Hugh Laurie - Tipitina (The Story Behind the Song) video free download

Jason Carpp

I've always loved "Tipitina", and to hear Hugh Laurie play it, it's simply awesome!

Enus Calloway

he has total respect for the song and for Fess!  I saw Fess in NYC just before he passed away. Is Lauie's version more approachable?  Yeah, If you don't feel Fess, but if you can't feel Fess you miss the whole damn point of Lauie playing the song!

KeladryL

This is one of my favorite tracks from "Let Them Talk," and I really liked the story Hugh told about "Tipitina" and Professor Longhair at Hugh's Queen Mary gig a couple months ago. (I don't know what the song means, either, but I think both Hugh's and Professor Longhair's versions are brilliant.)

Neo K

It's blues dude, the artists are allowed to "jazz it up" and go out of tune or as you say sing awfully, many blues artists are like that, Louis Armstrong for instance sounded awful, but then again there's something about his gravely out of tune voice that makes his songs sound good.

Kyle May

Have you heard Professor Long Hair? By all technical standards the original singer was awful, but that doesn't mean he wasn't fantastic.

Queenbee2001

Love this CD! Go Hugh Laurie! EB

wubqueen

so talented

phillippibeard

@nwodog New Orleans is a city of accents - Creole French, Afro-Caribbean, Cuban/Latino and even Vietnamese. When he's singing, Laurie's patois wouldn't raise a single eyebrow in the Big Easy. My only complaint, and it's a minor one, is that Laurie doesn't push the envelope. Dr. John, for example, doesn't limit himself to Longhair's lyrics, and when it comes to improvising on the keyboard, Matthew Ball goes further than all of the above.

phillippibeard

I know from personal experience that tipitina is an old New Orleans slang term meaning drunk woman. It is a concatenation of "tipi" as in so drunk that she's about to tip over and "Tina" a generic female name. I have always assumed that's what Professor Longhair meant because that's what it meant to everybody else back then.

phillippibeard

@nwodog I think you have missed a significant point. Laurie is emulating Henry Roeland Byrd (Professor Longhair) in a style known as Blues Shouting. Traditionally, the shouters couldn't sing, so the "lousy" vocals became an art form in their own right. I assure you that Laurie's rendition is spot on perfect.

Tam Nightingale

Does anyone else want that dude on the left to skate into an AIDS tree?

abzversion3

"i didn't mean to cut you off"??!! fuck you, don't cut the man off if you didn't mean to! nobody wanted to hear you anyway!

20to30

I like his album very much, especially this song. It makes me happy every time, when i listening to his album. Somebody said it's a copy, but I like it, I like his voice.

Kostas Blue

@osianjones25 Damn you 're right....But it's a pity...I mean the "other guy" is Joe "mothaf....ing" Henry....He is a G-E-N-I-U-S at producing blues...That's why the album has great amount of blues feeling and dirt even though it's polished 2011 production....!!!!But you are right...I myself wanted to hear Hugh's opinion about the songs...!!!!So thumbs up to you osianjones25 ;P

IndependentGeorge76

i always thought Tipitina was a pimping song.... "hurry, hurry, Roberta Girl, you have company waiting for you at home. Why don't you hurry little Roberta girl, hurry don't leave that boy alone" and "little Mama wants a dollar". Hugh Laurie seems a nice guy, but really, whats the point buying a copy when you can go out and get the real thing by Fess' original, or Dr John's versions.

IndependentGeorge76

Laurie seems like a nice guy and can get about on the piano, but really if you want to hear the real deal check Professor Longhair or Dr John's version.

bluejellybean

Joe Henry is a Grammy-winning producer, not to mention an incredible singer-songwriter with more talent than Hugh Laurie could ever dream of having. Who do you think got all these musicians together for Hugh? JOE! So who cares if he monopolizes the conversation. Hugh looks terribly out of his league.

thebr0wnhornet

also he's playing it way too slow

thebr0wnhornet

On WWOZ the other day I heard from one of Professor Longhair's former acquaintances that this song was written about a weed selling hustler project chick with a peg leg. They used to drive up and Tina would tippy toe out to them on her peg leg, so they started calling her tipi-tina. Don't know if that's true but It came from a reliable source and it makes sense if you know New Orleans

Hugh Laurie

Hugh Laurie - Tipitina.avi