James Booker Medly: Tico Tico & Papa Was a Rascal
Its been written that if you ask anybody who is not from New Orleans who is the greatest pianist from the Big Easy, you will hear names like Professor Longhair, Allen Toussaint, Fats Domino, Dr. John and Harry Connick Jr. Ask anybody from New Orleans who is the best pianist and they’ll tell you 9 out of 10 times, James Booker. I remember seeing him at Jazz Fest a lot but I only got to the Maple Leaf Bar just once to see this genius. As you can see by the picture, it was an intimate setting holding no more than 200 people if that much. Admission was never more than .00 or .00 back then. Anyways……….. Booker starts this medley sort of slow but hold on when you get to about the 3 minute mark. No way anyone can “learn to play” like this. As with most geniuses, Booker had his demons and eventually, they caught up with him This amazing talent died on November 8, 1983, while seated in a wheelchair, waiting to be seen at the emergency room at New Orleans Charity Hospital. He was just 43 years old. The cause of death was renal failure. His death was mourned by music lovers, but was unsurprising to those who were aware of his life-long history of serious drug abuse and chronic alcoholism.
Video Rating: 5 / 5
One of Larry Miranda’s earlier Kundiman recording is this song “Huling Habilin” which later appeared in the LP (Long Playing vinyl phonograph album) “Salamisim” published under the “Plaka Filipino” label of Vicor Music Corporation (Undated). The composer and lyricist of this song was not mentioned in the said album. Noticeable is Larry’s different style of singing in this vintage recording with a much deeper and fuller voice compared to the quality of his voice as heard in his later but very popular recordings (eg Lumang Simbahan, Marupok na Sinta etc.). Perhaps not wanting his voice to be identified or compared with that of Ruben Tagalog’s, his contemporary, Larry later on changed his style of singing to create a unique identity through his voice. Larry Miranda had been singing his way to “countless amateur contests before he made it to the top rated La Tondena Singfest in 1956 and from then on, Larry’s stardom “steadily rose on stage, radio and records.” As a teenager during the late 80’s I remember the late radio announcer Rafael “Paeng” Yabut one time narrated in his morning radio program which features old Filipino and English songs that Larry Miranda died at an early age (probably in his early or mid forties) due to complications from chronic alcoholism. .
Video Rating: 5 / 5