Malcolm "Papa Mali" Welbourne (born May 6, 1957) is an American record producer, guitarist, singer, and songwriter who grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, and lives in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, United States. His debut recording ''Thunder Chicken'', produced by

Dan Prothero Dan Prothero is an American, New Orleans-based independent record producer, recording engineer, and record collector. He has been called "the true king of raw" by

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

for his emphasis on live performance, vintage analog recording technique ...

, has been referred to as "one of the few truly wild and unruly records to come from the rock & roll tradition in the 21st century".

Biography

While still in grade school, he was conning his cousin to take him into the

French Quarter The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans (french: La Nouvelle-Orléans) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Sq ...

so he could buy every element of

Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English multi-instrumentalist and singer best known as the founder, rhythm/lead guitarist, and original leader of the Rolling Stones. Initially a guitarist, he went on to prov ...

's outfit from the front cover of

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

'' High Tides & Green Grass''. He had taken up the guitar at age four, and was learning to play rock and blues by the time he was eleven. At the age of twelve he witnessed The Meters performing on the back of a flatbed truck in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

on Mardi Gras Day. This would influence the young musician. John Campbell took him under his wing when Welbourne was 14, and around that time he started taking the blues seriously. By the time he was 17, he had left home and was hitch hiking around the south, playing guitar on the streets for passing change, playing in

juke joint Juke joint (also jukejoint, jook house, jook, or juke) is the vernacular term for an informal establishment featuring music, dancing, gambling, and drinking, primarily operated by African Americans in the southeastern United States. A juke joint ...

s, forming short-lived bands or backing up blues and soul singers. A trip to Jamaica in 1977 exposed him to reggae music, and a few years later he teamed up with Michael E. Johnson and formed The Killer Bees in 1980. They continued to play for many years, eventually becoming one of the first American bands to perform at Reggae Sunsplash in

Montego Bay, Jamaica Montego Bay is the capital of the parish of St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore, all of which form the Greater Kingston Metropolitan Area, ...

in 1988. Earlier, while on tour with

Burning Spear Winston Rodney OD (born 1 March 1945), better known by the stage name Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer-songwriter, vocalist and musician. Burning Spear is a Rastafarian and one of the most influential and long-standing roots ...

aka

Winston Rodney Winston Rodney OD (born 1 March 1945), better known by the stage name Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer-songwriter, vocalist and musician. Burning Spear is a Rastafarian and one of the most influential and long-standing roots ar ...

and his band, he received the nickname, Papa Mali from the reggae pioneers. By the time the Killer Bees disbanded, Papa Mali went solo. Upon the release of his debut album ''Thunder Chicken'' he remarked that for the first time in his adult life, he was finally able to reflect warmly on the years growing up in Shreveport. In 2007, he released the follow-up, ''Do Your Thing'', also on the Fog City imprint and produced by Dan Prothero. The album included work by Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and the Golden Eagles

Mardi Gras Indians Mardi Gras Indians (also known as Black Masking Indians) are black carnival revelers in New Orleans, Louisiana, who dress up for Mardi Gras in suits influenced by Native American ceremonial apparel. Collectively, their organizations are called ...

Kirk Joseph Kirk Joseph (born 1961) is a jazz sousaphone player from New Orleans, Louisiana. The son of trombonist Waldren "Frog" Joseph, Kirk Joseph began playing the sousaphone while a student at Andrew Bell Middle School, and took part in his first profess ...

, and Henry Butler. By now, Papa Mali was performing at many of the top festivals in the U.S. and abroad. On New Year's Eve of 2008/2009 Papa Mali, Matt Hubbard and former Neville Brothers bassist

James "Hutch" Hutchinson James Hutchinson (born January 24, 1953) is an American session bassist best known for his work with Bonnie Raitt. Though his work takes him nearly everywhere he primarily resides in Studio City, Los Angeles, CA and Haiku-Pauwela, Hawaii. Ca ...

performed with Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann in concert at the Pauela Cannery in Haiku-Pauwela, Hawaii. In 2009 he formed a new band,

7 Walkers 7 Walkers was an American rock band featuring former Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann, guitarist Papa Mali, multi-instrumentalist Matt Hubbard, and bassist George Porter Jr. History The band formed in 2009 out of informal collaborations ...

along with Grateful Dead drummer

Bill Kreutzmann William Kreutzmann Jr. ( ; born May 7, 1946) is an American drummer and founding member of the rock band Grateful Dead. He played with the band for its entire thirty-year career, usually alongside fellow drummer Mickey Hart, and has continued to ...

, The Meters bassist George Porter Jr. (initially with bassist Reed Mathis) and multi-instrumentalist, Matt Hubbard. Their self-titled debut was released on November 2, 2010 on Response Records. The songs were co-written by Papa Mali and Robert Hunter. One of these songs, "King Cotton Blues", featured a duet by Papa Mali and

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...

. The record was recorded in Austin, and produced by Papa Mali. Papa Mali's latest album is '' Music is Love'', released in 2015 is produced by veteran roots producer John Chelew on the

429 Records 429 Records was an American record label. It was a subsidiary label of Savoy Label Group/ Nippon Columbia focusing on indie rock and adult album alternative performers. In addition to releasing new material from musicians such as Dr. John, Littl ...

label. ''Music is Love'' features drummer Johnny Vidacovich, Bassist Casandra Faulconer and features Mike Dillon and Dave Easley on backing vocals. Papa Mali performed at SXSW 2015 on Friday, March 20 at 4:30 and Saturday, March 21 at 4:00.

Selected discography

* The Killer Bees "Scratch The Surface" 1985 - Beehive Records * Killer Bees "Groovin'" (1987) - Jungle Records * Michael E. Johnson and The Killer Bees "Live in Berlin" (1988) -

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record la ...

* The Killer Bees "All Abuzz" (1997) - Mozelle * Papa Mali and the Instigators ''Thunder Chicken'' (2000) –

Fog City Records Fog City Records is an independent record label based in San Francisco. Founded in 1996 by producer/engineer Dan Prothero, the label's first release was ''Coolin' Off'' which helped the career of New Orleans-based band Galactic. This was followed ...

* Imperial Golden Crown Harmonizers "Imperial Golden Crown Harmonizers" (2001) -

Catamount The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...

* Papa Mali ''Do Your Thing'' (2007) –

* Malcom Welbourne, slide guitar on

Omar & the Howlers Omar And The Howlers is a Texas based electric blues and blues rock band, The original Howlers was formed in Hattiesburg, Mississippi in 1973. Three years later they moved to Austin, Texas. The band has regularly toured European countries.

"Boogie Man" (2004) -

Ruf Records Ruf Records is a German independent record label, which was founded in 1994 by Luther Allison’s manager, Thomas Ruf, to promote Allison's career. The motto of the blues label is "Where Blues Crosses Over". The company's office is located in ...

* Papa Mali "Music Is Love" (2015) -

As producer

Ruthie Foster Ruthie Cecelia Foster (born February 10, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter of blues and folk music. She mixes a wide palette of American song forms, from gospel and blues to jazz, folk and soul. She has often been compared to Bonnie Raitt ...

, ''The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster'' (2007) Blue Corn * The Greyhounds, "LIBERTY" (2005) Luther * Lavelle White, "INTO THE MYSTIC" (2004) Antone’s *

, "BIG DELTA" Blind Pig (2002) Blind Pig *

, "THE SCREAMING CAT" (2000) Provogue

With 7 Walkers

* ''

'' (2010) Response Records

References

External links

Official Website

Fog City Records presents: Papa Mali

Papa Mali collection
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

's live music archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Mali, Papa 1957 births Living people American male singers American funk guitarists American male guitarists American funk singers American blues guitarists American blues singers Singers from Louisiana Songwriters from Louisiana Slide guitarists Guitarists from Louisiana 7 Walkers members 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters