34 Facts About Boozoo Chavis

Wilson Anthony "Boozoo" Chavis was an American accordion player, singer, songwriter and bandleader.

Boozoo Chavis was one of the pioneers of zydeco, the fusion of Louisiana Creole and blues music developed in southwest Louisiana.

Boozoo Chavis was the son of tenant farmers, and acquired the nickname "Boozoo" in his childhood, although the origin of the nickname is unknown.

Accounts vary as to when and how Boozoo Chavis obtained his first accordion.

Boozoo Chavis was exposed to music within his family; his father, some uncles and cousins all played accordion.

Boozoo Chavis played washboard and harmonica prior to obtaining his first accordion, and his father taught him early accordion lessons.

When he was 14, the Boozoo Chavis family moved "across the highway".

Later, Boozoo 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, his father, Morris Chenier, and brother, Cleveland Chenier.

Boozoo Chavis played music as a side job at house dances on weekends and evenings.

Boozoo Chavis made his first recording in 1955, "Paper in My Shoe", based on a song he heard performed by Creole accordionist Ambrose "Potato" Sam.

Boozoo Chavis's version was an uptempo tune with a dance beat about being too poor to afford new shoes or socks, so he placed a paper in his shoes to keep his feet warm when the holes in the sole got too large.

An inebriated Boozoo 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.

Boozoo Chavis found difficulty booking gigs without steady record releases.

Boozoo Chavis performed rarely during the 1960s and 1970s, except for friends and family events, devoting most of his time to farming and raising racehorses on his property in Dog Hill, on the outskirts of Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Boozoo Chavis returned to performing music regularly in 1984 after discovering that another musician was impersonating him.

Boozoo Chavis recorded two albums for Sonet Records in the early 1990s.

Boozoo 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.

Boozoo Chavis routinely wore an apron while on stage, to keep his sweat from damaging his accordion.

Stylistically, Boozoo Chavis provided a rural contrast, with fewer instruments and more repetitive compositions, with la la roots, compared to the urban zydeco developed and popularized by Clifton Chenier, which featured a broad instrumental lineup, standardized compositions, and electric influences from soul and rock.

Boozoo Chavis was a prolific writer of zydeco songs, some including references to his friends and acquaintances and others too raunchy to be sold openly.

Boozoo Chavis told record producer Floyd Soileau 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, Boozoo Chavis made just one trip to California, and he drove there from Louisiana.

Boozoo Chavis's style, using a button rather than piano accordion, was more traditional than that of Chenier.

Boozoo Chavis switched between single-, double-, and triple-row accordions and played in "cross position" and in relative minor keys to make a bluesy sound on the diatonic instruments.

Boozoo Chavis appeared at the New York Jazzfest for ten consecutive years as well as appearances at the Newport Folk Festival and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and in 2000 he was a featured act at the San Francisco Jazz Festival.

Boozoo Chavis was featured in a 1994 documentary film titled The Kingdom of Zydeco.

Boozoo Chavis died on May 5,2001, from complications resulting from a heart attack after a performance a week earlier in Austin, Texas.

Boozoo Chavis was funeralized at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Church and interred at Highland Memorial Gardens, both in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Boozoo Chavis was inducted into the Zydeco Hall of Fame in 1998.

Boozoo Chavis married Leona Predium who often accompanied Boozoo Chavis on tour, and on breaks between sets would sell records, T-shirts, and panties with his photo printed on them.

In 1995, Boozoo Chavis had the tips of two fingers on his left hand amputated after an accident involving a barbeque pit.

Boozoo Chavis had completed the recording of what would be his final album only a few weeks before his death.

In 2005, five of Boozoo Chavis' grandsons started a band named The Dog Hill Stompers, partly to keep their grandfather's legacy alive.

Boozoo Chavis founded the "Labor Day Dog Hill Festival" in 1989 as a fan appreciation party, but to showcase zydeco musicians and to keep the zydeco tradition alive.