R&B Singing Legend Jessie Hill Is Dead At 64
Times Picayune 09-24-1996

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Singer Jessie Hill, whose signature song "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" became one of the
most enduring anthems from the golden age of New Orleans rhythm and blues,
died Sept. 17 of kidney and congestive heart failure. He was 64.

"What a tragic loss for New Orleans music," said Bernie Cyrus, executive
director of the Louisiana Music Commission, who adopted Mr. Hill's famous line
as his catch phrase when he hosted "LTV," a Louisiana music show on cable TV.
"Here's a guy who coined a phrase and a song that will live in rock 'n' roll
history forever. He had such a unique thing. He had a way of getting something
out of nothing. He was truly a legend."

"He was like Fess (Professor Longhair) in many ways," said Louisiana Music
Factory co-owner Jerry Brock, a longtime associate of Mr. Hill's. "He and Fess
would write these rhyming, nonsensical lines, like 'ooh poo pah doo.' They
were unique, original artists. I could never get over how creative Jessie was.
He could take the simplest things and make great little funk tunes out of it."

Mr. Hill was part of an extended New Orleans musical family that included
Walter "Papoose" Nelson, Fats Domino's longtime guitarist; vocalist Lawrence
"Prince La La" Nelson and the Lastie clan. He grew up in the 9th Ward and
began playing drums as a child.

In the early 1950s, he put together an R&B band called the House Rockers.
After that band broke up, Mr. Hill drummed with the legendary Professor
Longhair's group and Huey Smith's Clowns.

In 1958 he reassembled the House Rockers and soon thereafter came up with "Ooh
Poo Pah Doo (Pt. I & II)." In "I Hear You Knockin'," a history of New Orleans
rhythm and blues, author Jeff Hannusch said Mr. Hill got the idea from a blues
piano player called Big Four. Mr. Hill jotted the words down on a paper bag
and stuck it in his back pocket. Later he turned the words into one of the
biggest hits to come out of New Orleans in that era.

"We started playing 'Ooh Poo Pah Doo' as a gimmick," Mr. Hill told Hannusch.
"It got real popular everywhere we'd play, so I'd say, 'Y'all ready for my new
record? We're going to cut it pretty soon.' So they were all singing it on my
little circuit. They were ready for it when it did come out."

The song was a classic novelty hit, with nonsensical lines such as "I wanna
tell you 'bout ooh poo pah doo . . . an' I won't stop cryin' till I create a
disturbance in your mind."

Allen Toussaint, the song's producer, first thought it was too goofy to be a
hit. "I didn't think it made sense," he told Hannusch. "I thought songs had to
be more expressive. But when I saw the effect it had on other people, I began
to look at things differently."

Originally released by Minit Records in 1959, the single quickly caught on
locally. By mid-1960, it had risen to No. 28 on the national charts, enabling
Mr. Hill to tour the country. "I hit the road," he said. "The Apollo Theater,
man, I went all across the country. I was making more money than I ever saw in
my life."

But Mr. Hill's subsequent records failed to match the success of "Ooh Poo Pah
Doo," although "Whip It on Me" did crack the Billboard Hot 100.

He moved to California, where he hooked up with fellow New Orleans expatriates
Mac "Dr. John" Rebennack and Harold Battiste, Sonny and Cher's music director,
and began a successful career as a songwriter for other artists. His material
was recorded by artists such as Ike and Tina Turner, Sonny and Cher and Aretha
Franklin.

After a series of mishaps, he moved back to New Orleans in 1977. Waving his
trademark two tambourines, he performed around town with various pick-up
bands, opened shows for Domino and performed annually at the New Orleans Jazz
and Heritage Festival, but he couldn't keep a steady band together and had
difficulties making ends meet as a musician. For a time he drove a cab.

"He had tremendous success and tremendous failure," Brock said. "He had his
ups and downs, and always did."

"Whenever I talked about musicians that didn't get what they deserved, Jessie
was the first person to come to mind," Cyrus said. Mr. Hill was one of "the
R&B stars of New Orleans that had their chance in the sun and didn't get to
see their garden continue to grow. Jessie was in a situation where his garden
had a lot of weeds in it."

"He was a beautiful cat," Brock said. "His life was all about the music. I bet
there's tons of recorded material that hasn't come out and will."

Survivors include his wife, Dorothy Hill; nine daughters, Dorothy Martin, Lois
Andrew and Linda, Cynthia, Sandra, Jessie Lee, Judy, Tonya and Dionne Hill;
five sons, Fritz, Lionel, Terry, Eric and Jessie Hill Jr.; 50 grandchildren;
and 20 great-grandchildren.

A funeral will be held Friday at 8 p.m. at St. James Methodist Church of
Louisiana, 1925 Ursulines Ave. Dismissal will be Saturday at 10 a.m. at the
church, followed by a jazz funeral procession from the church to the Treme
Center for a reception. Burial will be Saturday afternoon in Holt Cemetery.