A consummate professional at
gigs
Jude Taylor was born on May 14, 1950 in the town of Grand Coteau
(en Anglais, Big Knife), LA, which was not more than a good stone's throw
from the birthplace and residence, Leonville, of sharecroppers Clifton Chenier
and his brother and longtime rubboard player, Cleveland. One of Jude's earliest
recollections was of the brothers performing at the rural houseparties that
were often thrown to break the tediousness of the field work of these prairie
Cajuns. Having been hit by the entertainment bug early on, Jude seized upon
these gatherings and every other public forum to demonstate his vocal abilities.
In elementary school, Jude was already winning talent contests and even
on weekends he was serenading the congregation at a local Catholic church.
As Jude grew older, he also grew bolder. "Yeah, I'd find out where my hero,
Clifton, was playing. I knew all the dates he'd be taking in the area and
I'd keep pestering him 'til he'd let me sit in and take a turn at the mike,"
said Jude. One of more famous Zydeco venues of the late 60s in Lafayette
was the now-defunct Blue Angel. Until Chenier finally built his own club
in Leonville, it was more or less his headquarters. But even then, Jude
realized that as far as career aspirations were concerned, he'd have to
crawl before he could walk. In the late 70s, he served an apprenticeship
in the Buckwheat Zydeco (Stanley Dural) and his Ils Sont Partis (en Anglais,
They're Real Gone) band, who were then recording for J. D. Miller's Blues
Unlimited label in Crowley, LA, and, as a group, were just coming into their
own. "I wore a lot of hats during that time, including roadie, personal
valet, and part-time vocalist. I was the man behind the scenes," said Jude.
This experience later served him in good stead, as now he is the consummate
professional at gigs, always prepared with the proper equipment and in fine
working order. ~ by Larry Benicewicz |
