The story of the "Who Dat" phenomenon began back in 1983, when a New Orleans Saints were in need of some boosterism. Local New Orleans producer Carlo Nuccio took the unofficial theme of the team, the traditional jazz standard "When The Saints Go Marching In," and added a chant he'd heard fans yelling at games: "Who dat say dey gonna beat dem Saints?" Local pianist David Torkanowsky brought the jazz cred, and Aaron Neville agreed to handle the vocals; a few weeks later, Howard Cosell name-checked the song on Monday Night Football, and the rest is history.
With the Saints now headed for the Super Bowl, Carlo Nuccio has released an updated version, keeping the same arrangement and many of the same performers, and adding local mainstays Theresa Andersson (vocals) and Jon Cleary (piano), Aaron's son Ivan Neville on organ, and Matt Perrine on tuba and bass. Then he spun the second half of the song into a gospel-styled arrangement, renamed it "Glory Bound," and history was made once again.
Glory Bound is available for download at TeamGLoryBound.com, and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the track will go to The New Orleans Musicians Clinic, a not-for-profit occupational medicine and wellness partnership offering affordable, comprehensive health care to New Orleans musicians.
