Happy Thanksgiving!

Veterans Day

Honoring All Who Served - Thank You!

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

Happy American Beer Day!

October 27th is American Beer Day! Celebrate with a cold one … but not from any old place … from the good old U.S.A.! Bottoms up!

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 24th anniversary of Basin Street Records!

Basin Street Records is a Grammy Award-winning independent record label based in New Orleans, that specializes in jazz, funk, and rhythm and blues. Founded in 1997 by Mark Samuels and Tom Thompson, the label arose out of a project to release a live album for New Orleans jazz trumpeter and vocalist Kermit Ruffins. This September 30th, we celebrate the anniversary of the founding of Basin Street Records with a Kermit live stream marathon! Enjoy!