Artist:   Dr. John
Song:   "I Walk On Guilded Splinters"
Album: Gris-Gris
Label:   Atco
Year:    1968

New Orleans will put some voodoo on you, whether you believe in it or not. When you’re walking down Decatur in the French Quarter, or riding the streetcar out St. Charles, there is something in the air. You can’t see it, but you can definitely feel it. It goes back hundreds of years, to when the first slaves arrived from Africa and were sold in Congo Square. Their black magic was used as survival tools, and damned if it didn’t work. Dr. John grew up in the Crescent City, and learned fast the ins and outs of the spirit world. When he recorded his debut album Gris-Gris on leftover studio time from Sonny & Cher sessions, he went right for the music of the spheres and “I Walk on Guilded Splinters” became a theme song for his in crowd fans. It’s as much a chant as a song, but either way it evokes dark nights where ceremonies are being held to connect with the other side: mojo hands and black cat bones are being thrown while the conga drummers and horn players circle up in a steamy gumbo of sound. The magic must have worked, because a couple of years later Johnny Jenkins recorded the song on his Ton-Ton Macoute! album, which ended up being sampled by Beck on “Loser.” How’s that for hitting a jambalaya jackpot? The good Doctor deserves no less.