Dr. John, pianist-singer who popularized New Orleans sound, dies

Mac Rebennack, the pianist, singer, songwriter and producer better known as Dr. John, who embodied the New Orleans sound for generations of music fans, died Thursday. He was 77.

A family statement released by his publicist said the cause was a heart attack. The statement did not say where he died. He had been living in recent years on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, La.

Rebennack belonged to the pantheon of New Orleans keyboard wizards that includes Professor Longhair, James Booker, Huey “Piano” Smith and Fats Domino. What distinguished him from his peers was the showmanship of his public persona.

Onstage as Dr. John, he adorned himself with snakeskin, beads and colorful feathers, and his shows blended Mardi Gras bonhomie with voodoo mystery.

Rebennack recorded more than 30 albums, including jazz projects (“Bluesiana Triangle,” 1990, with drummer Art Blakey and saxophonist David Newman), solo piano records (“Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack,” 1981) and his version of Afropop (“Locked Down,” 2012). His 1989 album of standards, “In a Sentimental Mood,” earned him the first of six Grammy Awards, for his duet with Rickie Lee Jones on “Makin’ Whoopee!”

His only Top 40 single, “Right Place Wrong Time,” reached No. 9 on the Billboard chart in 1973. In 2011, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. was born in New Orleans on Nov. 21, 1940. His mother, Dorothy (Cronin) Rebennack, worked as a model and in a music store. Rebennack Sr. owned an appliance store. The son, Mac, as he came to be known, was a photogenic baby whose picture appeared on boxes of Ivory Soap.

At a young age, he immersed himself in the sounds of New Orleans, first through the city’s radio stations and then by following his father...