He was an icon of New Orleans music, known as the “Creole Beethoven,” who operated mostly behind the scenes as a composer, arranger and producer.
Though not a household name among casual music fans, Wardell Quezergue was an extremely important fixture on the music of New Orleans from the post World War II years until last year when he earned an arranger’s credit for the soundtrack of the HBO series, Tremé. He passed away at the age of 81 on Tuesday, September 6, 2011.
Perhaps best known in more recent years as the arranger on Dr. John’s 1992 homage to his hometown, Goin’ Back to New Orleans, Quezergue’s imprint on hundreds of recordings goes back to the 1950s. He was responsible for the arrangements on such hits as “Mr. Big Stuff” by Jean Knight, “Groove Me” by King Floyd, “Barefootin’” by Robert Parker and two songs by the Dixie Cups, “Iko, Iko” and “Chapel of Love.”
As a composer, his melody and Smokey Johnson’s beat made “It Ain’t My Fault” one of the most celebrated and controversial samples of the hip-hop era. Artists as varied as the rapper Silkk the Shocker and the pop diva Mariah Carey have used portions of the catchy tune in their own songs. Those songs generated millions of dollars in revenue and embroiled Quezergue and Johnson in a contentious lawsuit over copyright that was finally settled earlier in 2011.
More recently, Mos Def and Lenny Kravitz reworked the song as a response to last summer’s BP oil spill with an allstar cast that included the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
For just a hint on the length and breadth of his work, check this page. Though most of his output as an arranger was on recordings, he also worked for singers and other musicians on arrangements for performance. When Kermit Ruffins launched his big band, he hired Quezergue to write the horn charts.
The life of Wardell Quezergue will be remembered at a mass on Monday, September 12 at Corpus Christi Catholic Church at 11 AM.
(Photo credit- Chris Granger)
