This may be the first time I’ve posted a novelty song in this space. Most novelty songs aren’t very good but Working In The Coal Mine comes from Allen Toussaint and Lee Dorsey. That’s a helluva New Orleans pedigree.

Neither Toussaint nor Dorsey knew anything about coal mines but Dorsey knew from hard work: He was an auto mechanic specializing in body and fender work. He could bang out a hit song with the best of them.

Working In The Coal Mine was written in 1966 by the aforementioned Allen Toussaint for the aforementioned Lee Dorsey. I like the word aforementioned almost as much as penultimate.

Let’s go to work with Lee Dorsey:

It’s the songwriter’s turn to slip down:

Let’s put Lola Falana to work, singing, not mining:

Are they not men? They are Devo:

Naomi and Wynona put a country spin on the Toussaint classic in 1985:

Harry Connick Jr. Say no more.

What would the Friday Cocktail Hour be without instrumental versions of the week’s tune? This time, FCH regulars Booker T & The MG’s followed by the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra.

That’s it for this week. Let’s drink to a successful and peaceful festival season in New Orleans. It’s what Mac, Irma, Allen, and Aaron would want. Never argue with them.