Wilson Anthony "Boozoo" Chavis (pronounced CHAY-viss)
(October 23, 1930 – May 5, 2001)
was an American
accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
player, singer, songwriter and bandleader. He was one of the pioneers of
zydeco
Zydeco ( or , french: Zarico) is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana. Al ...
, the fusion of
Cajun
The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana.
While Cajuns are usually described as ...
and
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
music developed in southwest
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
.
Early life
Chavis was born in
Church Point, Louisiana
Church Point (french: Pointe-à-l'Église) is a town in Acadia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,560 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Crowley Micropolitan Statistical Area. Church Point is known as the Buggy Capital of ...
to parents Arthur and Marceline Chavis in a
Cajun
The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana.
While Cajuns are usually described as ...
Creole settlement called Pied des Chiens (Dog Hill),
and was the son of tenant farmers. He acquired the nickname "Boozoo" in his childhood,
although the origin of the nickname is unknown.
When asked by a reporter about his nickname, Chavis replied "Man, I hate that question".
Accounts vary as to when and how Chavis obtained his first accordion. A ''
Living Blues
''Living Blues: The Magazine of the African American Blues Tradition'' is a bi-monthly magazine focused on blues music, and America's oldest blues periodical. The magazine was founded as a quarterly in Chicago in 1970 by Jim O'Neal and Amy van ...
'' magazine story says that at age 9, he traded a small riding horse for his first accordion, a little single-row model, and taught himself to play.
An article in ''
OffBeat Magazine
''OffBeat'' is a New Orleans, Louisiana monthly local music magazine founded by Jan V. Ramsey in 1987. The magazine, published by OffBeat, Inc., focuses on the popular music of New Orleans and Louisiana, which is generally R&B, blues, jazz, roc ...
'' claims that Chavis bought his first accordion with money earned from riding in a horse race when he was a teenager.
He was exposed to music within in his family; his father, some uncles and cousins all played accordion. Chavis credits his mother as being especially enterprising, as she took on cleaning jobs and selling barbeque at informal horse races to raise extra money, with which she bought three acres of land. When he was 14, the Chavis family moved "across the highway".
Later, Chavis bought a
button accordion
A button accordion is a type of accordion on which the melody-side keyboard consists of a series of buttons. This differs from the piano accordion, which has piano-style keys. Erich von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs categorize it as a free reed aerop ...
and began performing regularly at a dance club that his mother opened, often sitting in on performances with
Clifton Chenier
Clifton Chenier (June 25, 1925 – December 12, 1987), was an American Creole musician known as a pioneer of zydeco, a style of music which arose from Creole music, with rhythm and blues, R&B, blues, and Cajun music, Cajun influences. He sang a ...
, his father Morris Chenier and brother Cleveland Chenier. Chavis also played music as a side job at house dances on weekends and evenings.
As well as developing the playing style that came to be known as
zydeco
Zydeco ( or , french: Zarico) is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana. Al ...
, Chavis worked as a farmer, jockey, and
horse trainer
A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...
.
Career
Chavis made his first recording in 1954, "Paper in My Shoe", based on a song he heard performed by Creole accordionist Ambrose "Potato" Sam. Chavis's version was an uptempo tune with a dance beat about being too poor to afford new shoes or socks, so he placed paper in his shoes to keep his feet warm when the holes in the sole got too large.
The song, sung in both French and English,
was originally released on the Folk-Star label, a subsidiary of
Goldband, before being reissued by
Imperial Records
Imperial Records is an American record company and label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd. The label was reactivated in 2006 by EMI, which owned the label and back catalogue at the time. Imperial is owned by Universal Music Group.
Early years to 19 ...
. This recording was the first commercially released zydeco song
and the first zydeco hit,
and was subsequently acknowledged as a zydeco standard.
The song was recorded at the instigation of local entrepreneur
Eddie Shuler, who teamed Chavis up with a rhythm and blues band named Classie Ballou's Tempo Kings. The first recording session was not successful, so Shuler brought whiskey in for subsequent takes, and the band lost their inhibitions. An inebriated Chavis fell off of his chair at the end of the released version of "Paper in My Shoe", so the song fades out, which was one of the first records to use that technique.
Chavis was convinced that the recording 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."
As a result, 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 performed rarely during the 1960s and 1970s, devoting most of his time to farming and raising racehorses
on his property in Dog Hill, on the outskirts of
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcasieu ...
. The area derived its name because it is where people traditionally went to dump unwanted pets.
During those years, zydeco's popularity was limited mainly to Louisiana. By the early 1980s however, 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
Clifton Chenier (June 25, 1925 – December 12, 1987), was an American Creole musician known as a pioneer of zydeco, a style of music which arose from Creole music, with rhythm and blues, R&B, blues, and Cajun music, Cajun influences. He sang a ...
,
Buckwheat Zydeco
Stanley Dural Jr. (November 14, 1947 – September 24, 2016), better known by his stage name Buckwheat Zydeco, was an American accordionist and zydeco musician. He was one of the few zydeco artists to achieve mainstream success. His music gro ...
, and
Rockin' Dopsie
Alton Jay Rubin (February 10, 1932 – August 26, 1993), who performed as Rockin' Dopsie (sometimes Rockin' Dupsee), was an American zydeco singer and accordion player who enjoyed popular success first in Europe and later in the United States.
...
. Those artists were performing as main attractions at music festivals, were included in magazine stories, and were getting the attention of major record labels.
In the early 1980s, Chavis was making a meager living with his race horses, and earned only a small amount of money performing at occasional house parties or dances. Chavis's family, and in particular his wife Leona, encouraged him to resume his music career.
Chavis returned to performing music regularly in 1984 after discovering that another musician was impersonating him. He and his wife were driving to a horse race and heard an advertisement on the radio for a dance featuring Boozoo Chavis, after which he realized that there was enough name recognition for him to return to performing.
He signed a five-year contract
with the
Maison de Soul
Maison de Soul is a Louisiana-based Zydeco and blues record label. It was founded in 1974 in Ville Platte, Louisiana by Floyd Soileau and remains under his ownership. It is one of four record labels under Soileau's Flat Town Music Company umbr ...
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). ''Louisiana Zydeco Music'' included a re-recording of "Paper In My Shoe" that was included on many
jukeboxes
A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to sele ...
in Louisiana and became a regional hit for a second time.
In addition,
Rounder Records
Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by Al ...
released a live album ''Zydeco Live!'' in 1989, and a compilation of his 1950s recordings, ''The Lake Charles Atomic Bomb'', in 1990. He also recorded two albums for
Sonet Records
Sonet Records was a jazz, pop and rock record label operating as an imprint of Universal Music Sweden. It was founded in Sweden in 1956.
Sonet Records was established by Sven Lindholm and Gunnar Bergström, who managed the label into the 1980s ...
in the early 1990s.
During this time period, many of his songs also appeared on compilation albums issued by labels in both the US and Europe that featured many of the most well-known zydeco performers.
Chavis earned the nickname "The Creole Cowboy" because of his background raising horses, as well as his habit of wearing a white Stetson hat during performances.
In addition, the subject matter of some of his songs was explicitly rural, such as "Zydeco Hee Haw", "Johnnie Billy Goat", and "Motor Dude Special" named for his prized thoroughbred horse.
Chavis also routinely wore an apron while on stage, to keep his sweat from damaging his accordion.
Chavis 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.
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!"
Until 1990, Chavis was notoriously afraid of flying. He told record producer
Floyd Soileau
James Floyd Soileau (born November 2, 1938) is an American record producer.
Biography
Soileau was born in Faubourg, a small community between Ville Platte and Washington, Louisiana. He grew up speaking Cajun French and did not speak English ...
that if Soileau wanted him to fly to performances, he'd have to get him drunk to get on an airplane. Over a prior five-year period, Chavis made just one trip to California, and he drove there from Louisiana. But after Chavis's mother died in May 1990, he decided he had to overcome his flying phobia in order to advance his music career. His first flight was to New York City to perform at a club called Tramps, and he claimed to have enjoyed the experience.
During the 1990s, Chavis performed widely with his band, the Magic Sounds (also credited as 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
A piano accordion is an accordion equipped with a right-hand keyboard similar to a piano or organ. Its acoustic mechanism is more that of an organ than a piano, as they are both aerophones, but the term "piano accordion"—coined by Guido Deiro ...
, was more traditional than that of Chenier. According to ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', "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 New York Jazzfest for ten consecutive years
as well as appearances at the
Newport Folk Festival
Newport Folk Festival is an annual American folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival. It was one of the first modern music festivals in America, and remains a foca ...
and the
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of visitors to New ...
, and in 2000 he was a featured act at the
San Francisco Jazz Festival
San Francisco Jazz Festival is an annual three-week music festival produced by SFJAZZ, a non-profit organization dedicated to jazz and jazz education.
Notable performers
1995
Jack DeJohnette, Keith Jarrett, Christian McBride, Charles McPherson, ...
.
Chavis was featured in a 1994 documentary film titled ''The Kingdom of Zydeco''.
Death
Chavis died on May 5, 2001, from complications resulting from a heart attack after a performance a week earlier in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
.
He was funeralized at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Church and interred at Highland Memorial Gardens, both in
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcasieu ...
.
Awards and honors
Chavis was inducted into the Zydeco Hall of Fame in 1998.
In 2001, he was awarded a
National Heritage Fellowship
The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's h ...
by the
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
, which is the highest honor in the folk and traditional arts in the United States.
Personal life
Chavis married Leona Predium who often accompanied Chavis on tour, and on breaks between sets would sell records, T-shirts, and panties with his photo printed on them.
Leona died in 2009.
Boozoo and Leona had six children (Wilson Jr. ("Poncho"), Margaret ("Do-Right"), Louann, Charles, Licia, and Rellis Chavis), 21 grandchildren, and many great grandchildren.
Two of his sons (Charles on washboard and Rellis on drums) were full-time band members, and a grandson occasionally performed with the Magic Sounds.
In 1995, Chavis had the tips of two fingers on his left hand amputated after an accident involving a barbeque pit. With his hand wrapped up in bandage tape, he played a gig the following night.
Legacy
Chavis had completed the recording of what would be his final album only a few weeks before his death. Tentatively titled ''I'm Still Blinkin' ''
the album was released on Rounder Records later in 2001 under the title ''Down Home On Dog Hill.'' AllMusic wrote of the album: "Chavis may have been at the peak of his musical form when this album was recorded….
tis a worthy legacy for a sorely missed star of Louisiana music."
After his father's death, son Charles took on the role of bandleader for the Magic Sounds. However, Charles died of a heart attack at age 45, only eight months after his father's death. Charles is buried in the same Lake Charles cemetery as his father.
Following Charles' death, Poncho Chavis kept the Magic Sounds band going, including a tribute performance to his father at the 2002 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, just four months after his brother's death and less than a year after his father's passing. Photos of both Boozoo and Charles graced the stage at the Jazz Fest show. Poncho Chavis and the Magic Sounds continued to perform at festivals until at least 2008.
In 2005, five of Boozoo Chavis' grandsons started a band named The Dog Hill Stompers, partly to keep their grandfather's legacy alive. They released their debut album ''Keeping the Tradition'' in 2007, and also performed for the first time at Boozoo's Labor Day Festival in 2007.
As of 2017, the Dog Hill Stompers continue to play clubs and festivals in Louisiana as well as around the United States.
Chavis founded the "Labor Day Dog Hill Festival" in 1989
as a fan appreciation party,
but also to showcase zydeco musicians and to keep the zydeco tradition alive.
Originally held in a field near the Chavis family home, the popularity and growth of the festival required a move to larger venues, with the festival location varying between the
Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...
Hall in
Iowa, Louisiana
Iowa () is a town in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,436 in 2020. It is part of the Lake Charles, Louisiana, Lake Charles Lake Charles metropolitan area, metropolitan statistical area.
...
and the
Lake Charles Civic Center
Sudduth Coliseum, in the Lake Charles Civic Center, is a 7,450-seat multi-purpose arena in Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA. Located on Lakeshore Drive, it is the main arena of the Lake Charles Civic Center. It is a venue for hosting concerts and s ...
. The event was always a family-friendly affair, with Leona cooking Creole dishes for the crowds, ranging from red beans and rice to crawfish
étouffée
Étouffée or etouffee (, ) is a dish found in both Cajun and Creole cuisine typically served with shellfish over rice. The dish employs a technique known as smothering, a popular method of cooking in the Cajun and Creole areas of southwest Lou ...
.
After Boozoo's death, the festival was renamed as Boozoo's Labor Day Festival to celebrate his legacy and love of zydeco music.
His widow Leona managed the festival until her death in 2009, after which their children have been determined to continue the tradition in honor of their father, with daughter Margaret acting as festival promoter.
In 2015 the
Southeast Tourism Society
STS logo 2015.jpg
"The Southeast Tourism Society" (STS), is a non-profit membership organization promoting tourism within the 13 Southeastern member states and the District of Columbia by sharing resources, fostering cooperation, networking, provid ...
, which has 12 states as members, named Boozoo's Labor Day Festival a "Top 20 Event".
The festival celebrated its thirty-second anniversary in 2016.
Other musicians have acknowledged Chavis's influence and legacy by writing songs about him. Rock band
NRBQ
NRBQ is an American rock band founded by Terry Adams (piano), Steve Ferguson (guitar) and Joey Spampinato (bass). Originally the "New Rhythm and Blues Quintet", the group was formed around 1965. Adams disbanded it for a time, and the group re-f ...
included a tribute song titled "Boozoo, That's Who" on their 1989 album ''Wild Weekend'', on which both Boozoo and Charles Chavis also performed. In the song, Chavis is described as "the king of zydeco".
Younger zydeco musician Jo Jo Reed released a song he wrote titled "Got It From Boo"
on his 1995 album ''Funky Zydeco''.
Several zydeco, Cajun, and musicians from other genres appeared on a tribute album titled ''Boozoo Hoodoo!: The Songs of Boozoo Chavis'' released in 2003 on the
Fuel 2000
Fuel 2000 is an independent record label, formed in 1994 as part of the Fuel Label Group. One of the biggest independent record labels, it has amassed a catalog with over 20,000 master recordings. Since its inception, the company has released ove ...
record label.
Discography
Studio and live albums
Singles
Various artist compilation albums
Guest appearance credits
References
External links
*
*
Remembering Boozoo Chavis*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chavis, Boozoo
1930 births
2001 deaths
20th-century African-American male singers
20th-century accordionists
African-American male songwriters
American accordionists
Musicians from Lake Charles, Louisiana
American racehorse trainers
Singers from Louisiana
Zydeco accordionists
Rounder Records artists
Maison de Soul Records artists
National Heritage Fellowship winners
African-American Catholics