New Orleans Biographies

Gay. Sanctified. Superstar: Notes On The Life Of Gospel Singer Raymond Anthony Myles

Notes On The Life Of Gospel Singer Raymond Anthony Myles (publicity photo)

The greatest gospel singer of his generation, Raymond Anthony Miles was on the cusp of international glory when he was gunned down at the corner of Elysian Fields, and Chartres Street on October 11th, 1998. Decades before, the Queen of Gospel Mahalia Jackson had taken Raymond under her wing when he was a slip of a lad only five years of age. Continue Reading

Soul Food Universal Register

Soul Food Universal Register: LuCretia’s Kitchen, Sam Houston’s Soul House, MP Fish Fry and Soul Food in the Bronx, 3 Sistas Kitchen in the Zipp Zapp

The Ensley Grill was a legendary soul food restaurant in Ensley, Alabama

A cracking hot piece of Whiting fish on Wonder bread with a skift of mayonnaise and a few shots of Crystal Hot Sauce is soul food in its finest form. Whiting is not a fish you see on New Orleans menus but as you travel north and up into the Deep South you’ll find it’s quite common in Mississippi and Alabama. Golden Flake potato chips make a great side dish for a Whiting sandwich. Continue Reading

New Orleans Biographies

‘I Don’t Need To Be A Millionaire.’ Notes On The Life Of Anthony ‘Tuba Fats’ Lacen

Notes On The Life Of Anthony ‘Tuba Fats’ Lacen (photo: The Daily Spectrum)

Back in the eighties you could regularly find Anthony ‘Tuba Fats’ Lacen performing live at Jackson Square in New Orleans’ French Quarter. He was already famous as a founding member of Dirty Dozen Brass Band but he kept it real on the streets by playing for tips tossed in a plastic bucket on the stone flagons of the sidewalks. Continue Reading

RIP: Rest In Peace

Rest In Peace: Gert Town Native Tami Lynn aka Gloria Brown

Publicity photo of Gert Town Native Tami Lynn aka Gloria Brown

New Orleans native Tami Lynn née Gloria Brown is dead at 78 years of age. I wrote a feature on her recently for my New Orleans Album of the Week series.

“Do you remember your first love affair?”

Tami Lynn née Gloria Brown whispers on Introduction To A Love Affair, the first cut off her debut LP Love Is Here and Now You’re Gone.

It’s heart-wrenching.

Tami Lynn grew up in the hard-scrabble Gert Town section of New Orleans 16th Ward. To this day there are parts of the neighborhood that have dirt streets and houses without indoor plumbing. more