Malcolm John Rebennack (born November 21, 1940), better known by his stage name Dr. John, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz, boogie woogie and rock and roll. Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he gained a cult following in the late 1960s following the release of his album Gris-Gris and his appearance at the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music. He performed a wildly theatrical stage show inspired by medicine shows, Mardi Gras costumes and voodoo ceremonies. Rebennack has recorded more than 20 albums and in 1973 scored a top-10 hit with "Right Place, Wrong Time".
Rebennack was always fascinated with New Orleans voodoo, and in Los Angeles he developed the idea of the Dr. John persona for his old friend Ronnie Barron. He recalls reading about the original Doctor John in his youth, a purported Senegalese prince who came to New Orleans from Haiti, a medicinal and spiritual healer. The Doctor was a free man of color who lived on Bayou Road and claimed to have 15 wives and over 50 children. He maintained a fascination with reptiles and kept an assortment of snakes and lizards, along with embalmed scorpions and animal and human skulls. His specialization was healing, and as such, in selling gris-gris, voodoo amulets that protected the wearer from harm. "Well, there was a guy the name of Dr. John, a hoodoo guy in New Orleans. He was competition to Marie Laveau. He was like her opposite. I actually got a clipping ... about how my great-great-great-grandpa Wayne was busted with this guy for runnin' a voodoo operation in a whorehouse in 1860. I decided I would produce the record with this as a concept." Rebennack imagined that this character could front an interesting stage show, while serving as an emblem of New Orleans heritage. Although initially the plan was for Barron to front the act assuming the identity of "Dr. John", while Rebbenack worked behind the scenes as Dr. John's writer/musician/arranger/producer, this didn't come to pass. Barron dropped out of the project, and Rebennack somewhat apprehensively took over the role (and identity) of Dr. John. Gris-Gris became the name of Dr. John's debut album, representing his own form of "voodoo medicine".

Q: What was the voodoo influence ?
A: Rebennack was always fascinated with New Orleans voodoo,
So what did he do with the Dr John persona ?
he developed the idea of the Dr. John persona Rebennack imagined that this character could front an interesting stage show, while serving as an emblem of New Orleans heritage. Rebennack imagined that this character could front an interesting stage show, while serving as an emblem of New Orleans heritage. He recalls reading about the original Doctor John in his youth, a purported Senegalese prince who came to New Orleans from Haiti, a medicinal and spiritual healer.
He recalls reading about the original Doctor John in his youth, a purported Senegalese prince who came to New Orleans from Haiti, a medicinal and spiritual healer.