rock and roll and rhythm and blues from
the pre-British Invasion era, many of the
records Neil plays are obscure songs by
local artists that didn’t make the Billboard
charts and received limited – if any – local
or national airplay. His personal collection
of 78 and 45 RPM singles and 33 RPM
albums, acquired over two decades of
collecting, numbers in the thousands.
Some of his favorite artists include Ernie
K-Doe, Eddie Bo, Earl King, Tommy
Ridgley and others who may have had only
one national hit or none at all but were
widely known to New Orleanians during
their heyday.
“I tend to lean more toward those types
of songs,” Neil explained. “I throw in some
of the hits from time to time but I have
more of an affinity for the obscure tunes.
It’s nice to give them airplay because they
weren’t getting much of it at the time
when they were released.”
However, Neil’s musical tastes aren’t
solely limited to the New Orleans market.
His vast collection includes pressings by
groups and solo artists who recorded for
labels based in New York, Philadelphia,
Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville and other
major recording centers throughout the U.S.
Over the years, in addition to
interviewing such New Orleans icons
as Clarence “Frogman” Henry, Snooks
Eaglin, Al “Carnival Time” Johnson and
others, Neil has also recorded interviews
with original members of some early
New York-based R&B groups like The
Flamingos, The Clovers, and The Drifters’
Bobby Hendricks, best known for his 1958
solo hit record “Itchy Twitchy Feeling.” At
the time of this interview he was eagerly
anticipating a call from Fred Parris, former
lead singer of The Five Satins (“In the Still
of the Night”).
“I first got into this music when I was
about 13 or 14 years old,” Neil said. “My
dad had some 78s that he’d salvaged from
an old dance hall in Gretna in the late ‘50s
or early ‘60s. So I started digging into them
and some of his 45s and the ones that stood
out for me were the old R&B records. He
had some Ray Charles, Fats Domino and
The Clovers, all on their original labels.
That kind of music excited me in a way
that no music really had before. I guess
that’s where my journey began.”
Reactions to his show and the music
he plays, Neil said, is “positive and
encouraging. A lot of my listeners are older
and they remember the songs and the
artists from when they were still new. I also
g
get feedback from younger people who
are a
just being exposed to this music for
the t
first time and they’re really into it.
T
They’ll call up and ask about an artist or
a
a song I’ve played that they really liked.”
The demographics of his listening
audience, Neil added, “appears to be
about evenly spread between older and
younger people.”
In addition to his radio slot on ‘OZ,
Neil also enjoys doing live deejay gigs for
parties, dances and charitable benefits
using “original vinyl records,” as he put
it. He is currently holding down a steady,
every-other-Friday night slot at the Roaring
‘20s lounge in Terrytown from 9 p.m. to 2
a.m. Standing between the twin turntables,
spinning one disc while cueing up the next
one from his playlist, Neil plays a mix of old
standards and not-so-familiar tunes to the
mostly older crowd which often includes
his parents, Rickie and Karen Pellegrin,
who grew up in that era.
During his deejaying career, Neil has
rubbed shoulders with many musical
celebrities, both local and national, but
some of his favorite memories are of the
late New Orleans bandleader/vocalist,
Tommy Ridgley, whose rocking, horninfused
“Jam Up” became a popular theme
song for a number of deejays’ radio shows
throughout the U.S. in the 1950s.
“Tommy was one of the first artists I
met,” Neil recounted. “I guess I was about
14 or 15. He was a really nice guy. Very
gracious. It was a nice introduction to
the world of ‘50s R&B as far as live artists
and live acts go. It was at Rock & Bowl;
a benefit for Eddie Bo after his club had
burned down. K-Doe was there, too, and a
few others. Tommy sat down with me and
I had some of his 45s and he autographed
both sides of each record. He told me
stories about each one and thanked me for
being a fan.”
Does he have any other interests or
hobbies besides spinning and collecting
old R&B records? Neil replies, “I play
guitar a little but just around the house to
entertain myself. Not publicly, though. I
do a little bit of fishing and I’m kind of a
foodie. I like dining out and trying different
restaurants. But music is definitely the
overwhelming passion in my life. I love it
and the more I hear it the deeper my love
for it gets,” he concluded.
You can hear Neil Pellegrin’s “’50s R&B
Show” every Tuesday evening from 7:00-
10:00 on WWOZ, 90.7 FM. To hire him to
deejay for a party or special event call (504)
343-3863 or email him at BigBeat1950@
gmail.com. ��
a
a
Neil Pellegrin, Ike Turner
Bo Diddley, Neil Pellegrin
Oliver Morgan Al "Carnival Time" Johnson,
Neil Pellegrin, Eddie Bo & Snooks Eaglin
Clarence "Frogman" Henry, Neil
Pellegrin "Jivin' Gene" Mark
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