Edwin Joseph Bocage (September 20, 1930 – March 18, 2009), known as Eddie Bo, was an American

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

from

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. Schooled in

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, he was known for his

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

recordings, compositions, productions and arrangements. He debuted on Ace Records in 1955 and released more single records than anyone else in New Orleans other than

Fats Domino Antoine Caliste Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orl ...

. Eddie Bo worked and recorded for more than 40 different record labels, including Ace, Apollo Records, Arrow, At Last, Blue-Jay, Bo-Sound, Checker,

Chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

, Cinderella, Nola, Ric (for which business his carpentry skills were used to build a studio), Scram, Seven B, and Swan. He is described at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

as "a sorely underappreciated veteran of the New Orleans R&B scene."

Biography

Early life

Eddie Bo grew up in Algiers, Louisiana and in the Ninth Ward of

. He came from a long line of ship builders with the male members of his family being bricklayers, carpenters and masons by day and musicians by night. Eddie's mother was a self-taught pianist in the style of friend,

Professor Longhair Henry Roeland Byrd (December 19, 1918 – January 30, 1980), better known as Professor Longhair or "Fess" for short, was an American singer and pianist who performed New Orleans blues. He was active in two distinct periods, first in the heyday o ...

. The Bocage family was involved in the traditional jazz community with cousins Charles, Henry and

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, who played with

Sidney Bechet Sidney Joseph Bechet ( ; May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important Solo (music), soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Ar ...

, contributing to jazz orchestras before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Eddie graduated from Booker T. Washington High School before going into the army. After his army stint, he returned to New Orleans to study at the Grunewald School of Music. There he learned piano, music theory and to sight read, and arrange music. It was at this time that he was influenced by Russian classical pianist

Vladimir Horowitz Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz (November 5, 1989) was a Russian and American pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of all time, he was known for his virtuoso technique, timbre, and the public excitement engendered by his playing. Life ...

and was introduced to

pianists

Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever. From early in his career, fellow musicians acclaimed Tatum's technical ability as extraordinary. Tatum a ...

and

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. As a virtuoso who is considered to be one of the greatest Jazz piano, jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordin ...

. He began playing in the New Orleans jazz scene, but made a switch to R&B after deciding it was more popular and brought in more money. Like a lot of other local musicians Eddie frequented the premier blues venue in town, the Dew Drop Inn on LaSalle Street. He played at the Club Tijuana under the name of Spider Bocage, later forming the Spider Bocage Orchestra, which toured the country supporting singers

Big Joe Turner Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him". Turner's greatest fa ...

, Earl King, Guitar Slim,

Johnny Adams Laten John Adams Jr. (January 5, 1932 – September 14, 1998), was an American blues, jazz and gospel singer, known as "The Tan Canary" for the multi-octave range of his singing voice, his swooping vocal mannerisms and falsetto. His biggest ...

Lloyd Price Lloyd Price (March 9, 1933May 3, 2021) was an American R&B and rock 'n' roll singer, known as "Mr. Personality", after his 1959 million-selling hit, "Personality (Lloyd Price song), Personality". His first recording, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", was a ...

Ruth Brown Ruth Alston Brown (; January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and actress, sometimes referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of R&B". She was noted for bringing a popular music, pop music ...

, Smiley Lewis, and

The Platters The Platters are an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The act ...

Recording and production career

His first released record in 1955 was "Baby", recorded for Johnny Vincent's Ace Records. His next release, in 1956 on Apollo Records, was "I'm Wise" which Little Richard later recorded as " Slippin' and Slidin'". After several releases on Ace he recorded "My Dearest Darling" in 1957 for

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock an ...

; the song, co-written by Bo and Paul Gayten, became a national chart hit in 1960 when recorded by

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's R&B clubs, collectively known as the Ch ...

. Songs written by Eddie Bo, ''MusicVf.com''
Retrieved 27 July 2015 From 1959, he recorded for Ric Records, and had regional hits including "Every Dog Has Its Day" and "Tell It Like It Is", and in 1961 recorded the novelty dance song "Check Mr Popeye", reissued nationally by

Swan Records Swan Records was a mid-20th century United States–based record label, founded in 1957 and based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It had a subsidiary label called Lawn Records. History Swan Records had enjoyed chart success with several U.S. ar ...

, which became one of his best-known recordings though not a national hit."New Orleans Bluesman Eddie Bo Dies", ''Billboard'', March 24, 2009
Retrieved 27 July 2015 During the 1960s, Bo continued to release singles on a string of local record labels, including Rip, Cinderella, and Blue Jay, though only a few achieved national distribution.
''Soulful Kinda Music''. Retrieved 27 July 2015 On these records, his style got

ier, and he used more of his jazz training, helping to create a distinctively different and influential New Orleans piano style. He recorded the renowned "Pass The Hatchet" under the nom de disque, Roger and the Gypsies for Joe Banashak's Seven B label as well as "Fence of Love" and "SGB" (Stone Graveyard Business) under his own name. He either wrote or produced most of the titles on Seven B records. He also worked as a record producer, with musicians including Irma Thomas, Chris Kenner,

Al "Carnival Time" Johnson Al "Carnival Time" Johnson (born June 20, 1939, in New Orleans, LouisianaClassic Songs of Louisiana "Carnival Time", OffBeat (magazine), OffBeat Magazine, February 2007) is an American singer and piano player best known for the Mardi Gras song " ...

, Art Neville, Chuck Carbo, Mary Jane Hooper, Robert Parker, and The Explosions. In 1969, at the height of funk, he had his only national chart hit, "Hook and Sling, Pts. 1 & 2", which reached number 13 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

and number 73 on the

pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

. The song, on the Scram label, was recorded in just one take. He then formed his own label, Bo-Sound, and had another regional hit with "Check Your Bucket". From the early 1970s Bo worked in the music business only sporadically, after setting up his own renovation business. In 1977 he released two albums, ''The Other Side of Eddie Bo'' and ''Watch for the Coming,'' which he produced himself. In the late 1980s and 1990s he recorded with the

Dirty Dozen Brass Band The Dirty Dozen Brass Band is an American brass band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The ensemble was established in 1977, by Benny Jones and members of the Tornado Brass Band. The Dirty Dozen incorporated funk and bebop into the traditional D ...

, with whom he toured Europe, and resurrected his Bo-Sound label. He joined

Willy DeVille Willy DeVille (born William Paul Borsey Jr.; August 25, 1950 – August 6, 2009) was an American singer and songwriter. During his thirty-five-year career, first with his band Mink DeVille (1974–1986) and later on his own, DeVille created song ...

to play on two DeVille records, '' Victory Mixture'' and '' Big Easy Fantasy,'' and he toured with DeVille as well. He later joined up with Raful Neal and Rockin' Tabby Thomas playing and recording under the names The Louisiana Legends, The District Court and The Hoodoo Kings. He continued to perform frequently in New Orleans and at festivals elsewhere, and toured intermittently. He also bought a doctor's office and salon on Banks Street which he and his manager converted into an eatery for fans called "Check Your Bucket" after his 1970 hit. Like his home and recording studio it was hit by

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

while Bo was on tour in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Due to Bo's carpentry and bricklaying skills he took on the task of completing the hurricane damage repairs himself.

Death and aftermath

Eddie Bo died on March 18, 2009, in

Picayune, Mississippi Picayune ( ) is the largest city in Pearl River County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 11,885 at the 2020 census. The city is located approximately from New Orleans, Hattiesburg, and Gulfport–Biloxi. The Stennis Space Cen ...

, United States, of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

, aged 78. After his death, his body was cremated on the instructions of a woman claiming to be his sister, although other close relatives of Bo have subsequently claimed that she was unrelated to him. A memorial concert was held in his memory on April 1, 2009, with guests including Dr. John, Irma Thomas and Allen Toussaint.

Family

Eddie Bo was survived by two sisters; Gloria Bocage-Sylva, who lives in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, and Lisa Bocage-Howard, and two brothers; Oliver and Cornelius; plus eleven children: Valeri Ann Bocage, Edwin Joseph Bocage, Jr., Owen David Bocage, Nancy Marie Bocage-Siegel, Cheryl Bocage-Joseph, Tanya Bocage-Sales, Sonjia Bocage-Anderson, Tomekia Bocage-Jones and Ava Nicol.

Popular references

Phantogram Phantogram may refer to: *Phantogram (band) Phantogram is an American music duo from Greenwich (town), New York, Greenwich, New York (state), New York, formed in 2007 and consisting of multi-instrumentalists and vocalists Sarah Barthel and Josh ...

's song " You Don't Get Me High Anymore" samples the drum break from "Hook And Sling (Part I)," which Bo wrote with Alfred Scramuzza.

Awards and recognitions

He won many music awards including two Lifetime Achievement awards from the South Louisiana Music Association and Music/Offbeat Best of the Beat. His song "Hook and Sling" was featured on the

breakbeat Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that uses drum breaks, often sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as Florida breaks, hip-hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat ...

compilation '' Ultimate Breaks and Beats''. May 22, 1997 was declared "Eddie Bo Day" in New Orleans by mayor Marc Morial while Bo was playing in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. Bo was also named

' music ambassador to

Discography

Singles

* 1955: "Baby" / "So Glad" ( Ace) * 1955: "I'm So Tired" / "We Like Mambo" (B-side is actually Huey "Piano" Smith) (Ace) * 1956: "I'm Wise" / "Happy Tears" (

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

) * 1956: "Please Forgive Me" / "I'll Be Satisfied" (Apollo) * 1956: "I Cry Oh" / "My Heart Was Meant For You" (Apollo) * 1956: "Tell Me Why" / "Hey Bo" (instrumental) (Apollo) * 1956: "Dearest One" / "Too Much of a Good Thing" (Apollo) * 1957: "Every Day and Every Night" / "Indeed I Do" ( Checker) * 1958: "My Dearest Darling" / "Oh-Oh" (

) * 1958: "Walk That Walk" / "Hep Hep Hooray" (Chess) * 1959: "I'll Keep On Trying" / "I Love To Rock and Roll" (Ace) * 1959: "Hey There Baby" / "I Need Someone" (Ric) * 1959: " You Got Your Mojo Working" / "Everybody Knows" (Ric) * 1960: "Tell It Like It Is" / "Every Dog Got His Day" (Ric) * 1960: "Warm Daddy" / "Ain't It the Truth Now" (Ric) * 1961: "It Must Be Love" / "What a Fool I've Been (Ric) * 1961: "Dinky Doo" / "Everybody, Everything Needs Love" (Ric) * 1961: "Dinky Doo" / "Everybody, Everything Needs Love" ( Capitol) * 1961: "I Got To Know" / "Bless You Darling" (Ric) * 1962: "Check Mr. Popeye (Part I)" / "Now Let's Popeye (Part II)" (Ric) * 1962: "Check Mr. Popeye" / "Now Let's Popeye" (Swan) * 1962: "Baby I'm Wise" / "Roamin–Titis" (Ric) * 1962: "Let's Limbo" / "Mo–Jo" (Rip) * 1962: "You're With Me" / "You're The Only One" (Rip) * 1962: "You're With Me" / "You're The Only One" (Chess) * 1962: "Woman" / "Temptation" (Rip) * 1962: "Mama Said" / "Tee Na Na" by Reggie Hall (Rip) arranged/conducted by Eddie Bo * 1963: "Te Na Na Nay" / "Twinkle Toes" (At Last) * 1963: "Hold Me" / "I Found a Little Girl" (At Last) * 1963: "Reassure Me" / "Shake, Rock and Soul" (Cinderella) * 1963: "Just Like a Monkey" / "Have Mercy on Me" (Cinderella) * 1964: "You Are Going To Be Somebody's Fool" / "A Heap See (But a Few Know)" (Nola) * 1964: "Fare Thee Well" / "Let's Let It Roll" (Arrow) * 1964: "Fare Thee Well" / "Let's Let It Roll" (Chess) * 1964: "Gotta Have More" / "Come With Me" (Blue Jay) * 1964: "The River of Tears" / "Fight It" (Blue Jay) * 1964: "Danger" / "Fee-Fie-Jum-Bo-Li" (Blue Jay) * 1965: "Our Love (Will Never Falter)" / "Lucky In Love" (Blue Jay) * 1966: "What You Gonna Do" / "Fallin' In Love Again" (Seven B) * 1966: "From This Day On" / "Let Our Love Begin" (Seven B) * 1967: "Just Friends" / "Fence of Love" (Seven B) * 1967: "All I Ask of You" / "Skate It Out" (Seven B) * 1967: "Solid Foundation" / "S.G.B. (Stone Graveyard Business)" (Seven B) * 1968: "Lover and a Friend" / "If I Had To Do It Over" with Inez Cheatham (Seven B) * 1968: "Lover and a Friend" / "If I Had To Do It Over" with Inez Cheatham (Capitol) * 1969: "Love Has Been Good" / "That Certain Someone" (Scram) * 1969: "Hook and Sling (Parts 1 & 2)" (Scram) * 1969: "If It's Good To You (It's Good For You) (Parts 1 & 2)" (Scram) * 1970: "We're Doing It (Thang) (Parts 1 & 2)" (Bo-Sound) * 1970: "Can You Handle It" / "Don't Turn Me Loose" (Bo-Sound) * 1970: "Check Your Bucket (Parts 1 & 2)" (Bo-Sound) * 1971: "The Rubber Band (Parts 1 & 2)" (Knight)

Albums

Filmography

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

: '' New Orleans Music in Exile''

References

External links

Official website

* Biography on Allmusic {{DEFAULTSORT:Bo, Eddie 1930 births 2009 deaths Ace Records (United States) artists 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers American rhythm and blues singers American soul musicians Chess Records artists Rhythm and blues musicians from New Orleans Singers from New Orleans