R.I.P. Big Chief Bo Dollis [Video]

I've had the pleasure of witnessing performances by Big Chief Bo Dollis & The Wild Magnolias at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival as well as the House of Blues in New Orleans when they joined Bruce Hornsby. The Wild Magnolias lost the big Chief. Nola.com reports Theodore Emile "Bo" Dollis passed away Tuesday at age 71. He died at his home in New Orleans after a lengthy illness.

Dollis joined the Magnolias as a teenager over his parents' objections. They recorded their first single, "Handa Wanda" on the Crescent City 45 label, found by Quint Davis, producer of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Davis "The modern face of the Mardi Gras Indian culture that broke through to the outside world."