Showing 1 - 23 of 23
Artist: The Beltones
Artist: Beltones
Artist: Belton Richard
Even though Belton Richard does not perform as frequently as he once did when he fronted the group the Musical Aces beginning in 1959, songs he penned decades ago have withstood the test of time and are still very much in evidence. Many Cajun musical outfits of today routinely play Richard's tunes. He scored several hits with his compositions in... [+] Read More
Artist: Tom Belton
Artist: Richard Belton
Artist: William C. Belton Jr.
Artist: The Carnations
Not to be confused with either the group of the same name that sang behind Bo Diddley, or the group that recorded for Beltone, this version of the Carnations recorded for the Enrica and Lescay labels. They made their most visible impact in Dallas, TX, as the resident backing group behind the likes of Etta James, et al., on the soul showcase The... [+] Read More
Artist: The Masters
Doo wop quintet the Masters formed in Queens, NY -- according to Marv Goldberg's profile on his R&B Notebooks website, the group's convoluted history encompasses two distinct acts that emerged from the South Jamaica Projects housing facility in 1952. The first, the Love Larks, was comprised of lead Pete Le Monier, first tenor Billy Boatswain,... [+] Read More
Artist: The Commandos
Studio group assembled by Juggy Murray, featuring King Curtis (tenor sax), Herman Foster (piano), Al Casey (guitar), Jimmy Lewis (piano), and Belton Evans (drums). Curtis was signing with Atlantic and so couldn't be credited (apart from the writing) on the group's two singles on the Sue Records subsidiary Symbol label, "Chicken Scratch" and... [+] Read More
Artist: Cajun Playboys
Taking a break from playing with Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, five Louisiana-based musicians joined together to form the tradition-rooted Cajun band the Cajun Playboys. Led by drummer Kevin Dugas, a veteran of Belton Richard's band and Walter Mouton & the Scott Playboys, the group resurrected such classic Cajun and zydeco tunes as "J'Ai... [+] Read More
Artist: Bobby Lewis
Bobby Lewis is one of those talented performers whose recognition is confined to a single monster hit, "Tossin' and Turnin'." Released in early 1961, the single rode the charts to 23 weeks, eventually hitting the number one spot on both the pop and R&B charts. Lewis had other hits, including a Top Ten follow-up with "One Track Mind," and had... [+] Read More
Artist: Aldus Roger
Aldus Roger was one of the most influential Cajun performers during the era when the musical genre was little known outside of the French Triangle in southwest Louisiana. The leader and frontman of the Lafayette Playboys Rogers reached his largest audience, in the 1950s and '60s, as host of a Saturday afternoon show on Lafayette's KLFY Channel... [+] Read More
Artist: Flyleaf
The Belton, TX-based heavy rock quintet Flyleaf formed in 2000 when frontwoman Lacey Mosley tried out a string of the dark, hard-edged songs she consistently wrote as a brooding teen on drummer James Culpepper. After a brief period of playing together, they recruited guitarists Sameer Bhattacharya and Jared Hartmann, members of a local outfit... [+] Read More
Artist: Moore & Moore
Twin sisters Debbie and Carrie Moore originally hail from Belton, MO, and it was while the duo sang their senior-class song at high-school graduation that they decided their future lay in music. After playing in clubs throughout North America, the sisters relocated to the country capital of the U.S.A. -- Nashville. The move paid off for the duo... [+] Read More
Artist: Fernest "Man" Abshire
Fernest "Man" Abshire showed an interest in music from the time he was 12 years old. Four years later in 1950, a teenaged Abshire hooked up with Lawrence Walker and devoted two years to singing and drumming for him. By 1953, Abshire had left his job with Walker and joined the Lafayette Playboys, under the leadership of Aldus Roger. During this... [+] Read More
Artist: William Johnson
One of the rare jazzmen whose early credits includes a reference to celery, William "Bill" Johnson's greatest claim to fame was as one of the co-writers of "Tuxedo Junction," a snappy chart originally crafted for the Erskine Hawkins band, with whom Johnson performed from 1936 through 1943. That tune has made it into the priority list of... [+] Read More
Artist: Fireflies
The Fireflies' career spanned eight single releases on five labels from 1958 to 1967. They formed in Philadelphia in 1957 and went through several lineup changes, but the actual membership is somewhat of a mystery. Ritchie Adams (born Richard Ziegler) sang lead but wasn't an original member; it's believed he sang lead on their biggest hit, their... [+] Read More
Artist: The Eternals
These Eternals were a vocal group who scored big with "Rockin' in the Jungle"; the "other" Eternals were based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and recorded several cover songs that became Canadian hits in the late '60s.
The Eternals formed during the late '50s, in the Freeman Street neighborhood of the Bronx, where the quintet -- Charlie Gerona on lead,... [+] Read More
Artist: Wayne Toups
Certainly one of the most exciting musicians to come out of Acadiana is Wayne Toups. From the moment he bursts on-stage with his accordion, Toups is going full blast and the show is only going up from there. In short, Toups will blow your dance socks off.
His electrifying stage presence is due somewhat to his persona; often sporting a Hawaiian... [+] Read More
Artist: Robert Jardell
While many contemporary Cajun musicians carry the torch of their culture, adapting and reinterpreting the music for modern sensibilities, a few have remained faithful to the old songs and traditions. Robert Jardell is one of those keepers of the old ways. A master of the acoustic accordion, he plays and sings the old tunes about his ancestors,... [+] Read More
Artist: Loumell Morgan
A legendary figure from the early days of the North Carolina music scene, pianist Loumell Morgan was born in the state's capital and may have been as young as 15 when he made his professional debut in an ensemble led by C.S. Belton. He played in the Capital City Aces even earlier than that; learned how to swing and entertain in the late '30s... [+] Read More
Artist: Floyd Soileau
Floyd Soileau (pronounced swallow) has played an essential role in the evolution of Louisiana's music. As the owner of the Swallow, Jin, Maison de Soul, and Kom-a-day record labels, Soileau has been responsible for more than 300 singles and 200 albums by such artists as the Balfa Brothers, Clifton Chenier, Rockin' Sidney, Belton Richard,... [+] Read More
Artist: The Kestrels
The Kestrels are scarcely remembered today, if at all, even in England, except as the group through which the songwriting team of Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway first met and started composing jointly. They were one of the busiest vocal groups in England during the late 1950's and early 1960's, however, singing back-up behind Joe Brown, Billy... [+] Read More
