Iko-Iko

"Iko-Iko" is the name of a Fifties pop song written by James Crawford in New Orleans that quickly became a folk/blues standard and has been covered by countless legends. It is also the fitting name of the renowned Miami-based blues quartet founded by the mythical Graham Wood Drout, a vocalist/guitarist/percussionist who has worked with musicians such as Nick Kane, Sheryl Crow, Don Henley, and Bruce Springsteen. In its twenty-year career, Iko-Iko has made appearances in films such as Cape Fear and Contact as well as on numerous television and radio programs, but the group also kept the blues in Miami with regular shows at numerous venues. At times, Iko-Iko channels the gritty, dramatic sound of legends like Howlin' Wolf but usually comes closer in style to an upbeat Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, or Muddy Waters, with no shortage of woeful, heartbreaking tales. Drout's songwriting is classic blues: Women leave him, forcing him to seek the wisdom of voodoo doctors; his house gets washed away in a flood; and of course that goddamn Devil is always chasing him around.