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Dr. John Celebrates His Birthday But It’s The Wrong One

Dr. John
wpopp [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC BY-SA 2.5], from Wikimedia Commons
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NEW ORLEANS (CelebrityAccess) Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer Dr. John celebrated his 78th birthday today, Nov. 21, but that isn’t the right age for him, or even the same day of his birth.

Music writer John Wirt at the New Orleans Times-Picayune noted that last year Dr. John, born Malcolm John Rebennack Jr., celebrated his 77th birthday with an intimate gathering at Napoleon House in New Orleans but “can celebrate the same birthday this year.” That’s because Wirt dug up a 1941 issue of the Picayune that announced the birth of M.J. Rebennack at the city’s Baptist Church, and the day of his birth is Nov. 20.

The 1941 date in the Times-Picayune contradicts biographies of Rebennack at Grammy.comAllmusic.comBiography.comimdb.com, The Associated Press, Google and Wikipedia (and NOLA.com and The Times-Picayune),” Witt reported. “Of course, Rebennack’s age is also incorrect in countless published stories and interviews.”

Apparently, Rebennack added a year to his age so he could perform at clubs as a teenager. He has not performed lately following the cancellation of two shows at Tipitina’s last December and a hiatus was announced in January.

Dr. John is “taking a break and resting at home,” publicist, Karen Dalton-Beninato told the paper. “I wouldn’t count out more shows down the road, so stay tuned. The last statement he gave me is: ‘Everything is good.’”

 

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