Roscoe Chenier

A second cousin of the late zydeco/blues legend <a href="spotify:artist:3LzQVHowQWbzJBwBBNRPfY">Clifton Chenier</a>, 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 <a href="spotify:artist:5xLSa7l4IV1gsQfhAMvl0U">B.B. King</a> to <a href="spotify:artist:09C0xjtosNAIXP36wTnWxd">Fats Domino</a>) 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 <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Avenue+Jazz%22">Avenue Jazz</a>. 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. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi