Vinyl Vault — Dr. John, “City Lights”

The next time the Vinyl Vault rolls around it will be Fat Tuesday, so we’ll hear some New Orleans inspired music in the form of Dr. John and his 1978 album “City Lights.” The album was released on the Horizon Label, a subsidiary of A&M Records.

Dr. John was backed on this album by mostly New York studio musicians, but the NOLA gumbo permeated the entire session. That’s mainly because Dr. John wrote all the songs, either alone or with help from Doc Pomus, who was a frequent collaborator. Of course, Dr. John sang and played piano and it’s clear from listening to the album, he was in charge of the session.

Dr. John was joined by Steve Gadd on drums, Will Lee on bass, Richard Tee on additional keyboards, Hugh McCracken and John Tropea on guitars and Arthur Jenkins on percussion. Some of the horn players appearing on the album included David Sanborn, Plas Johnson, Charlie Miller and Alvin Batiste.

KUVO will be celebrating Fat Tuesday and the Vinyl Vault will help keep the good times rolling with Dr. John. Check out the Vinyl Vault on Tuesday, February 13 at 8:30 p.m. with host Geoff Anderson.

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