Deslondes guitarist Riley Downing first ran into “Lawdy Mama” on a New Orleans R&B compilation from the legendary Chess label. It’s a song by Edgar Blanchard, who played lead guitar all over New Orleans while also leading his own post-World War II outfit, the Gondoliers.
“Lawdy Mama” is also the first single from the Deslondes’ Don’t Let It Die Vol. 1 (New West), an analog-friendly, 12-song collection set for release May 22. Co-produced by the band’s John James Tourville and Ajaï Combelic (Sabine McCalla) at the Deslondes’ NOLA studio, it features renditions of songs by Swamp Dogg, Shelby Lynne, Johnny Cash, Clifton Chenier and others—some famous or semi-famous, some regionally revered, some downright obscure.
A sultry slowburner, “Lawdy Mama” falls squarely in the last category. Blanchard recorded it with a few of the Gondoliers in the late ’50s. It would be his only single on Chess and remain unreleased for more than 20 years.
“It was waiting patiently to explode with the most ripping one-note guitar solos I’ve ever heard,” says Downing. “Back when the band used to tour without GPS or cell phones, I put it on a mix CD, and it stayed in one of our many, many binders for years.”
We’re proud to premiere the Deslondes’ cover of “Lawdy Mama” with a video shot during a record-shattering January 2025 snowstorm in the band’s hometown. The clip was filmed and edited by Mike Vaneta.
—Hobart Rowland; photo by Selwynn Figg
See the Deslondes live.
