Musical Meditations
#3, The Wild Tchoupitoulas, “The Wild Tchoupitoulas”
“Mighty Kootie Fiyo…”
My stereo started to blare that when I had, “by mistake,” started to play side 2 of this week’s Musical Meditation. The truth is, when we play a record there is no wrong or right place to start, just as there never is a wrong or right place to most things in life. That is where I am this week, slightly hopeful, and cautiously optimistic. I hope you are there with me too. So here it comes, the third edition of my Musical Meditations.
That vocal run: “Mightyyyy Kootie Fiyooo…” Oh lord, that vocal run. It may just be one song on the whole record, but this one song on The Wild Tchoupitoulas self-titled effort The Wild Tchoupitoulas, titled “Indian Red,” was the inspiration behind this week’s Meditation. The moment it started to sound I got brought back to my own childhood, weirdly. My childhood has no connection whatsoever to the aesthetic and cultural origins behind this album — I didn’t grow up in a funk-loving household, quite the opposite in fact, and I’m clearly not indigenous-American (although Chris Columbus might disagree). “Indian Red,” however, was sung in a style that transported me to the musical tradition of rural southern India; the lilting, high-register voice tiptoeing on the verge of being a yodel. Anyhow, let’s get to the meat of the subject since this record is about the complete album, just not one song. So here it is, The Wild Tchoupitoulas by The Wild Tchoupitoulas.
What stands out most about this album is that it is, in my music-listening experience, one of the first Afro-indigenous records. While indeed fronted by The Wild Tchoupitoulas — a vocal group with the likes of Big Chief Jolly (George Landry), Spy Boy (Amos Landry), Flag Boy (Carl Christmas), Trail Chief (Booker Washington), and Second Chief (Norman Bell) — you’ll find that there’s a lot more going on here than just the harmonizing of human sound. You’ll be greeted by funky rhythms, guitars, keys, all kinds of instrumental gold, which may make you wonder who the provider of all that gold is. The answer to that question is the pioneering New Orleans funk outfit The Meters. Led by the Neville brothers (Arthur, Charles, Cyril, and Aaron, all nephews of Big Chief Jolly) on keys, percussion, congo, and piano, The Meters also include Leo Nocentelli and Teddy Royal on guitar, George Porter Jr. on bass, and Joseph Modeliste on drums.
With their musical powers in conjunction, The Meters and The Wild Tchoupitoulas bring out a mardi gras parade from the speakers in your stereo. Starting with the jive-filled “Brother John” the album immediately states its intent — it will make you dance, it will make you sing, and more importantly, enjoy the tribal experience that underlies listening to music. Admittedly, side A of this album hinges on a lower-key kind of celebration, more unity and happiness, sunshine and marijuana sitting on a grassy knoll than running and dancing through the city. Maybe Big Chief Jolly thought to himself that his album should start slow, I’ll never know, but side A of The Wild Tchoupitalas has a marked soul influence as far as genre goes. Overall though, this album is a funk staple and stands alone in that regard. For all the slower comings-on of side A, however, side B packs a punch harder than some James Brown records can (high praise, I know, but post-listen I would not believe it if you still disagreed with me).
Flip, insert, lift, set. And then it began, my favorite track on the record, “Indian Red.” In my eyes, this song, in 7 minutes and 22 seconds, ends up standing out as a representative for the album as a whole. Beginning with a meditative call and response from the Tchoupitoulas acapella, the song seems mournful and longing for a past that, to me, only they seem to see. Once the song chugs along, though, it picks up and catches you, thwarting that infectious longing and turning it into something wholly new and filled with energy. By the end “Indian Red” turns into a funky jam-chant, with a groove so smooth it’ll make any hater a head-bopper, and that is only setting the stage for the rest of side B.
The show-stealing side of the record, in my opinion, side B carries on with the cool “Big Chief Got a Golden Crown” and the even smoother “Hey Mama(Wild Tchoupitoulas),” the latter in my opinion should be a staple for any DJ’s out there spinning wax. I’m 100% confident I’ve heard versions of the groove on “Hey Mama(Wild Tchoupitoulas)” sampled on countless rap songs and beats. Ending with the much more soulful “Hey Hey(Indian Coming),” Big Chief Jolly and his group of honey-crooners, accompanied by The Meters, accomplish a record that’s on the surface extremely fun, and peppered with high-caliber musicality. Looking under the hood and examining it a little bit, however, you’ll find many curious qualities that link this record to many movements within contemporary and future genres.
The Wild Tchoupitoulas may be a Funk/Soul record on the surface, but it is filled with the kind of variety that only the Bayou can have. It is available for purchase on vinyl through discogs, and digitally on Spotify, and wherever else you would like to find your music. I hope you get to share in this gift with me. Until then, salutations.
