Jimmy Donley – Think it Over – Song of the Day

February 21st, 2011

THIS is the way to start the week! One of the Gulf Coast’s greatest songwriters greatest song. Jimmy Donley- Think it Over. (Tommy McLain also has a killer version to boot.)

Categories: Audio, Fallen But Never Forgotten, gulf coast soul, Song of the Day, Swamp Pop | Tags: Jimmy Donley, Swamp Pop | 3 Comments

 “Eddie and Earl” at Mo Chalet’s Tonight

September 22nd, 2010

In town for the Stomp and need something to do tonight? Venture out to Metry to witness a slab of yat grandeur with the dynamic duo of “Eddie and Earl” at Mo’s Chalet. That’s non other than Eddie “Gypsy Woman” Powers and Earl “Pass the Hatchet” Stanley holding down their steady Weds night gig. Mo’s Chalet has been chronicled here previously by Lakeview Kid. “Give the people what they want!”

Lakeview Kid described the regular patrons of Mo’s Chalet thusly:

And “the people,” in Mo’s case, fit a certain demographic. They are either members of “the Greatest Generation” or hail from the immediately younger age groups. These are the people who grew up in a still-vibrant New Orleans, attended its grammar and high schools, and bore witness to not only the jazz revival of the late 1940s and early ’50s, but also the birth of rock ‘n’ roll. These are the people who remember Butera and Prima blazing away on Bourbon Street and at the Beverly Club. These are the people who saw Pete Fountain and Al “Jumbo” Hirt trading lightning-bolt licks at Lenfant’s on the lakefront. These are the people who when they hear the name “Dukes of Dixieland” immediately think “Assunto brothers”—you know, those nice neighborhood Italian boys from around the French Market who just happen to have a red-hot family band. These are the people who grew up buying Fats Domino 45s and swaying to Jerry Raines’ “Our Teenage Love” at the CYO dances. They remember serving detention-hall stints with Roland “Stone” LeBlanc at Warren Easton High, or eating cheeseburgers next to a teenage Frankie Ford at Da Wabbit in Gretna after a sock hop at the McDonoghville VFW. These are New Orleans’ salt of the earth, and those who still make it out to Mo’s Chalet are the silver-fox survivors. They’re still boogieing down and drinking up well into their 60s, 70s, and 80s.

Categories: New Orleans, Rock 'n Roll, Swamp Pop, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

 Burning Down the House: 2 Swamp Pop Benefits to Rock Westwego’s Old Firemen’s Hall

September 4th, 2010

Just across the river from the Crescent City and yet seemingly a world away, the West Bank of New Orleans stands strong as a holdout bastion of swamp-pop music and the classic R&B sound of the 1950s and ’60s. Physically linked to Cajun country via waterways such as Bayou Segnette and roads such as U.S. 90, the West Bank also has retained more of a cultural connection to Acadiana than New Orleans has. That cultural continuity is evident in the thriving dance scene that drives the oldies bands playing in clubs, casinos, and civic halls from Gretna to Westwego and from Harvey to Lafitte.

One such club is the historic Old Firemen’s Hall
on Fourth Street in Westwego, where two major musical events of interest to Ponderosa Stomp fans are set for this Sunday and the next.

A benefit for local musician Richard Banquer is planned Sunday, Sept. 5, from 1 to 6 p.m. Scheduled to appear are Frankie Ford, Jean Knight, Deacon John, Charmaine Neville, Ryan Foret and Foret Tradition, the Creole Soul band featuring Brad Sapia, P.E. Gilligan, singer-songwriter Duane Schurb, Anthony Collura, Aaron Foret, Glen Weber, Lil’ Dino, Danny Alexander, and – coming all the way from central Texas – the legendary shouter Roy Head of “Treat Her Right” renown (See Head at this year’s Ponderosa Stomp). Banquer’s mother, Cleo, once managed the career of Clarence “Frogman” Henry, whose son “Tadpole” Henry will be performing. Expect to see some surprise guests as well.

Banquer also is set to be inducted into the West Bank Musicians Hall of Fame, which is sponsoring a benefit dance for itself at the Firemen’s Hall on Sept. 12 from 1 to 5 p.m. Scheduled to play are Wayne Foret, Jake Chimento, Roland “Skeeter” Thomassie, Ronnie Boudreaux, Duane Schurb, Aaron and Ryan Foret, Jason Parfait, the Way Down South band, and the Chicken on the Bone band. Visit the hall’s Web site for a full list of the newest inductees, which includes James “Sugar Boy” Crawford, who will be interviewed at this year’s Ponderosa Stomp Music History Conference. The hall’s induction banquet is tentatively scheduled for May 31, 2011, and the dance for June 5.

The Hall of Fame is working to open a museum in Westwego, with plans to renovate the Martin House, a National Register property in Westwego’s historic riverfront district, Salaville. The hall’s most famous members are legends in the music business, both locally and globally, including Bobby Mitchell, Clarence “Frogman” Henry, Joe “I’m a Fool to Care” Barry, Ronnie Barron, “Lazy River” composer Sidney Arodin, “Big” John Thomassie, John Bonvillain, Joe Carl, Joe Clay, Vin Bruce, Leroy Martin, and numerous others. [See Clay, Martin, and Bruce at this year's Ponderosa Stomp. Known as the "Cajun Jim Reeves," Bruce performed at Hank Williams' 1952 New Orleans wedding festivities.]

Built like a brick shithouse and boasting a massive dancefloor, the Old Firemen’s Hall is one of the most distinctive and historic entertainment venues on Fourth Street, which serves as the West Bank’s “River Road.” Before the corporate casinos came and siphoned off the energy, Fourth Street was once lined with nightclubs, bars, dance halls, and gambling joints catering to the carnal desires of workers who plied their trades on the then-vibrant waterfront and in Barataria’s teeming bayou fishing paradise. The Joy Lounge, the Scorpio, the Junkyard, and the Moulin Rouge were among the standout clubs before changing demographics and economies also took their toll. Though its exact history is shrouded in mystery, the Old Firemen’s Hall
was built around 1919 and has been used for boxing matches, political rallies, bingo games, meetings and other functions, but most importantly it has served as a dance hall for generations of West Bankers.

Westwego historian Dan Alario remembers seeing country-music pioneer Ernest Tubb at the hall, and jazz musicians such as Kid Thomas Valentine have played there. In recent years, after being damaged by Hurricane Katrina, the hall was purchased and renovated by former Westwego Mayor Robert Billiot. Besides regularly showcasing swamp-pop bands, the hall has been a meeting place for the Good Times Jamaica Dance Club and the Back to the ’50s Jamaica Dance Club, which preserve the unique choreography created in the early 1950s at the Jamaica Lounge at Josephine and Magazine streets in the Irish Channel.

The swamp-pop torch is still burning brightly on the West Bank. Come party — “boogalee” style — with some true stars of Louisiana and Texas music, backed by the cream of the West Bank musical crop, in the boisterous blockhouse that is the Old Firemen’s Hall. This is the stuff that time warps are made of.

Duane Schurb, Let’s talk About Memories

Categories: Audio, New Orleans, R&B, Rock 'n Roll, Swamp Pop | Tags: Swamp Pop | No Comments

 Benefit for a King of Gulf Coast Boogie and Soul – Jerry LaCroix

August 26th, 2010

Louisiana vocal giant GG Shinn has delivered some of the most electrifying performances in recent Ponderosa Stomp memory. On Aug. 29, Shinn will be stepping up to an East Texas microphone to support his equally talented foil in the legendary 1960s lineup of the Boogie Kings, Jerry LaCroix, one of the most soulful voices in Gulf Coast music history.

A benefit concert for LaCroix is scheduled from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Crockett Street Entertainment District in Beaumont – part of Texas’ Golden Triangle, the fertile musical breeding ground that has spawned Stomp favorites such as Barbara Lynn, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, the Big Bopper, Janis Joplin, George Jones, and Edgar and Johnny Winter.

Appearing with Shinn will be swamp-pop/soul stud TK Hulin; Port Arthur native Jivin’ Gene of “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” fame; East Texan keyboardist Ken Marvel, one of modern swamp pop’s pre-eminent songwriters; Scott McGill; Gerry Mouton; West Bank-bred drummer Steve Adams; Larry Badon; Bilou Hulin; and a host of Boogie Kings alumni such as Parker James. The donation is $20, and barbecue and gumbo will be sold.

LaCroix singing under the name Jerry “Count” Jackson:

Jerry LaCroix was born in 1943 in Alexandria, La., lived in Jena, and moved to Texas’ Port Neches-Groves area as a youth. He played in a series of bands but sealed his stellar reputation by joining the Boogie Kings in 1965, performing as “Count Jackson” and joining Shinn in now-legendary, jaw-dropping duets as the “King Brothers.” LaCroix’s powerful, soul-belting voice served as a visceral counterpoint to Shinn’s silky-smooth, multi-octave acrobatics — all to the squealing delight of the bikini-clad throngs and their beaus at the Bamboo Hut in Galveston and other such storied venues.

Here is LaCroix and Duane Yates as the King Brothers at a Boogie Kings reunion doing one of the Boogie Kings few original numbers, The Philly Walk.

LaCroix recalls the first time he heard the Boogie Kings: “It was like a freight train coming through that room! These guys had five tenor saxophones, a couple of trumpets, a Hammond B-3 organ and one of those Louisiana drummers. They were playing all of that what is now called swamp pop music back then. Fats Domino, Bobby Charles, Louisiana-style music. These guys were really super powerful. They were great. So, after our band kind of disbanded, all of my friends went to the Berklee School of Music in Boston. So, I said if I can’t lick these guys I’ll join them. I called up Ned [Theall], the leader of the band, and asked him if he could use another singer. He said, ‘Come on.’ There were three lead singers and all the horn players sang like black chicks in a gospel choir. They had beautiful voices. It was just an incredible band.”

See LaCroix in a Boogie Kings reunion:

A multi-instrumentalist (sax, keyboards, guitar, and harmonica), LaCroix went on to perform, tour, and record with Edgar Winter’s White Trash band; Blood, Sweat, and Tears; and Rare Earth in the 1970s. He also cut two solo records, “LaCroix” and “Second Coming.”

LaCroix singing with Blood, Sweat, and Tears:

LaCroix singing backup and playing sax with Blood, Sweat, and Tears:

LaCroix’s show-stopping performances with the Boogie Kings resumed in reunion gigs over the past few decades, and no Boogie Kings concert is ever complete without seeing LaCroix drop to his knees to deliver his gut-wrenching rendition of Gene Chandler’s “Rainbow ’65.”

A regular performer at the Gulf Coast Music Hall of Fame’s annual Janis Joplin tribute concert, LaCroix’s bluesy, balls-to-the-wall vocal style likely influenced the young chanteuse from Port Arthur. “She used to come out to a club across the river and play. It was a place that was really famous down here called The Big Oaks Club in Louisiana just across the Sabine River. At that time, the drinking age in Texas was 21, but in Louisiana it was 18. If you could reach the bar with a quarter you could get a beer. They were very loose. In fact, I started playing over there when I was 14 years old. … I knew of her by reputation, but her reputation in this area wasn’t very good. She had a bad reputation because she talked bad about Port Arthur, but we still loved her.”

Joplin’s sister, Laura, confirms LaCroix’s influence in her biography, “Love, Janis,” and also paints a vivid portrait of that bustling time and place in Louisiana music history: “Vinton, Louisiana, offered Janis a glimpse into another way of life. It was Cajun. Both the language and the social attitude that came with it were different from the Anglo culture of Texas. There was a whole group of bars catering to the Texas youth: the Big Oak, Lou Ann’s, Buster’s, the Stateline, and more. Each had a large dance floor and several pool tables. After growing up glued to radio and hi-fi, Janis found her first good live music in Vinton. It may have been Cajun soul, rockabilly, or something else. There was certainly the white soul music of Jerry LaCroix and the Counts. Whatever it was, it sounded good, and uniquely Louisianan. Mixed into the atmosphere of the club was the Cajun priority of having a good time. These French-Acadian descendants didn’t harbor the pent-up Anglo-Saxon attitude toward emotional expression. They let it flow and everyone accepted it.”

According to journalist Margaret Moser: “For kids in East Texas’ ‘Golden Triangle’ — Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange — the promised land of booze and blues lay just across the Louisiana border. While the big-city sound of Bobby Bland and gritty rhythm of Lightnin’ Hopkins filtered in from Houston, 90 miles away, Slim Harpo, Clifton Chenier, and swamp-pop royalty like Tommy McLain, Rod Bernard, and Dale & Grace reigned in the roadhouses and dance halls of Cajun and swamp country that ran off Highway 90 between Lafayette and the Lone Star border.”

Come pass a good time — Golden Triangle style — and help support a true Texas-Louisiana music legend, Jerry “Count Jackson” LaCroix, in Beaumont on Aug. 29 at 3 p.m.

For a partial discography of LaCroix’s work, visit LaCroix’s web site

Categories: gulf coast soul, R&B, Rock 'n Roll, Soul, Swamp Pop, video | Tags: Boogie Kings, Boogy Kings, G.G. Shinn, GG Shinn, Janis Joplin, Jerry LaCroix, R&B, Soul, Swamp Pop | 9 Comments

 1974 Video of Huey P. Meaux the Crazy Cajun Live on the Radio

August 19th, 2010

“Huey P. Meaux’s last Friday night oldies show on KPFT right before he went large with Freddy Fenders “Before the Next Teardrop Falls.”

Categories: Swamp Pop, Time Machine, video | Tags: Crazy Cajun, Huey P. Meaux, kpft, Radio, Swamp Pop | 6 Comments

 You Can’t Kill Gulf Coast Soul – Barbara Lynn Show and Dance at the Rock N Bowl, Saturday, June 5th

June 3rd, 2010

Barbara Lynn, the Empress of Gulf Coast Soul, will be performing a show and dance with Lil Buck and the Top Cats on June 5th, 2010 at the Rock N Bowl.

Presented by the Ponderosa Stomp Foundation and the Rock N Bowl.

Barbara Lynn, Oh Baby, We Got A Good Thing Going

Categories: Audio, gulf coast soul, Ponderosa Stomp 2010, Soul, Swamp Pop | Tags: gulf coast soul, Swamp Pop | 5 Comments

 Barbara Lynn, You’ll Lose a Good Thing – Video

May 28th, 2010

Barbara Lynn, the Empress of Gulf Coast Soul, will be performing with Lil Buck and the Top Cats on June 5th, 2010 at the Rock N Bowl.

Presented by the Ponderosa Stomp Foundation and the Rock N Bowl.

Categories: Soul, Swamp Pop, Time Machine, video | Tags: gulf coast soul, Swamp Pop | No Comments

 Classie Ballou and “his wrecking crew” live

April 29th, 2010

Today were honoring Classie Ballou, the creole rocker from South LA who currently leads his family band out of Waco, Texas. Classie and the family band will be appearing at the Jazz Fest today, and the Stomp’s own Alison Fensterstock profiles Ballou in today’s Times Picayune.

To get you in the mood, here is the smoldering “Classie’s Whip:”

The TP explains the origins:

Ballou moved on to play sessions at J.D. Miller’s legendary studio in Crowley, performing with Cookie Thierry (of Cookie and the Cupcakes), Carol Fran, and on dozens of Excello Records swamp blues, swamp pop and R&B sides. He also recorded on his own, cutting diverse blues, R&B and Latin-inflected tracks such as the wild instrumental rocker “Classie’s Whip” and the genre hybrid “Crazy Mambo.”

“Believe it or not, I’m a mambo freak, ” he said. “I always had a horn section. I just like that kind of rhythm. I like that New Orleans rhythm, too. I’m labeled as a blues band, but I can play everything.”

He proves it on “Crazy Mambo:”

The article goes on to chronicle the Stomp’s modus operandi when it comes to coaxing a musician to play their own classic material:

After Padnos prevailed upon Ballou to switch out chestnuts such as “Mustang Sally” [in his set] for nuggets such as “Classie’s Whip, ” the guitarist decided to roll with it. Fluent as he is in multiple musical languages, he’ll be speaking Classie in the Blues Tent today.

“Ira always tells me, ‘We don’t want to hear no BB King or Muddy Waters or Fats Domino. We want to hear the stuff you recorded when you were 29 years old and 30 in the waist, ‘ ” Ballou said, laughing. –”We don’t want to hear nothing but Classie Ballou.’ ”

“The Jazz Fest didn’t ask me what I was going to play, but I’m gonna follow that train and just be strictly original, more or less.”

Classie is also one of the three featured musicians in the Ponderosa Stomp film where he explains how he came up with “Classie’s Whip.”

As Michael Hurtt describes on the Ballou’s Stomp bio – the family band’s performances are not to be missed:

Ballou’s live shows are the kind of take no prisoners affairs where-unlike so many of his contemporaries–he’s guaranteed to play ‘em all, throwing in his amazing versions of “Jambalaya”, “Mathilda,” “Guitar Rhumbo,” “Honky Tonk” and “Sweet Home Alabama.” Classie’s family band features son Cedric (bass), grandson Cedryl (drums, accordion) and daughter CeChaun (sax, guitar and drums), all of whom have been taught to play by the master, resulting in an old school musical approach crossed with a youthful exuberance that belies the era they grew up in. Thus, when they tackle one of Classie’s old numbers, it sounds exactly like the original record; likewise, if you hear ‘em do “Tutti Frutti” it’ll be injected with every subtle nuance that’s been lost by everyone else in the last forty years. Simply put, Ballou and his wrecking crew are one of the best rock ‘n’ roll bands you’ll EVER see, end of the story.

Categories: Audio, R&B, Rock 'n Roll, Swamp Pop | Tags: Classie Ballou, Crazy Mambo, Swamp Pop | 2 Comments

 Unsung Heroes: Secret History of Louisiana Rock N’ Roll Exhibit at Jazzfest

April 24th, 2010

“Unsung Heroes: The Secret History of Louisiana Rock n’Roll” is a much-belated celebration of the state’s formidable contribution to American music. The exhibit showcases, for the first time, the rich – and largely unknown – musical history of Louisiana’s blues, R&B, soul, rockabilly, swamp pop and garage artists, who played a significant role in shaping popular music and culture for the last 60 years.

The exhibit takes a close look at the Louisiana’s post-war geographic music capitals- Shreveport, Lake Charles, Crowley, Baton Rouge, Lafayette and of course, New Orleans. With profiles on the entrepreneurial studio owners, the A&R men; and the key musicians, arrangers and producers who made the classic recordings.

The Unsung Heroes exhibit at the New Orleans Jazzfest is displayed in the grandstands during the festival and is an abbreviated version of the full exhibit now showing at the Louisiana State Museum Cabildo in the French Quarter.

The exhibit was curated by the Ponderosa Stomp Foundation and the Louisiana State Museum with support from the Louisiana Museum Foundation.

Categories: Blues, Garage, New Orleans, oral history, R&B, Rock 'n Roll, Rockabilly, Soul, Swamp Pop | Tags: jazzfest, museum, unsung heroes exhibit | 4 Comments

 Someday You Will Understand – Song of the Day

April 21st, 2010

obscure swamp pop song on the more raw side by cookie and the cupcakes. check out the braying saxophone and sea of love chord changes.

cookie and the cupcakes cut the swamp pop national anthem mathilda for george khoury`s lyric label. they also provided the instrumental backing on phil phillips`s “sea of love.”

Categories: Audio, Song of the Day, Swamp Pop | 1 Comment