The Wild Tchoupitoulas (album)

The Wild Tchoupitoulas
Studio album by The Wild Tchoupitoulas
Released	1976
Recorded	Sea-Saint Recording Studios, New Orleans
Genre	Mardi Gras Indian music
Length	35:15
Label	Mango
Producer	Allen Toussaint, Marshall Sehorn, Art Neville, Charles Neville

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	A[2]

The Wild Tchoupitoulas is a 1976 album by the New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian tribe The Wild Tchoupitoulas.

The album features the "call-and-response" style chants typical of Mardi Gras Indians. Vocals were provided by George Landry, as "Big Chief Jolly", as well as other members of his Mardi Gras tribe. Instrumentation was provided in part by members of the New Orleans band The Meters. The album also notably features Landry's nephews, the Neville Brothers, providing harmonies and some of the instrumentation. While not a commercial success, the effort was well received critically and the experience recording it encouraged the four Neville brothers to perform together for the first time as a group. Meaningful of the geographic location of New Orleans as a Caribbean city, "Meet de Boys on the Battlefront" is based on the melody and rhythm of Trinidadian calypso artist Lord Invader's 1943 "Rum and Coca Cola" made famous in the U.S. by The Andrew Sisters in 1944.^[3][4][5] In 2012 the album was added to the U.S. Library of Congress' National Registry, a designation of "cultural, artistic and historic importance to the nation's aural legacy."^[6]

Track listing

All tracks composed by George Landry, except as noted.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Brother John" (Cyril Neville)	3:37
2.	"Meet de Boys on the Battlefront" (melody and rhythm based on Rupert Westmore Grant aka Lord Invader's "Rum and Coca Cola")	3:24
3.	"Here Dey Come"	4:07
4.	"Hey Pocky A-Way" (Art Neville, Ziggy Modeliste, Leo Nocentelli, George Porter)	3:59
5.	"Indian Red"	7:21
6.	"Big Chief Got a Golden Crown"	4:01
7.	"Hey Mama (Wild Tchoupitoulas)"	4:46
8.	"Hey Hey (Indians Comin')" (George Landry, Cyril Neville)	4:00

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic and Discogs.^[7]

Composition and arrangement

• George Landry – composer
• Art Neville – arrangement
• Charles Neville – arrangement

Vocals and tribe roles

• Big Chief Jolly – George Landry
• Second Chief – Noman Bell
• Trail Chief – Booker T. Washington
• Flag Boy – Candy Hemphill "Carl" Christmas
• Spy Boy – Amos Landry

Performance

• Art Neville – keyboards, background vocals, producer, composer (track 4)
• Charles Neville – percussion, background vocals, producer
• Cyril Neville – congas, background vocals, composer (tracks 1, 8)
• Aaron Neville – piano, background vocals
• Ziggy Modeliste – drums, composer (track 4)
• Leo Nocentelli – guitar, composer (track 4)
• George Porter, Jr. – bass, composer (track 4)
• Teddy Royal – guitar
• Willie Harper – background vocals

Production

• Allen Toussaint – producer
• Marshall Sehorn – producer
• Roberta Grace – engineer
• Ken Laxton – engineer, remastering, remixing
• Paul A. Howrilla – album jacket design and photography
• Carleatis – artwork
• Photographique Studios – design
• Ruth Kaplan – CD art adaptation

References

1. "Allmusic – The Wild Tchoupitoulas – review". Allmusic.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
2. "Robert Christgau – The Wild Tchoupitoulas – review". robertchristgau.com. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
3. "The Neville Brothers". Paterson & Associates. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
4. "Louisiana Music Factory – Wild Tchoupitoulas". louisianamusicfactory.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
5. "Mardi Gras Indian Tribal Profile – Wild Tchoupitoulas". Mardi Gras Digest. Archived from the original on May 13, 2006. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
6. "The 2012 National Recording Registry With a Twist – March 21, 2013". Library of Congress. March 21, 2013. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
7. Album credits:
   • "Allmusic – The Wild Tchoupitoulas – credits". Allmusic.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
   • "The Wild Tchoupitoulas – Vinyl album". Discogs. 1976. Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
   • "The Wild Tchoupitoulas – CD album". Discogs. 1990. Archived from the original on December 28, 2015. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
   • "Wild Tchoupitoulas album – credits". Louisiana Music Factory. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2015.