Prince La La

New Orleans R&B cult icon Prince La La was born Lawrence Nelson in 1936. A product of the Crescent City's Ninth Ward district, he was the brother of guitarist Walter "Papoose" Nelson, one of the signature guitarists in producer <a href="spotify:artist:4J7xpEpjniTZGE73PxVfkw">Dave Bartholomew</a>'s ace session band. Lawrence began his career as a songwriter, and became a recording artist almost by accident: producer Harold Battiste planned to record Lawrence's "She Put the Hurt on Me" with singer <a href="spotify:artist:6uJZLuhxKK0kNUcoGNIy9k">Barbara George</a>, but was so intrigued by Lawrence's rough-edged demo vocal that at the last minute he called upon the writer to sing the song himself. Issued in mid-1962, "She Put the Hurt on Me" proved the maiden release on Battiste's <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22A.F.O.%22">A.F.O.</a> label, and was credited to Prince La La. <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22A.F.O.%22">A.F.O.</a>'s publicity photos featured Lawrence in an eccentric yet regal costume drawn from both African and Mardi Gras traditions, and his otherworldly persona deeply affected up-and-coming New Orleans musician Mac Rebennack, who borrowed much of La La's image in creating his own "<a href="spotify:artist:320TrJub4arztwXRm7kqVO">Dr. John</a>, the Night Tripper" guise. A second Prince La La single, "Gettin' Married Soon," followed by year's end, but in 1963 Lawrence suffered a fatal drug overdose; he was just 27 at the time of his death. Childhood friend <a href="spotify:artist:3UkipLT2iOWfUxOqIWGjG4">Oliver Morgan</a> later issued the tribute record "Who Shot the La La?" ~ Jason Ankeny