Celebrating the Birthday of Boozoo Chavis

Zydeco pioneer Wilson Anthony "Boozoo" Chavis was born on October 23, 1930, near Lake Charles, Louisiana, in a Cajun Creole settlement called Pied des Chiens (Dog Hill). Chavis was an accordion player, singer, songwriter and bandleader who began playing accordion in his youth, having been was exposed to his father, uncles and cousins who all played. He was nicknamed "Boozoo" in his childhood, although the name’s origin is unknown. As a teenager, Chavis bought a button accordion and began performing regularly at a dance club that his mother opened, often sitting in on performances with Clifton Chenier, as well as playing at house dances on weekends and evenings.As well as developing the playing style that came to be known as zydeco, Chavis worked as a farmer, jockey, and horse trainer. Chavis earned the nickname "The Creole Cowboy" because of his background raising horses, as well as the white Stetson hat he wore during performances. 

In 1954, Chavis’ first recording, "Paper in My Shoe," sung in both French and English, was the first commercially released zydeco song and the first zydeco hit, and subsequently became a zydeco standard. Chavis was convinced that the recording was more successful than the record companies claimed, so he lost trust in the music business, and over the next thirty years only released three more singles. He performed rarely during the 1960s and 1970s, devoting most of his time to raising racehorses and farming on his property in Dog Hill. 

In the early 1980s, zydeco was gaining recognition outside of Louisiana in the United States, as well developing as a strong following in Europe, thanks largely to the popularity of artists such as Clifton Chenier, Buckwheat Zydeco, and Rockin' Dopsie. Chavis returned to performing music regularly in 1984 after discovering that another musician was impersonating him. He signed a five-year contract with the Maison de Soul label, and released a locally successful single, "Dog Hill" and four albums: Louisiana Zydeco Music (1986), Boozoo Zydeco! (1987), Zydeco Homebrew (1989), and Zydeco Trail Ride (1990).In 1989, Chavis founded the "Labor Day Dog Hill Festival" as a fan appreciation party, and to showcase zydeco musicians and also keep the zydeco tradition alive. During the 1990’s, many of his songs also appeared on compilation albums featuring many of the most well-known zydeco performers.

During the 1990s, Chavis performed widely with his band, the Magic Sounds, and was crowned "The King of Zydeco" in New Orleans in 1993, after Clifton Chenier's death. He was a prolific writer of zydeco songs, some including references to his friends and acquaintances and others too raunchy to be sold openly. The release of X-rated versions of his songs "Uncle Bud" and "Deacon Jones" on his 1999 album Who Stole My Monkey? resulted in a parental advisory sticker, the first for a zydeco recording. In 1998, Chavis was inducted into the Zydeco Hall of Fame, and in 2001, he was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the highest honor in the folk and traditional arts in the United States.

 Sadly, Chavis died on May 5, 2001, from complications resulting from a heart attack, just one week after a performance in Texas. His legacy lives on in his zydeco music festival, and the numerous musicians whom he influenced. 

Photo: David Simpson

Celebrating the Birthday of Rockin' Dopsie

Zydeco singer and accordionist Alton Jay Rubin, who performed as Rockin' Dopsie, was born on February 10, 1932, in Carencro, Louisiana, and was the son of Walter Rubin, who played accordion at local dances. Dopsie was given his first accordion at age 14, and since he was left-handed, he learned to play it upside down. He performed at local parties, until he was 19, at which time he moved to Lafayette with his parents. He began playing in clubs in the mid-1950s, and took his stage name from a dancer called Doopsie, including pronouncing his name the same way. In addition to performing as a zydeco musician, he continued working his day job, eventually becoming an electrical contractor.

Dopsie performed around Louisiana, and recorded occasionally the 1950s and 1960s, and his appearance at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1976 led to the release of his first album, Doin' The Zydeco. His music assimilated R&B influences into zydeco, even covering R&B hits in a zydeco style. Starting in 1979, he toured Europe regularly with his group, the Twisters, and his popularity there led to him recording a string of albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1986, he played accordion on the zydeco-influenced song "That Was Your Mother" on Paul Simon's Graceland album, and recorded the album Crowned Prince Of Zydeco in 1987. His final album in 1991, Louisiana Music, received a Grammy Award nomination. Sadly, he passed away at 61 on August 26, 1993.

Dopsie’s band continues to perform, now known as Rockin' Dopsie, Jr. & The Zydeco Twisters. The band is led by his son Dopsie Jr., who is an accordionist, vocalist and washboard player, and with his son Alton Jr., on drums. Dopsie's younger son Dwayne also plays accordion and leads his own band, Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers. Today we celebrate the birthday of this gifted musician and appreciate his musical legacy!

Photo: Cover art for the album Crowned Prince of Zydeco

Happy Birthday, Geno Delafose!

Zydeco accordionist and singer Geno Delafose was born on February 6, 1972, in Eunice, Louisiana, and at the age of eight, he joined his father John Delafose's band, the Eunice Playboys as a rubboard player. Delafose switched to the accordion in the early 1990s and started to play as an opening act for his father. He played with the band and appeared on many of their recordings until his father’s death in 1994. That same year, he debuted with album French Rockin' Boogie, which also became the name of his band. He released Everybody's Dancin' in 2003, appeared on the compilation album Creole Bred: A Tribute to Creole & Zydeco in 2004, and was nominated for a Grammy Award in the "Best Zydeco Or Cajun Music Album" category for his 2007 album  Le Cowboy Creole.

Delafose is one of the younger generations of the genre who has created the sound known as the nouveau zydeco. His sound is deeply rooted in traditional Creole music with strong influences from Cajun music and also country and western. Today let’s wish this amazing Louisiana musician a very happy birthday!

Photo: Masahiro Sumori

Celebrating the Birthday of Buckwheat Zydeco

Legendary accordionist and zydeco musician Stanley “Buckwheat Zydeco” Dural, Jr, was born on November 14, 1947, in Lafayette, Louisiana. One of 13 children, he worked on a farm picking cotton at age five, and got his nickname due to his braided hair resembling that of the “Our Gang/The Little Rascals” character Buckwheat. His father was a skilled amateur Creole accordion player, but young Dural preferred rhythm and blues. He became proficient at the organ, and by the late 1950s he was backing Joe Tex, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown and many others. He originally led a funk band for five years before joining iconic zydeco performer Clifton Chenier’s Red Hot Louisiana Band as organist in 1976. After that, he was enthusiastic about zydeco, took up the accordion in 1978, and started his own band under the name Buckwheat Zydeco a year later. By 1983, they were nominated for a Grammy, and another in 1984, 1985, and 1986, finally winning in 2009 for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album, “Lay Your Burden Down”, his final album.

Dural performed with numerous musicians including Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Robert Plant, Willie Nelson, Mavis Staples, Paul Simon Dwight Yoakam and Ry Cooder. His music has been featured in films and television, and he won an Emmy for his music in the CBS TV movie Pistol Pete: The Life And Times Of Pete Maravich. He maintained an extensive touring schedule, and played many major music festivals, including the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (numerous times), Chicago Blues Festival, Newport Folk Festival, San Diego Street Scene, Montreux Jazz Festival, the Voodoo Experience, and countless others. Sadly, Dural died of lung cancer at age 68 on September 24, 2016. This day we celebrate the birthday of a legend of Louisiana music, Buckwheat Zydeco!

Photo by: HorsePunchKid

Celebrating the Birthday of Beau Jacque

Zydeco musician and songwriter Beau Jocque (born Andrus Espre) was born on November 1, 1953, in Duralde, Louisiana, to a father who was a well-respected accordion player. He played guitar in a high school band, and his early influences were not zydeco musicians but rather acts such as War, ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughan, James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, and Santana. After high school, he spent nine years in the Air Force, and then worked at an oil refinery, where in 1987, he experienced a work-related accident that left him temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. He began playing his father's button accordion as part of his therapy, gaining proficiency and studying the styles of C. J. Chenier, Buckwheat Zydeco, Boozoo Chavis, John Delafose.

He grew up speaking Louisiana Creole French fluently, and took the stage name "Beau Jocque," meaning "Big Guy," because he stood 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 270 pounds. In 1991, he put a band together, including his wife Shelly on rubboard, playing a few gigs in small clubs and parties. Along with his bass vocals and growling lyrics, he incorporated guitar solos, blues-rock beats, and rap lines into his songs, appealing to crowds and causing word to spread quickly about his band. Beau Jocque's first recording My Name is Beau Jocque was issued in 1992, and he sent cassettes to area radio stations and also sold them at his gigs, creating a buzz. Within a short amount of time, Beau Jocque was playing clubs four to five nights a week and was one of the biggest draws on the Louisiana zydeco circuit. Rounder Records took notice and signed him, releasing Beau Jocque Boogiein 1993, which contained the song "Give Him Cornbread”, his first hit and ultimately his signature song. In 1995, Beau Jocque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers were the headliners on the Rounder Records "Louisiana Red Hot Music Tour". In June 1999 they were a featured band at the first annual New Jersey Arts and Music Festival. Beau Jocque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers won the Big Easy Music Awards three times as Best Zydeco Artist. 

Beau Jocque recorded five studio albums for Rounder, with a sixth live album and two compilation albums released posthumously. All were financial successes for both the label and the artist. His contract with Rounder was not exclusive, so Beau Jocque also recorded two albums for New Orleans-based Mardi Gras Records, as well as a mini-CD on his own label. Sadly, Beau Jocque passed away at home in Kinder on September 10, 1999, the day after he and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers performed a two-set show at the Rock n' Bowl in New Orleans. He was at the height of his career when he passed, and his music will always be remembered and enjoyed by his many fans.

Photo: Masahiro Sumori

Celebrating the Birthday of Boozoo Chavis

Zydeco pioneer Wilson Anthony "Boozoo" Chavis was born on October 23, 1930, near Lake Charles, Louisiana, in a Cajun Creole settlement called Pied des Chiens (Dog Hill). Chavis was an accordion player, singer, songwriter and bandleader who began playing accordion in his youth, having been was exposed to his father, uncles and cousins who all played. He was nicknamed "Boozoo" in his childhood, although the name’s origin is unknown. As a teenager, Chavis bought a button accordion and began performing regularly at a dance club that his mother opened, often sitting in on performances with Clifton Chenier, as well as playing at house dances on weekends and evenings.As well as developing the playing style that came to be known as zydeco, Chavis worked as a farmer, jockey, and horse trainer. Chavis earned the nickname "The Creole Cowboy" because of his background raising horses, as well as the white Stetson hat he wore during performances. 

In 1954, Chavis’ first recording, "Paper in My Shoe," sung in both French and English, was the first commercially released zydeco song and the first zydeco hit, and subsequently became a zydeco standard. Chavis was convinced that the recording was more successful than the record companies claimed, so he lost trust in the music business, and over the next thirty years only released three more singles. He performed rarely during the 1960s and 1970s, devoting most of his time to raising racehorses and farming on his property in Dog Hill. 

In the early 1980s, zydeco was gaining recognition outside of Louisiana in the United States, as well developing as a strong following in Europe, thanks largely to the popularity of artists such as Clifton Chenier, Buckwheat Zydeco, and Rockin' Dopsie. Chavis returned to performing music regularly in 1984 after discovering that another musician was impersonating him. He signed a five-year contract with the Maison de Soul label, and released a locally successful single, "Dog Hill" and four albums: Louisiana Zydeco Music (1986), Boozoo Zydeco! (1987), Zydeco Homebrew (1989), and Zydeco Trail Ride (1990).In 1989, Chavis founded the "Labor Day Dog Hill Festival" as a fan appreciation party, and to showcase zydeco musicians and also keep the zydeco tradition alive. During the 1990’s, many of his songs also appeared on compilation albums featuring many of the most well-known zydeco performers.

During the 1990s, Chavis performed widely with his band, the Magic Sounds, and was crowned "The King of Zydeco" in New Orleans in 1993, after Clifton Chenier's death. He was a prolific writer of zydeco songs, some including references to his friends and acquaintances and others too raunchy to be sold openly. The release of X-rated versions of his songs "Uncle Bud" and "Deacon Jones" on his 1999 album Who Stole My Monkey? resulted in a parental advisory sticker, the first for a zydeco recording. In 1998, Chavis was inducted into the Zydeco Hall of Fame, and in 2001, he was awarded a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the highest honor in the folk and traditional arts in the United States.

 Sadly, Chavis died on May 5, 2001, from complications resulting from a heart attack, just one week after a performance in Texas. His legacy lives on in his zydeco music festival, and the numerous musicians whom he influenced. 

Photo: David Simpson