Papa Cool of New Orleans: A Diamond In the Ruff

An Article I wrote about a street performer in Arizona: Papa Cool from New Orleans

Papa Cool of New Orleans: A Diamond in the Ruff
by Robin Scott Johnson

Tempe (RSJM) -- Along the hustle and bustle of Tempe, Arizona's main street Mill Avenue on Saturdays, a powerful voice can be heard to the accompaniment of an electric guitar, singing with such soul and heart, that passersby, who might otherwise not ever pause to smell the roses, are stopped in their tracks to listen and applaud to the wonderful music of Papa Cool of New Orleans.

Papa Cool (AKA Reginald Doster), 60, tells me he's been playing guitar for twenty-seven years. I had the opportunity to chat with Mr. Cool as he was setting up his act from a small dolly, complete with amplifier, effects pedals, and a small gasoline generator, following which he began a rigorous and extended tuning session. "The guitar's gotta sound just right. Some people tell me to hurry up and start playing, but I just shake my head and tell them it's not about that." He went on. "Then I'll begin, and if they like it, they'll help me out, if they don't, they don't."

The song that he started off with was a bluesy tune called "Ride Me Baby," which he told me was not original, but was in his own style. "You have to make a song your own," he said, as he began retuning his vintage white Fender Stratocaster. A crowd began to congregate to listen, applauding at various bridges and licks, as Papa Cool's fingers worked the guitar as good as anyone I'd ever heard.

His amplified music was so loud that it echoed from one end of Mill Avenue at University, to the Salt River Bridge, but despite this loud volume, Papa Cool's voice and music stood out as clear as the moon on a cloudless night in the sticks.

During a break he began talking to me again, asking me where I was from originally. When I mentioned I was born in England, Papa Cool began going on about Jimmy Hendrix and how he died, muttering to himself, and then about how he'd been told years ago that if he himself had moved to Britain he'd be famous too. I concluded my interview, telling him I didn't believe he looked 60. 'Ha," he laughed, "my wife's 28!" he said with a grin, and then began his next song. I gave Papa Cool a tip for his trouble and thanked him for his time and the chance to photograph him.

Papa Cool can be heard in Tempe, Arizona on most weekends.