I was recently reminded of the song Polk Salad Annie, and it got me thinking about the best songs about Louisiana and New Orleans. Please help me add to the list in the comments section.
LOUISIANA
Polk Salad Annie by Tony Joe White
Louisiana 1927 performed by John Boutte
Louisiana Saturday Night by Benjy Davis Project
Louisiana Saturday Night (completely different song than above) by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Born on the Bayou by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Jambalaya by Hank Williams
Fire On the Bayou by the Neville Brothers
Bluesiama Mama by Marva Wright
Back to Bayou Teche by Sonny Landreth
NEW ORLEANS
I Wish I Was in New Orleans by Tom Waits
City Beneath the Sea by Harry Connick Jr.
Saint James Infirmary by Louis Armstrong
When the Saints Go Marching In by Louis Armstrong
New Orleans by Cowboy Mouth
The Avenue by Cowboy Mouth
Go to the Mardi Gras by Professor Longhair
French Quarter by Delta Spirit
Goin' Back to New Orleans by Dr. John
Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans by Louis Armstrong
Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans by John Boutte
House of the Rising Sun by Leadbelly
Walking to New Orleans by Fats Domino
Marie LaVeau by Oscar Celestin
The Saints Are Coming by the Skids
New Orleans by Ingrid Lucia
New Orleans by Gary U.S. Bonds
They All Ask'd For You by The Meters
21 comments:
"Give Me Louisiana" by Doralice Fontane and John Croom.
"Leavin' Louisiana in the Broad Daylight" - Oak Ridge Boys
"The City of New Orleans"
by Steve Goodman-my favorite version is by John Prine
"Louisiana Man" sung by Doug Kershaw
Tab Benoit-
Louisiana Sunshine, Bayou Breeze, Voodoo on the Bayou
Loretta Lynn AND Conway Twitty sang "Louisiana Woman Mississippi Man" by Becki Bluefield & Jim Owen
Unfortunately, I'll be singing that one all day now.
Since Polk "Salad" is a southern thing, I'm not sure it's necessarily a Louisiana song. Tony Joe White is from Louisiana though.
Steely Dan's "Pearl Of The Quarter" maybe?
Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans by John Boutte
There's a pretty extensive list here and I was glad to see that it included a couple of my favorites, Apache Rose Peacock by the Red Hot Chile Peppers and Shake Your Tambourine which some people associate with the Neville Brothers (they do cover it) but it was written by my late friend Gerald Tillman and is part of the repertoire of the original Uptown Allstars, of which Cyril Neville had no part.
SONGS ABOUT NOLA: Moon Over Bourbon Street (Sting w. Branford Marsalis); House of the Rising Sun (The Animals); Take Me To the Mardi Gras (Paul Simon); Proud Mary (Ike & Tina Turner); Way Down Yonder In New Orleans (Jimmy McPartland); Bourbon Street Parade (Harry Connick Jr.); King Of the Mardi Gras (Tim Laughlin); South Rampart Street Parade (Al Hirt & Orch.); Goin' Back to New Orleans (Dr. John); Carnival Time (Al Johnson); Mardi Gras In New Orleans -and- Big Chief (Professor Longhair); Second Liner (Allen Toussaint);
SONGS ABOUT LA: Evangeline (The Band, w. Emmylou Harris); Southern Nights (Allen Toussaint, live version); Down At the Twist and Shout (Mary Chapin Carpenter); Blue Bayou (Roy Orbison); Billy Bayou (Jim Reeves); Going Back To Louisiana (Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown); Le Sud de la Louisiane (The Magnolia Sisters); Grand Mamou (Waylon Thibodeaux); Louisiana Bound (Crosscut w. Wayne Toups); Americajun (Kane Glaze); Au Bord de Lac Bijou (Zachary Richard); Louisiana Two-Step (Clifton Chenier); Ossun Two-Step (Steve Riley & Mamou Playboys)
MICHAEL: I'M AN INDEPENDENT PROMOTER OF NOLA & LA CULTURE, LIVING IN MONTREAL, CANADA. I'M ALSO "ANONYMOUS" WHO SENT THE ABOVE SONG LIST. DO YOU WANT TO START A GROUP OF ACTIVISTS WHO WANT TO REBUILD NOLA, THROUGH PROMOTING DANCE PARTIES AND OTHER EVENTS OUTSIDE LA? KEEP IN MIND THE VIRTUAL ANONYMITY OF THE CULTURE OUTSIDE LA.
You can email me directly at mhoman AT xula DOT edu
canal street by john lee hooker
My favorite, "Somewhere Down that Crazy River", Robbie Robertson.
Going to New Orleans tomorrow and downloading music! Thanks for the ideas! How in the world has "Home" by Marc Broussard not been mentioned?!
There was the band in the late 70's "Louisiana LaRue" They did lots of NO sons.
I have a question for someone though, I am looking for a song that I heard right after Katrina and all I remember is the lyrics "Gonna wash us away", my husband thinks it was Randy Newman. I would love that cd that has that song on it.
The song is Louisiana 1927. You can read more about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_1927
Check out a new song by a somewhat unknown artist from Louisiana. Go to myspace and look up Frank Foster music. The song is the first one on his play list and it's extremely good. He also has one called the Bayou Bar/Bayou Grill which is great.
For years I've searched for a song not knowing who the artist was. It was from the 70s and was played on Top 40 radio only a handful of times. I'd say it was a southern rock band who did it. I remember distinctly the lyrics "Cause today I'm on my way to Lousiana" and a chorus that went "louise-louise-louis-lousiana". Any help on this? Thanks?
I've just posted a bunch of Louisiana songs on my blog Carnival Saloon, inc Emmylou Harris, Guy Clarke, Lightnin' Hopkins and more.
Take a look here:
State Songs #19: Louisiana
Brand new song, Sailing to New Orleans. Check it out here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ2OTTw4AOw
"This may be your best song yet." Michael Paz, Tour manager for N.O.
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
I've also been trying to find out who did that song that Anonymous asked about. It was a top 40 song from the 70s that included the lyrics "Today I'm on my way to Louisiana... Tomorrow I'll be far away from you... Loui-Loui-Loui-Louisiana... I'm going back to..." Any idea who sang it? Thanks!
Anonymous-
Top 40 hit song you are looking for is "Louisiana" by Mike Kennedy- hit the charts March 1972.
LeRoux - "Take a Ride on a Riverboat" and "New Orleans Ladies"
I KNOW you had this on your blog a long time ago,
but here it is anyway:
the song Anonymous was looking for is:
Louisiana (1972)
by Mike Kennedy
(Michael Volker Kogel),
(Lead Vocals for Los Bravos).
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLSL19Yu2vQ
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