Disclaimer:
The opinions expressed in Little Red's Picks are mine. I want to tell y'all about some of the things that have inspired me. If I leave out your favorites or you don't agree with me, no offense. Music, like any art, has different meanings for each of us. What moves you is good. This stuff moves me.
Boozoo Chavis
Boozoo put out some records in the 50's at the same time Chenier's earliest 45's were released. Boozoo's stuff never made it outside of Louisiana, though. His big hit back then was Paper in my Shoe, which became a zydeco staple, although that original recording doesn't do it for me. Much better is Forty-one Days from those sessions. Boozoo's 50's recordings were released on an album called Louisiana Atomic Bomb or something like that. For completists I would say.
When Boozoo started recording again in the 80's, he really got his act together with a band that was on the same page with him. And why not, since half the band was his sons. Zydeco Trail Ride on Maison de Soul is a fine package from this period. But, Boozoo just kept getting better. The CD called Boozoo Chavis on American Explorer is great, as are every one I've heard on Rounder. Live at the Habibi Temple, Hey Do Right, and Down Home On Dog Hill are all strong and are fine examples of where the kind of zydeco that is popular today came from. Boozoo was really responsible for the resurgence of butt-kicker zydeco. One or two chord rides, chord changes when he felt like it, lots of songs about his horses and Dog Hill. To me this style of zydeco is much more raw and primitive than the Clifton Chenier/Buckwheat style. At the same time it can be way more modern sounding too. Which will bring us to next week's pick: Beau Jocque.
