Roscoe Chenier Day
Born: November 6, 1941, St. Landry Parish, LA Died: February 7, 2013 A second cousin of the late zydeco/blues legend Clifton Chenier, Roscoe Chenier is an expressive blues/R&B singer and guitarist who isn’t nearly as well known as his famous relative. Roscoe was born and raised in Louisiana, where he joined a band called Rockin’ CD & the Blues Runners as a teenager in 1957. Chenier formed his own band in 1959, and in 1961, he recorded the 45-rpm single “Born for Bad Luck” and its B side. “Annie Mae’s Yo-Yo.” for Reynaud. The single didn’t do a lot nationally, although it was played on local jukeboxes in southern Louisiana and eventually became a collector’s item. Chenier(whose influences range from B.B. King to Fats Domino) continued to play the Louisiana circuit into the ’90s, but not until 1993 would he record again, and not until 1993 would he actually record an album. That year, a 52-year-old Chenier recorded his self-titled debut album for Avenue Jazz. The CD was good enough to make one wish that Chenier wasn’t so obscure, but when the ’90s were coming to a close, he had yet to come out with a second album or become better known outside of Louisiana.