Welcome to Issue #57
of FloridaCajunZydeco.com Update!
for October 2017
This newsletter showcases dance events from the FloridaCajunZydeco.com website and publishes articles not on the website pages. Birthday greetings to Cajun and zydeco artists born in October: Boozoo Chavis, Marc Savoy, Wayne Toups and Rosie Ledet. Join us on the first and third Tuesday of the month at Caddy's in downtown St. Petersburg for a Cajun Zydeco Dance 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. There are festivals this month in Louisiana and Florida. Check out Festival-O-Rama for festival opportunities. We're on Facebook in Groups (Florida Cajun Zydeco Dancers) and with our own Facebook Page (Florida Cajun Zydeco). Check us out and "Like" us to see the posts and reminders throughout the week. This is a good way to get your Cajun and zydeco fix between newsletters. FloridaCajunZydeco.com loves to travel — in your pocket on your smart phone. Check the website for dance information wherever your travels take you. Regards, Jim Hance
Publisher, FloridaCajunZydeco.com
First + Third Tuesdays --- Cajun Zydeco Dance at Caddy's on Central (St. Petersburg)
Tuesday Sept. 5: "Merry Makers" Dance
featuring a lot of happy tunes for your dancing pleasure. Tuesday Sept. 19: "When Love Takes Over" Dance
Lots of love songs, including everyone's favorite from Horace Trahan. 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 18 at Caddy's on Central, 217 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, FL 33705. No cover charge!
Website: caddysoncentral.com Good mix of danceable music by Cajun and zydeco artists that give you that instant lift as soon as the music starts to play. We're in the lounge with a wood dance floor at Caddy's. It's around the corner from Ringside Cafe and Jannus Landing. Stop by early for a quick introduction to the dances. I am playing some classics and some new tunes just released this summer. We're a very sociable crowd, so stop by and get to know us. Parking on the street is free after 8 p.m. (on Central Ave.) but the hours on the meters around the corner on side streets may be free after 6 p.m. Check the times posted on the meter! Also, there are a half dozen parking structures within a block or two, and I am told the
Sundial Garage is still just $1 all evening. No cover charge and drink specials the first hour. Great food. I can recommend the fish tacos and shrimp appetizer and the key lime pie. Info: www.FloridaCajunZydeco.com
Sat. Oct. 7, 2017 --- Gumbo Boogie Band (Treasure Island)
6 to 10 p.m. at Captain Bill's, 145 107th Ave., Treasure Island. Sun. Oct. 28, 2017 --- Gumbo Boogie Band (St. Pete)
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Saturday Morning Market, Al Lang Stadium parking lot, downtown St. Petersburg Sun. Oct. 28, 2017 --- Gumbo Boogie Band (Bradenton)
6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Clancy's Irish Pub, Bradenton
Sat. Oct. 28, 2017 --- JB's Zydeco Zoo Halloween Party (Tallahassee)
9 p.m.-midnight at Bradfordville Blues Club, 7152 Moses Lane, Tallahassee, FL 32309. Website: www.bradfordvilleblues.com. Admission: $15.
Dikki Du and the Zydeco Krewe
Fri. Nov. 3, 2017 --- Dikki Du and the Zydeco Krewe at Ace's (Bradenton)
8 p.m. to midnight -- Dikki Du and the Zydeco Krewe ($12/$15) at Ace's Live Music, 4343 Palma Sola Blvd., Bradenton, Fl. 34209, phone 941-795-3886. Website for tickets: aceslivemusic.com.
Image from a photo by David Simpson (Lafayette, LA)
Wilson Anthony "Boozoo" Chavis (October 23, 1930 – May 5, 2001) recorded what became commonly regarded as the first zydeco song in 1954, "Paper in My Shoe." (This recording preceded Clifton Chenier's first recording by a few months. Chenier went on to name and popularize the genre, and the spelling "zydeco" is what stuck.)
Born near Church Point, Louisiana, the son of tenant farmers, Chavis acquired the nickname "Boozoo" in his childhood. He bought a button accordion, taught himself to play, and began performing at a dance club that his mother opened, often sitting in on performances with Clifton Chenier, his father Morris Chenier and brother Cleveland Chenier. As well as developing the playing style that came to be known as zydeco, Chavis worked as a farmer and horse trainer. He made his first recording, of his own song "Paper in My Shoe," in 1954, and it was released on the Folk-Star label, a subsidiary of Goldband, before being reissued by Imperial Records. The record was a regional hit, subsequently acknowledged as a zydeco standard, but Chavis was
convinced that it was more successful than the record companies claimed, later saying: "I got gypped out of my record. I get frustrated, sometimes. I love to play, but, when I get to thinking about 1955... They stole my record. They said that it only sold 150,000 copies. But, my cousin, who used to live in Boston, checked it out. It sold over a million copies. I was supposed to have a gold record." Chavis lost trust in the music business, and over the next thirty years only released three more singles: "Forty-One Days" (Folk-Star, 1955), "Hamburgers & Popcorn" (Goldband, 1965), and "Mama! Can I Come Home" (credited to the Dog Hill Playhouse Band, Crazy Cajun, 1974). He also rarely performed during the 1960s and 1970s, devoting most of his time to raising racehorses
in Louisiana and Texas.
He returned to performing music regularly in 1984 after hearing that another performer was impersonating him. He signed with the Maison de Soullabel, 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 addition, Rounder Records released his live album Zydeco Live! in 1988, and a compilation of his 1950s recordings, The Lake Charles Atom Bomb, in 1990. He also recorded two albums for Sonet Records in the early 1990s. Chavis was a prolific writer of zydeco songs, some including references to his friends and acquaintances and others too raunchy to be sold openly. Many of his songs have become standards of the zydeco
repertoire, in spite of, or perhaps because of, their generally idiosyncratic and quirky construction and subject matter. "If it's wrong, do it wrong, with me," he would tell his band. "If I'm wrong, you wrong, too!" During the 1990s, Chavis performed widely with his band, the Majic Sounds, and was crowned "The King of Zydeco" in New Orleans in 1993, after Clifton Chenier's death. His style, using a button rather than piano accordion, was more traditional than that of Chenier. According to the New York Times, "with his rough-hewn voice and hefty accordion riffs, his band's one-chord grooves had a mesmerizing intensity that kept dance floors packed." He appeared at the Newport Folk Festival and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and in a 1994 documentary, The
Kingdom of Zydeco. He was inducted into the Zydeco Hall of Fame in 1998. He died in 2001, from complications resulting from a heart attack during a performance in Austin, Texas. He was buried in Lake Charles, Louisiana. His wife's name was Leona and they had six children, Wilson Jr., Margret, Louanna, Charles, Licia, and Rellis Chavis and had over 20 grandchildren. His son Charles was a member of his band at the time of his death.
Boozoo Chavis Album Recordings "Zydeco Homebrew" (1988)
"Zydeco Trail Ride with Boozoo Chavis" (1989)
"Zydeco Live!" (1989)
"Boozoo Chavis" (1990)
"Lake Charles Atomic Bomb" (1990)
"Boozoo, That's Who" (1993)
"Live at the Habibi Temple" (1994)
"Hey, Do Right" (1997)
"Who Stole My Monkey?" (1999)
"Johnnie Billy Goat" (2000)
"Down Home on Dog Hill" (2001)
Image from a photo by David Simpson (Lafayette, LA)
Marc Savoy is Cajun musician, and builder of Cajun accordions. Savoy holds a degree in chemical engineering but his primary income is derived from his accordion-making business, based at his Savoy Music Center in Eunice, Louisiana. His wife is the singer and guitarist Ann Savoy, whom he met in 1975. He has performed with Robert Bertrand, Dennis McGee, Rodney Balfa, Sady Courville, Dewey Balfa, D. L. Menard, and Michael Doucet, the latter of whom he plays with in the Savoy-Doucet Band. He also plays in the Savoy Family Band with his wife Ann and their sons Joel and Wilson.
He hosts regular jam sessions and mini-festivals at the Savoy Music Center.
Marc Savoy Recordings "Under a Green Oak Tree" with D.L. Menard and Dewey Balfa (1976)
The Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band "Home Music With Spirits" (1981)
Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band "Two-Step d'Amédé" (1993)
Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band "Live! At the Dance" (1994)
"Savoy-Smith Cajun Band" (1996)
Savoy Doucet Cajun Band "Sam's Big Rooster" (2000)
"Best of the Savoy Doucet Cajun Band" (2002)
"Savoy Family Band Cajun Album" (2003)
"Savoy Family Band at Rhythm & Roots" (2006)
Savoy Family Band "Let Loose But Don't Let Go" (2008)
"Arhoolie Records 50th Anniversary Celebration" (2013)
"Cajun Accordion Kings" (2017)
Image from a photo by David Simpson (Lafayette, LA)
Wayne Toups is one of the most commercially successful American Cajun musicians and songwriters. Toups has been granted numerous awards and honors throughout his career including 2010 Festivals Acadiens et Créoles dedicated in his name, Offbeat Magazine Album of the Year recipient, member of The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, Gulf Coast Hall of Fame, and Cajun French Music Hall of Fame, and 55th Annual Grammy Award winner.
Wayne Toups was born into a family of rice farmers in Crowley, Louisiana. He first picked up an accordion when he was 13 and quickly began winning local accordion contests. He has combined Cajun music, zydeco, R&B, and rock into a genre he calls Zydecajun. He sings in both English and Cajun. Toups released his first album, "Wayne Toups and the Crowley Aces," in Europe in the late 1970s. He began gaining popularity in the United States around 1984 when he began performing at local festivals such as the Festivals Acadiens in Lafayette, Louisiana. In 1986 he released his first Cajun album, Zydecajun. The Cajun French Music Association's awarded him their "Song of the Year" Award in 1991 for his song "Late in Life." Three of his songs, including wedding
favorite "Take My Hand," were featured in the movie "Dirty Rice," and some of his work is also featured on the soundtracks for the movie "Steel Magnolias" and the television show "Broken Badges." He has recorded for the major record labels Mercury/Polygram and Mercury. His 1995 release, "Back to the Bayou," became the fastest-selling record ever for the independent Louisiana label Swallow Records. Toups has been featured playing the accordion on singles for many country music stars. He appears on the Mark Chesnutt #1 hit, "It Sure Is Monday," on Clay Walker's "Live Laugh Love," and on Alan Jackson's "Little Bitty." He played with Sammy Kershaw, George Jones, Mark Wills, Garth Brooks, and Ty England. Toups has
been known to wear flamboyant outfits during his performances. He has toured in over twenty-six countries, including in South America, Canada, Europe and the Far East. He has appeared on MTV and on the 1990 Super Bowl telecast.
Wayne Toups Recordings "Cajun Paradise" (1979)
"Zydecajun" (1986)
"Johnnie Can't Dance" (1988)
"Blast From the Bayou" (1989)
"Fish Out of Water" (1991)
"Down Home Live!" (1992)
"Back to the Bayou" (1995)
"Toups" (1997)
"More Than Just a Little" (1998)
"The Best of Wayne Toups" (1999)
"Little Wooden Box" (2000)
"Whoever Said It Was Easy" (2004)
"Reflections of the Past" (2005)
"The Essential Wayne Toups" (2008)
"Wayne Toups Live" (2009)
"The Band Courtbouillon" (2012)
"Live at 2013 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival" (2013)
"Wayne Toups" (2016)
Image from a photo by David Simpson (Lafayette, LA)
Rosie Ledet (born October 25, 1971, Mary Roszela Bellard in Church Point, Louisiana) is often called the "Zydeco Sweetheart." Her songs are known for their sultry and suggestive lyrics. She tours and records with her band, the Zydeco Playboys.
Raised in rural Louisiana, Ledet listened to rock music in her youth. Although she was in an environment where zydeco was heard, she took little interest in the music at the time. She first became fascinated with zydeco music when she was 16 years old. She attended a zydeco dance at Richard's, a famous zydeco club in Lawtell, Louisiana, and saw Boozoo Chavis play, which inspired her to start learning to play zydeco. At this dance, she also met Morris Ledet, her husband to be. She learned the accordion watching Morris play. When he heard her, he stepped aside allowing her the spotlight, and became her accompanist on the bass guitar. Morris, then brought Rosie to his producer, Mike Lachney, also known as DJ BAD WEATHER, a veteran zydeco producer. Mike was so impressed,
that he quickly set up a recording session. Mike then took Rosie to Floyd Soileau, of Maison de Soul label. Floyd also was impressed and gave Mike a contract to produce five albums on Rosie. She started playing around Louisiana and Texas in 1994. The same year, she released her debut album "Sweet Brown Sugar" on Maison de Soul label.
Rosie Ledet Recordings "Sweet Brown Sugar" (1994)
"Zesty Zydeco" (1995)
"Zydeco Sensation" (1997)
"I'm a Woman" (1999)
"It's a Groove Thing!" (2000)
"Show Me Something" (2001)
"Now's The Time" (2003)
"Pick It Up" (2005)
"Come Get Some" (2011)
"Slap Your Mama" (2012)
"Raw" (2015)
October 12-15, 2017 --- Swannee Roots Revival (Live Oak, FL) Lineup will include Donna the Buffalo, The Revelers, Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn, Grandpa's Cough Medicine, Steep Canyon Rangers, Jim lauderdale, Verlon Thompson and dozens more. Website: http://www.suwanneerootsrevival.com October 12-15, 2017 --- Festivals Acadiens et Creoles (Lafayette)
Festival de Musique will showcase the best of Cajun and Zydeco music at the annual Fetivals Acadiens beneath the spreading oaks of Girard Park in Lafayette, LA. Festival de Musique Acadienne, celebrating 36 years of entertainment, originated as the Tribute to Cajun Music Festival, an event that was designed to attract and educate the younger generation to the traditional values of the Cajun culture. Festival de Musique Acadienne now attracts Louisiana's best Cajun and Zydeco bands and draws thousands of people from across the country and around the world. http://www.festivalsacadiensetcreoles.com/
Oct. 13-15, 2017 — Richmond Folk Festival (Richmond, VA)
CJ Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band. Website: http://www.richmondfolkfestival.org
Sat. Oct. 21, 2017 — Attalla Heritage Day Festival (Attalla, Alabama)
Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble. Website: http://www.attallacity.com/attalla-heritage-day
Oct. 21-28, 2017 — Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
Departs Ft. Lauderdale to Aruba, Curacao, Bahamas. Bands include Chubby Carrier, Cyril Neville's Swamp Funk, Rev. Billy C. Wirtz, Victor Wainwright and the Wildroots Revue, Samantha Fish, California Honeydrops, TajMo, Tommy Castro, Buddy Guy. Info: http://bluescruise.com/lrbc-29-oct-2017-southern-caribbean/
October 27 & 28, 2017 --- South Louisiana Blackpot Festival and Cookoff (Lafayette, LA)
South Louisiana Blackpot Festival and Cookoff in Acadian Village, Lafayette, LA. The South Louisiana Black Pot Festival & Cookoff is one of the most unique festivals in Louisiana. Held annually at Lafayette’s Acadian Village, the festival celebrates its 5th year this October with two days of great music, dancing, food, camping & jamming. The festival is a cooperative of south Louisiana musicians, artists and southern culture enthusiasts, creating an unprecedented gathering of south Louisiana’s hottest roots bands, as well as a number of groups from all over the country. Live performances range from Cajun & Zydeco, to Creole, Swing, Hot Jazz, Blues, Bluegrass, Americana, Irish & Old-Time. Plus, an old-fashioned black pot cook-off, accordion contest, called square dancing, and ample camping space for tents & RV’s. Artists this year will include
Lil Buck Senegal, Pine Leaf Boys, Freetown Aces, Courtney Granger, Ed Pollard and Preston Frank, Feufollet, The Revelers and Los Texmaniacs. http://blackpotfestival.com
Nov. 2-4, 2017 — Champaign-Urbana Folk & Roots Festival (Urbana, IL)
Cajun, Old Time/Contra Dance, Swing, Country, Folk, Hispanic, Celtic, Blues. Website: http://folkandroots.org/
November 4-5, 2017 --- Halifax Art Festival (Daytona Beach)
2nd oldest continual art festival in the state of Florida and attracts well over 30,000 visitors annually. This free Festival, open to the public, will take place on November 2 & 3, 2013 on historic downtown Beach Street, from Orange Avenue to Bay Street, in front of the Riverfront Shops of Daytona Beach. The Festival will have over 200 juried artists and artisans exhibiting original two-dimensional art, photography, sculpture, jewelry, textiles, ceramics, wood, metal, and glass pieces for purchase. The Festival has expanded to celebrate seasoned as well as emerging artists and craftsmen. There will be two distinct exhibit areas. International street cuisine and good old-fashioned festival food will be featured for the hungry festival attendees. Beach Street cafes and restaurants will be open and featuring festival specials. There will, also, be live entertainment with musicians
playing a variety of popular music. Website: http://halifaxartfestival.com/
Nov. 9-12, 2017 --- Riverhawk Music Festival (Brooksville, FL)
Bands include the Sauce Boss Bill Wharton, Black Lillies, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Ana Egge and the Sentimentals, Dust Bowl Revival, Fly By Nite Rounders. Website: http://www.riverhawkmusic.com/
November 10-12, 2017 --- Cracklin Festival (Port Barre, LA)
Bands include Geno Delafose, Kevin Naquin, Wallace Trahan, Wayne Toups. Website: https://louisiana.kitchenandculture.com/event/port-barre-cracklin-festival Your resource for festival listings: http://floridacajunzydeco.com/festivals.html
The TestimonyTee Boy Boudreaux was a roughneck in the oil fields and was called as a witness in court. He was asked, “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God”? Tee boy Boudreaux replied, “Me, ah’ll try anyting once." The BoxBoudreaux goes to a local carpenter in his hometown and asks him if he could build a box two inches wide, by two inches high, by 50 feet long. The carpenter, slightly confused by the request, says he could do it, but out of curiosity, he asks what the box will be used for. Boudreaux says "Nothing really important; you see, mah neighbor moved about a week ago, and he forgot a couple of tings. He axed if ah could mail his garden hose.
Atlanta Cajun Zydeco AssociationSaturday Oct. 7, 2017 --- Big Easy Playboys Dorothy Benson Center, 6500 Vernon Woods Drive NE, Atlanta, GA 30328.
7 p.m. Beginner Dance Lesson
8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Open dancing to Cedryl Ballou & Zydeco Trendsetters
$18 admission / $14 for members Atlanta Cajun Zydeco Association website: http://aczadance.org/Bands usually play at Benson Center, 6500 Vernon Woods Drive, Sandy Springs, GA 30328; Phone: 404-613-4900. Check website for dance events in Atlanta area at http://aczadance.org/ Houston/Texas Cajun-Zydeco Eventshttp://www.zydecoevents.com/texaszydecoevents.html Southern California Eventshttp://www.icajunzydeco.com
If you missed last month's newsletter...Discover all of the Update! newsletters and feature stories on Cajun and zydeco artists on the "Stories" page at floridacajunzydeco.com/stories.html
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