Professor Longhair - Masters Of The Last Century: Best Of Professor Longhair (2013)

Justly worshipped a decade and a half after his death as a founding father of New Orleans R&B, Roy "Professor Longhair" Byrd was nevertheless so down-and-out at one point in his long career that he was reduced to sweeping the floors in a record shop that once could have moved his platters by the boxful. That Longhair made such a marvelous comeback testifies to the resiliency of this late legend, whose Latin-tinged rhumba-rocking piano style and croaking, yodeling vocals were as singular and spicy as the second-line beats that power his hometown's musical heartbeat. Longhair brought an irresistible Caribbean feel to his playing, full of rolling flourishes that every Crescent City ivories man had to learn inside out (Fats Domino, Huey Smith, and Allen Toussaint all paid homage early and often).

Tracklist:

01. Mardi Gras
02. Hey Little Girl
03. Hey Now Baby
04. How Long Has That Train Been Gone
05. I'm Movin' On
06. Jambalaya (On The Bayou)
07. Rum And Coca-Cola
08. Stagger Lee
09. Tell Me Pretty Baby
10. Tipitina
11. Whole Lotta Lovin'
12. 501 Boogie
13. Big Chief
14. Cry To Me
15. Doin' It, Pt. 2
16. Every Day I Have The Blues
17. Junco Partner
18. Lovely Lady
19. Medley She Walks Right In Shake, Rattle & Roll Sick & Tired
20. Mess Around
21. Goin' To The Mardi Gras