What a Wonderful World: Dr. John's "Ske-Dat-De-Dat" Tribute to Louis Armstrong Returns to Vinyl

What a Wonderful World: Dr. John’s “Ske-Dat-De-Dat” Tribute to Louis Armstrong Returns to Vinyl

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The late Mac Rebennack, a.k.a. Dr. John, frequently drew on the classic sounds of New Orleans as he conjured his own musical voodoo. Appropriately enough, his final studio album was a tribute to one of the most significant figures to ever emerge from the Crescent City. 2014’s Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch celebrated the legendary Louis Armstrong as only Dr. John and his friends could do. Now, it’s returning from The Last Music Company in a new vinyl pressing on June 5, one day before the first anniversary of Dr. John’s passing.

Dr. John claimed that Satchmo came to him in a dream, inspiring him to record the album. “I tried to make the songs fit me the best I could,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “I hope I was always true to the music. I have no idea what the world’s gonna ever say about what that is. But you know what? I felt like I gave it my best.” He also called upon a number of his famous friends to join in the fun. They included Bonnie Raitt, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Shemekia Copeland, Arturo Sandoval The McCrary Sisters, Terence Blanchard, The Blind Boys of Alabama, and trombonist Sara Morrow (also the co-producer of the album).

Dr. John wasn’t content to merely replicate the original arrangements of the classic songs including “What a Wonderful World,” “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams,” “Gut Bucket Blues,” and “Mack the Knife.” Instead, he incorporated slinky funk grooves, rhythmic hip-hop beats, and brassy horn charts that proved just how forward-thinking Louis Armstrong was. Ske-Dat-De-Dat turned out to be one of Dr. John’s most thrilling, contemporary works. The album begins with “What a Wonderful World” and ends with “When You’re Smiling (The Whole World Smiles with You)” – two statements of positivity and uplift that are just what the good Doctor ordered for today’s troubled times.

Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch was met with critical acclaim upon its initial release and reached No. 1 on the U.S. Jazz Albums chart while also charting in the top half of the Billboard 200. On June 5, you can revisit this imaginative modern classic from The Last Music Company. You’ll find the track listing and pre-order links below!

Dr. John, Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch (Concord CRE-35187, 2014 – reissued The Last Music Company, 2020) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

What a Wonderful World (4:11) w/ The Blind Boys of Alabama and Nicholas Payton
Mack the Knife (6:13) w/ Mike Ladd and Terrence Blanchard
Tight Like This (4:52) w/ Telmary and Arturo Sandoval
I’ve Got the World on a String (4:04) w/ Bonnie Raitt
Gut Bucket Blues (2:47) w/ Nicholas Payton
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child (4:45) w/ Anthony Hamilton
That’s My Home (3:55) w/ The McCrary Sisters and Wendell Brunious
Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen (4:37) w/ The McCrary Sisters and Ledisi
Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (6:36) w//The Blind Boys of Alabama and Terrance Blanchard
Dippermouth Blues (4:28) w/ James “12” Andrews
Sweet Hunk O’ Trash (4:19) w/ Shemekia Copeland
Memories of You (5:03) w/ Arturo Sandoval
When You’re Smiling (The Whole World Smiles with You) (2:42) w/ The Dirty Dozen Brass Band

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.