Babylon (Dr. John album)

Babylon is the second album by New Orleans R&B artist Dr. John. In his autobiography, Under A Hoodoo Moon, Dr. John describes the origins of the album in detail:

"Our second album was cut in late 1968—the year of the Tet offensive, and of the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. It was a heavy time for me: Not only was the Vietnam War raging in all its insanity, but, as a semioutlaw, I was being pursued by various kinds of heat across L.A. In its lyrics and music, this album reflects these chaotic days. At times hard-driving, at other times following a deliberately spacy, disorienting groove, Babylon was the band's attempt to say something about the times—and to do it with a few unusual musical time signatures. The lead song, "Babylon", sets the tone. To a 3/4 and 10/4 groove, it lays out my own sick-ass view of the world then—namely, that I felt our number was up. We were trying to get into something...with visions of the end of the world—as if Hieronymus Bosch had cut an album."

• Dr. John – vocals, keyboards, guitar, percussion
• Richard "Didimus" Washington – guitar, percussion
• Plas Johnson – tenor saxophone
• Moe Bechamin – tenor saxophone
• Alvin Robinson – guitar
• Steve Mann – guitar
• Al Frazier – bass
• John Boudreaux – drums
• Ronnie Barron – organ
• Jessie Hill – backing vocals, percussion
• Shirley Goodman – backing vocals
• Tami Lynn – backing vocals
• John McAlister – quarter-tone piano, gongs, celesta

Technical

• Harold Battiste – producer, arranger
• Stanislaw Zagórski – album design