Ann Savoy ( ; ; born January 20, 1952) is a musician, author, and record producer.

Biography

Savoy was born in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

, Missouri and raised in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. She resides with her husband

Marc Savoy Marc Savoy ( ; born October 1, 1940) is an American musician, and builder and player of the Cajun accordion. Early life He was born on his grandfather's rice farm near Eunice, Louisiana, Eunice, Louisiana. His grandfather was a fiddler, who occ ...

and family in Eunice, Southern

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. As a musician, she performs with her husband

accordionist Accordions (from 19th-century German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed in a frame). The es ...

and

fiddler A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially syno ...

Michael Doucet Michael Louis Doucet (born February 14, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and musician best known as the founder of the Cajun band BeauSoleil. Early life Doucet was born in Scott, Louisiana, to a Cajun family. Family parties in the 1950s ...

in the Savoy Doucet Cajun Band. She also has an all-woman band The Magnolia Sisters. She also performs with husband Marc and their sons, Joel and Wilson, in the Savoy Family Band. Most recently, she has put together a

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani people, Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Belgium, Belgian-born Romani jazz guitarist and composer in France. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe ...

-style swing band called Ann Savoy and her Sleepless Knights. Savoy appeared as a musician in the film '' Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood'' and was the associate music director of the film ''

All The King's Men ''All the King's Men'' is a 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren. The novel tells the story of charismatic populist governor Willie Stark and his political machinations in the Depression-era Deep South. It was inspired by the real-life story of U. ...

'', working on this project with

T Bone Burnett Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. Burnett has won several Grammy Awards for his work on film sou ...

. She has appeared in many documentaries on the subject of

Cajun music Cajun music (), an emblematic music of Louisiana played by the Cajuns, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Although they are two separate genres, Cajun music is often mentioned in tandem with the Creole-based ...

including a

Les Blank Les Blank (November 27, 1935 – April 7, 2013) was an American documentary filmmaker best known for his portraits of American traditional musicians. Life and career Leslie Harrod Blank Jr. was born November 27, 1935, in Tampa, Florida. He atten ...

film, entitled ''Marc and Ann''. As a record producer she produced, among others, the

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

Award nominated tribute to Cajun music, '' Evangeline Made: A Tribute to Cajun Music'', featuring singers

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...

John Fogerty John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty, he founded the swamp rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he was th ...

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock, power pop and New wave music, new wave, She is the editor and compiler of ''Cajun Music: A Reflection of a People'', which chronicles the history of

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the US state of Louisiana and surrounding Gulf Coast states. Whi ...

and

Zydeco Zydeco ( ; ) is a music genre that was created in rural Southwest Louisiana by French speaking, Afro-Americans of Creole heritage. It blends African and Caribbean rhythms, blues and rhythm and blues with music indigenous to the Louisiana ...

music. Volume one was published in 1984, and volume two was released in 2021. Savoy had put the project on hold while she raised four children and pursued a music career, but the downtime forced by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

plus the encouragement of her grown children allowed her to complete volume two in 2020. Volume one garnered the

American Folklore Society The American Folklore Society (AFS) is the United States (US)-based professional association for folklorists, with members from the US, Canada, and around the world, which aims to encourage research, aid in disseminating that research, promote t ...

's Botkin Book Award, and the documentary film ''J'etais au bal'' was based in part on the book. She has recorded a number of albums. As The Zozo Sisters, she recorded with

the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

-nominated and ''

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 ...

''-charting CD ''

Adieu False Heart ''Adieu False Heart'' is a collaborative album by American singer, songwriter, and producer Linda Ronstadt featuring Cajun music singer Ann Savoy. It peaked at #146 on the ''Billboard'' album chart and nominated at the 2006 Grammy Awards for B ...

''. That album is notable for being Savoy's first time recording in English.

Discography

Ann Savoy and Her Sleepless Knights

* '' If Dreams Come True'' (2007) Memphis Records * '' Black Coffee'' (2009) Memphis Records

With Savoy Doucet Cajun Band

* ''Home Music with Spirits'' (1981)

Arhoolie Records Arhoolie Records is an American small independent record label that was run by Chris Strachwitz and is based in El Cerrito, California, United States (it is actually located in Richmond Annex but has an El Cerrito postal address.) The label was ...

* ''Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band'' (1984) Arhoolie Records * ''With Spirits'' (1987) Arhoolie Records * ''J'ai Ete au Bal: I Went to the Dance'' various artists (1989) Arhoolie Records * ''J'ai Ete au Bal: I Went to the Dance'' video (DVD); various artists (1989) Arhoolie Records * ''Two Step D'Amadé'' (1993) Arhoolie Records * ''Les Harias: Home Music'' (1993) Arhoolie Records * ''Live!'' (1994) Arhoolie Records * ''Cajun Country'' video (DVD); various artists (1995) Shanachie * ''Aly Meets The Cajuns'' video (DVD);

Aly Bain Aly Bain MBE (born 15 May 1946) is a Scottish fiddler who learned his instrument from the old-time master Tom Anderson. The former First Minister of Scotland Jack McConnell called Bain a "Scottish icon." Career Bain was born in the town of Le ...

and others (1998) Whirlie Records * ''Sam's Big Rooster'' (2000) Arhoolie Records * ''Best of the Savoy Doucet Cajun Band'' (2002) Arhoolie Records

Magnolia Sisters

* ''Prends Courage'' (1995) Arhoolie Records * ''Chers Amis'' (2000)

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts, by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by A ...

* ''Après Faire Le Boogie Woogie'' (2004) Rounder * ''Stripped Down'' (2009) Arhoolie Records

Savoy Family Band

* ''Savoy Family Album'' (2003)

* ''Turn Loose But Don't Let Go'' (2008) Arhoolie Records * ''Live at the 2013 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival'' (2013)

New Orleans Jazz Fest The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of vi ...

With others

*'' The Rough Guide to Cajun & Zydeco'' Various Artists (1999)

World Music Network World Music Network is a UK-based record label specializing in world music. The World Music Network website features news, reviews, live music listings, and guide sections on world music. It also features an online "Battle of the Bands" competi ...

*'' Evangeline Made: A Tribute to Cajun Music'' Various artists, including and produced by Ann Savoy (2002)

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the so ...

*''

'' with

as the Zozo Sisters (2006) Vanguard Records *''Allons Boire un Coup: A Collection of Cajun and Creole Drinking Songs'' Ann and Joel Savoy; Ann Savoy and Jane Vidrine – various artists (2006)

Valcour Records Valcour Records is an independent record label based in Eunice, Louisiana. Valcour was founded in 2006 by Joel Savoy (son of Marc Savoy, Marc and Ann Savoy), with friends Phillip LaFargue II and Lucius Fontenot. Valcour Records' first release in ...

* ''I Wanna Sing Right: Rediscovering Lomax in the Evangeline Country'' four-EP set – various artists (2015) Valcour Records * ''Fais Do Do: Louisiana Lullabies'' Ann Savoy and Jane Vidrine (2019) Valcour Records

References

External links

*
Marc and Ann Savoy

{{DEFAULTSORT:Savoy, Ann 1952 births Living people American folk singers American folk musicians Cajun musicians American women singers American music historians Record producers from Virginia Musicians from Richmond, Virginia American women historians Singers from Louisiana Vanguard Records artists Rounder Records artists American women record producers Historians from Virginia 21st-century American women