Play it one more time Oliver “Who Shot The LaLa” Morgan
Oliver ‘Who Shot the La La’ Morgan dead at 74
Times Picayune
By Keith Spera
Music writer
Oliver Morgan, the New Orleans rhythm & blues vocalist best known for his 1964 hit “Who Shot the La La,” died Tuesday in Atlanta. He was 74.
Mr. Morgan grew up in the 9th Ward alongside Fats Domino, Jessie Hill and Smiley Lewis. He sang in church and with friends from the neighborhood. He recorded his first singles in 1961 for AFO Records under the pseudonym “Nookie Boy.”
Three years later, “Who Shot the La La,” a whimsical take on the mysterious 1963 death of singer Lawrence “Prince La La” Nelson — who was not shot, but died of an apparent drug overdose — became his first and only national hit. Recorded at one of famed engineer Cosimo Matassa’s studios and released by the GNP-Crescendo label, the strutting party anthem featured keyboardist Eddie Bo, who is credited as the song’s writer even though Mr. Morgan claimed to have written it himself.
Mr. Morgan toured nationally on the strength of the song, but eventually settled back into the life of a popular local entertainer. In nightclubs and at the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, he performed with his trademark second-line umbrella. He was among the first to incorporate this jazz funeral accessory into a nightclub act, and never hesitated to lead a parade.
He did not release a full-length album until 1998’s “I’m Home.” Produced by Allen Toussaint and issued by his NYNO Music label, the CD finds Mr. Morgan covering a program of classic R&B compositions by the likes of Toussaint, Lee Dorsey, Otis Redding and Dave Bartholomew.
“He had 9th Ward soul,” said Antoinette K-Doe, the widow of Ernie K-Doe and a friend of Mr. Morgan’s for more than 40 years. “And he was a good father and a good husband.”
For years, Mr. Morgan worked as a custodian at City Hall and then as the caretaker of the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum on Chartres Street. He suffered a stroke in 1997, days after he finished recording “I’m Home.” Indicative of his popularity amongst his peers, a January 1998 benefit concert in his honor at Bally’s Casino featured Toussaint, Ernie K-Doe, Irma Thomas, Jean Knight, Tommy Ridgley, the Dixie Cups, Frankie Ford, Al “Carnival Time” Johnson and more.
Mr. Morgan and his wife, Sylvia, would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in January. The couple resided on Tennessee Street just off Claiborne Avenue in the Lower 9th Ward until Hurricane Katrina’s breached levees destroyed their home. They moved to Atlanta, where a son and daughter lived, and bought a house there. Mr. Morgan had not performed since Katrina.
Survivors include his wife, Sylvia; five sons and three daughters; and 19 grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are pending.