MY DARLIN' NEW ORLEANS

Leigh’s signature song, My Darlin’ New Orleans, was first performed by The Jazz Poetry Group. The lyrics were written by Ron Cuccia, with music by Ramsey McLean and Charles Neville.  As Ramsey put it, the song came to life when Leigh put her distinctive vocal stamp on it. 

Ron also wrote a poem called Streets that was a nod to the French Quarter, that the Jazz Poetry Group performed seperately, with Ron reciting the words. The Percolators adapted the song and released it on a 45 in 1981. Leigh re-recorded it for her CD Purple Heart in 2006, putting Streets and My Darlin’ New Orleans into a single amazing track. 

In 1872, when the Krewe of Rex was formed, they chose an English Music Hall song, If Ever I Cease to Love, as their theme song, to honor the King of Carnival. The song was written by George Leybourne as a comedy number. 

Over the years, Rex used several different versions of the song, but Leigh’s version is undoubtably the best. Out of all the versions of the song, Rex chose her version for their 2020 Mardi Gras Festivities.

Spring is here and with it, the beginning of Louisiana festival season!

From Leigh’s brilliant Polychrome Junction album is her rendition of Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most, written by Fran Landesman and Tommy Wolf.  

Originally performed as a ballad by Ella Fitzgerald, Betty Carter, Sarah Vaughan, Barbra Streisand, (and many more), Leigh makes the song her own by putting a cool latin feel to it, laid down by Michael Skinkus and Karl Budo, with keys by Josh Paxton and David Ellington. 

The featured song this week is Gumbo Heaven. First performed by Little Queenie & the Percolators, and later released on their Home CD, Leigh revived and expanded it for her

Waking Up in Dreamland CD. 

Gumbo Heaven is a song about, what else, the making of gumbo and waiting for it to cook down. Leigh recorded the rhythm section in Raleigh, NC, and tracked the background vocals in New Orleans. On top of a nice fat New Orleans groove, Leigh and the choir make some beautiful harmonies - the wonderful sound of vocalists who have known each other for years, letting loose in the studio – one take, no overdubbing - just as it happened. 

Leigh divided the vocalists into four groups, and gave them their parts to sing. She told the  singers to just ad lib the ending, and she would fade it out, but the vocals were too good to lose, so this is the full glory, all of it, with Leigh’s bon mot at the end. Doesn’t come much better than this.

Musicians: 

Keyboards: Leroy Plock; Guitar: Luke Payne; Bass: Rick Ledbetter; Drums: Mike Appolonia.

Vocalists: 

Holley Bendsen, Suzy Malone, Susan Cowsill, Darcy Malone, Andre Bohen, Alex MacDonald, Janson Lohmeyer, John Meurnier.

From Leigh’s Polychrome Junction CD, with Josh Paxton and David Ellington on keys, comes a breathtaking rendition of Cloudburst. 

Written in 1954, it was first recorded by Claude Cloud and his Thunderclaps as an instrumental.  In 1955 Jon Hendricks added lyrics, and released it the same year. Covered by over 20 artists, Leigh puts her own spin to the song, delivering the rapid fire lyrics clean as a whistle. 

Just the thing to wake up to …

It’s Jazz Fest season again, and time to remember the many times Leigh performed there, with the Percolators and as a solo, backed by her choir, the Pfister Sisters, Bonerama, Twangorama, Jimmy Robinson, CC Adcock, Spencer Bohren, John Vidacovich, Josh Paxton, David Ellington, and many more.

As some of us remember back in 1977, Little Queenie and the Percolators turned in a hot

show at the Jazz Fest. This set was recorded, and later released on a CD called Home. From that CD came a live version of Telephone Sleeping in My Bed Tonight, co-written

with John Magnie.

In THE INTERVIEWS: Episode 3 with John Magnie (from 17:00 in), John talks about the creation of Telephone, how she wrote the lyrics, and John came up with the clever introduction – the piano mimicking the sound of a telephone busy signal - and the song blossomed from there.

John loved the lyrics and he recites them in the interview. The First verse ...

Telephone sleepin’ in my bed tonight

Dozed off hours ago

Didn’t really want to wake up, so I turned off the light and

I turned down the radio

So click on PLAY and have a listen. You can also hear her studio version from

her House of Secrets  CD.

By the way, we still have a bunch of Home  CDs, so if you want one, please contact us

through NOLADIVA@TRIAD.RR.COM

At the 2005 Jazz Fest, from the Jazz Tent Stage, Leigh turned in a massive brass horn infused set that included I Put A Spell on You, Woodstock, and Paint This Town Blue. 

Featured for the 2026 Jazz Fest (from Leigh’s Live at Jazz Fest 2005 album) is I Am The Walrus, done in true Little Queenie style. Leigh announces “Walrus” with one of the most appropriate song introductions ever:

“No Jazz Festival gig in the Jazz Tent would be complete without a Beatles tune.” 

Jimmy Robinson recalls Mark Mullins, Craig Klein, and the late Brian O'Neill, played horns, with Jimmy doing the arrangements. Jimmy shares with us one of the charts he wrote for Walrus, and kudos again go to Jimmy for his hard work on the show.. 

Enjoy, and remember seeing her there on stage … 

The 2006 Jazz Fest was surreal – it was the first one after the Katrina flood, a scant 8 months later, and the people of New Orleans were all still in a state of shock, seeing their city destroyed, people gone or dead, and “normal” long gone.

It was amazing the Fest was even put on, but the city needed it badly, just to have a place to get together, enjoy some music, dance, and, as Satchmo said, “put it all behind you”.  At the show, people were hugging each other, just to feel connected again - reunions with people scattered by the flood, but all glad to be there, and to see Leigh again. 

Leigh was given a morning slot, Sunday, April 30th at 11:30 - in the WWOZ Jazz Tent - and she gave it her all. The show started with sparse attendance, the first show of the day at the Fest, but the tent filled up quickly with appreciative fans. 

Leigh produced the show from her home in NC - a flurry of charts, MP3s, emails, texts, and phone calls. The musicians included C.C. Adcock, Jimmy Robinson and Spencer Bohren on guitars, Josh Paxton and Larry Siebert on keys, Paul Clement on bass, John Vidacovich on drums, Alex MacDonald on washboard, her choir with the Pfister Sisters, the Bonerama Horns, and more. No rehearsal, just get up there and do it. And they did.

The 2006 Jazz Fest Show has just been released on her Leigh Harris Little Queenie YouTube Playlist.  From that show is our featured track I Put A Spell On You. 

Leigh cuts loose on it, and the band delivers in spades. Really powerful ...