Ernest Kador Jr. was born in New Orleans in 1936 and came up in the city's gospel and R&B tradition. Adopting the stage name Ernie K-Doe, he recorded for Minit Records under the production of Allen Toussaint, developing a flamboyant, high-energy style that was perfectly suited to the emerging soul and R&B market of the early 1960s.
'Mother-in-Law' (1961), produced by Toussaint, reached number one on both the pop and R&B charts — a remarkable achievement for a New Orleans artist at the time. The song's comic premise and K-Doe's committed performance made it an instant classic.
K-Doe's commercial fortunes declined after his initial success, but he remained a beloved and extravagant presence in New Orleans for decades. His self-mythology grew more elaborate over the years: he crowned himself 'Emperor of the Universe' and maintained a shrine to himself at his R&B bar on North Claiborne Avenue.
He died in 2001, having become one of the great characters of New Orleans — a man whose outsized personality was matched only by his genuine gifts as a performer. His wife Antoinette continued to run the Mother-in-Law Lounge with a cardboard cutout of Ernie presiding, maintaining his larger-than-life legacy.
