Professor Longhair

Professor Longhair's contribution to the New Orleans musical vocabulary is immeasurable. In addition to penning the standards "Mardis Gras in New Orleans" and "Tipitina," he was a major influence on pretty much every pianist who ever played in that town. His rollicking style is Creole itself, with Rumba, Calypso, and Merengue flourishes all popping up here and there in R&B structures. His wandering yelp of a vocal delivery is almost never on key, but who cares? He embodies the indescribable thing about New Orleans: good music, good times, and the sleazier the better. With an infectious love of his craft, he effortlessly kept in check a sound that was always on the brink of disaster. Unutterably charming, and transcendently cool.