Gras," St. Martin said, "and
I got to thinking about all those people who leave town for it. Al came
on over, and I asked him if it had any appeal to him. He contributed a
new melody and beat, and it really came together after that."
Oh, well it's Carnival Time, and everybody's having fun.
This CD dedicated to Celeste St. Martin
THIS PAGE IS A WORK IN PROGRESS. STAY TUNED.
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c 2005 Patty Lee Records |
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