Jessie Hill (December 9, 1932 – September 17, 1996) was an American R&B and Louisiana blues singer and songwriter, best remembered for the classic song "Ooh Poo Pah Doo".
Hill was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. By his teens he was playing drums in local bands, and in 1951 he formed his own group, the House Rockers. After periods performing as drummer with Professor Longhair and then Huey "Piano" Smith,
![]()
Hill formed a new version of the House Rockers in 1958, which enabled him to focus on singing with the band.
Hill formed a new version of the House Rockers in 1958, which enabled him to focus on singing with the band.The origins of "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" were apparently created from a tune played by a local pianist, who was known only as Big Four. Hill wrote the lyrics and melody, later expanding the work with an intro taken from Dave Bartholomew. It was further honed on stage, before Hill recorded a demo that he shopped to local record labels, finally recording a session at Cosimo Matassa's studio produced by Allen Toussaint.
Upon its early 1960 release, "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" emerged as a favorite at Mardi Gras, selling 800,000 copie and reaching the Top 5 in the US Billboard R&B chart and a Top 30 slot in the Billboard
![]()
Hot 100 pop chart. There have been over 100 cover versions of "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" recorded and performed live over the years by other popular musicians.
The success of the record enabled Hill to tour the country. "I hit the road," he said. "The Apollo Theatre, man, I went all across the country. I was making more money than I ever saw in my life." But Mr. Hill's subsequent records failed to match the success of "Ooh Poo Pah Doo," although "Whip It on Me" did crack the Billboard Hot 100. He then moved to California to work with fellow New Orleans musicians including Harold Battiste and Mac Rebennack. In this period, he wrote songs recorded by Ike and Tina Turner, Sonny and Cher, and Willie Nelson.
Bernie Cyrus, executive director of the Louisiana Music Commission, said "Whenever I talked about musicians that didn't get what they deserved, Jessie was the first person to come to mind," Cyrus said. Mr. Hill was one of "the R&B stars of New Orleans that had their chance in the sun and didn't get to see their garden continue to grow. Jessie was in a situation where his garden had a lot of weeds in it."
![]()
Two of his grandsons are James and Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews. The pair performed "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" in Episode 7 of the HBO series Treme. A third grandson, Travis "Trumpet Black" Hill, was a rising New Orleans-based performer. Trumpet Black died from an infection while on tour in Tokyo on May 4, 2015.
(Edited from Wikipedia ,usgwarchives.net & AllMusic)