Blues musician and artist Curtis John Arceneaux, better known as Coco Robicheaux, was born on October 25, 1947, in Merced, California, but his family hailed from Ascension Parish, Louisiana. Robicheaux fronted his own band when he was just 13 years old, playing Bourbon Street at 15, and getting a record contract in 1965 at about 18 years of age. He did not record again until the mid-'90s, when he put out Spiritland which was well received. He took his stage name from a Louisiana legend, in which a naughty child called Coco Robicheaux is abducted by a werewolf (Loup Garou or Rougarou). In 1998, Robicheaux recorded Louisiana Medicine Man, followed up by Hoodoo Party, for which he received Offbeat Magazine’s Best Blues Album by a Louisiana Artist award. Robicheaux released three additional albums: Yeah, U Rite! (2005), Like I Said, Yeah, U Rite! (2008), and Revelator (2010). In addition to his New Orleans gigs, he performed in Colorado, New York, South Carolina, Australia, and Paris, also playing festivals in Canada and France. Starting in 1994, he appeared for eight consecutive years at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and also played annually at the French Quarter Festival starting in 1995.

Robicheaux appeared in an episode of The Big Easy, a USA Network series, which also featured two of his songs. He also appeared as himself in four episodes of HBO’s Treme, and was a featured musician in Chasing the Groove: A New Orleans Funkumentary, a 2006 documentary.

Robicheaux died quietly on November 25, 2011, in his usual spot at the Apple Barrel, his favorite bar in New Orleans. Two second-line parades were held in his honor shortly after his death, both of which passed by the Apple Barrel bar. More formal musical tributes were held at the French Quarter Festival in March 2012, at the Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo in May 2012, and at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in May 2013. In addition, the official 2012 French Quarter Festival poster featured Robicheaux, replacing the figure of Andrew Jackson on horseback in Jackson Square.