Talk about being cancelled — when’s the last time you heard a mother-in-law joke?
The meddling mother-in-law is a trope as old as comedy, and back when more risqué topics were off-limits it was frequently employed. Mothers-in-law were milked for laughs routinely by comedians and sitcoms, but it wasn’t until 1961 that New Orleans composer and producer Allen Toussaint brought the lament to rock ‘n’ roll.
This first hit of Toussaint’s long, storied career propelled Ernie K-Doe from the Chitlin’ Circuit to the top of the Billboard charts. Since this is National Mother-in-Law Day — Hallmark leaves no opportunity unturned — here it is.
K-Doe followed “Mother in Law” with a string of Toussaint tunes, including “A Certain Girl,” later covered by the Yardbirds and Warren Zevon, to diminishing effect. He recorded sporadically after that without much success, but his 1971 single of a Toussaint funk tune, “Here Come the Girls,” reached the UK charts in 2008 after it was used in an advert.
Though he didn’t record much, K-Doe never stopped performing, and became a Crescent City icon. He hosted a radio show int he ’80s, and in the ’90s took to billing himself as Emperor of the Universe and performing in a cape and crown. He was given a traditional jazz funeral when he died in 2001. Cemetery space being scarce in New Orleans, he shares his grave with several other people — including his second mother-in-law.