"Hey Pocky A-Way" (PDF) from the Idris Muhammad album, House of the Rising Sun.

The Long Winters bandleader John Roderick suggested on his podcast that the Wikipedia page for Allen Toussaint could be taught as a history course of American music, concluding that Toussaint’s vast influence was apparent throughout seemingly unrelated generations.  The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game for movies is more like the One-or-Two Degrees of Allen Toussaint with music.

Meanwhile, I was listening one morning to WWOZ New Orleans community radio, where Allen Toussaint is celebrated as often as Louis Armstrong, and I heard the trademark sound of trombonist Fred Wesley.  I found myself singing along with his solo, yet I hadn't recalled ever hearing this version before of The Meters' tune “Hey Pocky A-Way."  Thus, my inquisitive nature had to put the pieces together to solve this musical mystery.  Who is this?!

Idris Muhammad was a New Orleans drummer on the same level of cultural significance as Allen Toussaint; he’s either played behind everybody or has influenced everyone else.  Perhaps he was the Clyde Stubblefield of New Orleans in that his playing was often sampled many times, for instance on the Beastie Boys album, Check Your Head.  And to tie up all the historical loose ends, “Hey Pocky A-Way” was originally produced by Allen Toussaint.

Here’s a very brief YouTube video of Fred Wesley with the Icons of Funk, he’s sitting on the opposite side of the stage. You can barely see him in the video, but this concert did happen:

Recommended Reading: Hit Me, Fred: Recollections of a Sideman by Fred Wesley Jr. Published by Duke University Press.