Korla Pandit, Miserlou, R.J. Smith.
Written by Joe D on November 8th, 2007
Here’s a clip of Korla Pandit playing Miserlou. This is from the 50’s way before Dick Dale and his Deltones recorded it or the Beach Boys. Dale’s version got a famous boost when it was used in Pulp Fiction. It’s an old Greek folk song that’s been around a long time. Korla Pandit is in Ed Wood, I’m not sure why, maybe he knew the real Ed Wood? But he was cool.
In R.J. Smith’s excellent book The Great Black Way,( about the Central Avenue Jazz, R&B scene) he talks about Korla, his real name was John Roland Redd and he moved to L.A. in the late 30’s. To avoid racism and be able to tour and play music without being hassled he became Korla Pandit, Mystic Man of the East. The shit a brother had to do to get by!
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Awesome! I discovered his albums about 10 years ago while perusing thrift stores in the L.A./ Burbank area. Have a couple with autographs on them, and have been fascinated ever since!
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Check out that book, you won’t be disappointed.