It’s the House of Blues. No, really. Actor Hugh Laurie (Dr. Gregory House on “House”) is showing the world he has more tricks to pull than just acting.
His debut album, Let Them Talk, is a collection of classic New Orleans-style blues songs. With the help of Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, Dr. John and producer Joe Henry, Laurie was able to put his own spin on a number of time-honored songs. Let Them Talk is certainly a juxtaposition of a British actor releasing an album where he hoots, hollers and belts out old blues tunes. Laurie is the first to admit the album is unconventional and unexpected, as he made this unapologetic declaration on his website: “Let this record show that I am a white, middle-class Englishman, openly trespassing on the music and myth of the American South.”
Of all the “remixed” songs on his album, Laurie does an exceptional number on single “Swanee River” (also referred to as “Old Folks at Home” or “Suwannee River”), written by Stephen Foster in 1851. This song, Florida’s state song, is a somber interpretation of plantation life during the 19th century. Foster is often considered America’s first great songwriter, having also written “Oh! Susanna” and “Camptown Races.” Many of his songs were centered around life during that time, including slavery. His original lyrics for “Swanee River” were considered racially insensitive but were modernized years later: “When I was playing wid my brudder/Happy was I/Oh! Take me to my kind old mudder/Dere let me live and die.” Although it’s a far cry for an English actor-turned-musician, this is a perfect breakout song for Laurie to work through cultural barriers.
Through his vocals and piano playing, Laurie invites an upbeat, revised syncopation in his adaptation of “Swanee River,” a traditionally melancholic song.
The original version has an old, patriotic sound—the lyrics protracted and often sung as a chorale. Laurie’s about face with “Swanee River” turns the classic into something to dance to. (In the background, he can actually be heard cackling with delight.) The song, in particular, was a defining moment in Laurie’s discovery and love of blues music.
Laurie began piano lessons at 6 years old, and it was in his first few months of lessons that he was introduced to “Swanee River.” However, he explained on this website, his teacher scoffed at the music’s “Negro Spiritual – Slightly Syncopated” description and quickly flipped the page of the lesson book.
It wasn’t just the piano lessons that brought about Laurie’s interest in music. Around age 10, he his first heard a blues song on the radio and he was enlightened. “One day a song came on the radio—I’m pretty sure it was ‘I Can’t Quit You Baby’ by Willie Dixon—and my whole life changed,” the website reads. “A wormhole opened between the minor and major third, and I stepped through into Wonderland.” From there, Laurie said he was hooked on the blues and has followed blues musicians, especially guitarists and pianists, for most of his life.
While it appears Laurie has sauntered into a genre of music only for a minute or two before hobbling back over to Fox studios to diagnose a dying patient with the rarest autoimmune disease, he is obviously onto something more. It’s not just a phase. This is no Paris Hilton one-hit-nonwonder. Laurie’s endeavor is backed by a lifetime of following and loving the blues.
For many of us, it will be hard to separate Laurie from Dr. House. Although it’s not unusual for an episode of the show to conclude with him tinkering around on his piano, it’s still hard to picture him without his signature bottle of Vicodin, cane and American accent. Turns out, he’s not a grumpy doctor; he’s a normal guy who’s just singing the blues.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSb1mmtYN6s
