Born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, in 1930, Boozoo Chavis grew up playing zydeco on the region's “Crawfish Circuit,” cutting the first-ever commercial record in the genre at 24. After a three-decade hiatus from the record business, Chavis returned, triumphant, dubbed “the king of zydeco” by the New York Times. On his self-titled Nonesuch album, Chavis performs a rollicking set of mostly original compositions with his band, The Magic Sounds.
Wilson “Boozoo” Chavis was a highly influential zydeco musician born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, in 1930. Recognized for his incomparable singing and accordion playing, Chavis was also a prolific songwriter, with many of his songs entering the standard repertoire for zydeco musicians.
Chavis is believed to have been the first person to record and release a zydeco record, in 1954. After a three-decade hiatus from the record business, Chavis returned, triumphant, dubbed “the king of zydeco” by the New York Times. On his self-titled Nonesuch album, released in 1991, Chavis performs a rollicking set of mostly original compositions with his band, The Magic Sounds.
Boozoo Chavis died on May 5, 2001, in Austin, Texas, after suffering a heart attack at a performance.
