Biography
During the 1990s Beau Jocque stood as zydeco’s dominant figure, pioneering the style’s shift toward an urbanized sound by folding rock, soul, hip-hop and reggae into his blistering arrangements. The result was a bass-driven, funk-infused hybrid that linked longstanding Creole traditions with modern popular music in pursuit of broad commercial reach. Born Andrus Espre in Duralde, Louisiana, in 1952, he worked for years as an electrician until a severe back injury in 1987 left him paralyzed from the waist down for more than twelve months. While convalescing he took up his father’s Cajun accordion and, dissatisfied with conventional zydeco, began reshaping the music to reflect his own current musical preferences. Together with his wife Michelle he devoted the next five years to methodical study of zydeco clubs, noting precisely which numbers elicited the strongest audience reactions; simultaneously he immersed himself in the propulsive rhythms of Boozoo Chavis. In 1991 he assembled the Zydeco Hi-Rollers, whose hard-edged grooves and Jocque’s raw, cavernous vocals quickly made the group a sensation on the New Orleans circuit, attracting large crowds that included many newcomers to Creole dancehall events. A cordial rivalry with Chavis further heightened his profile, leading in 1993 to the Hi-Rollers’ debut release Beau Jocque Boogie, one of the genre’s all-time best sellers. Pick Up on This! appeared the following year, and in 1995 the band issued the explosive live set Git It, Beau Jocque!, which contained the hit single “Give Him Cornbread.” Gonna Take You Downtown followed in 1996, and Check It Out, Lock It In, Crank It Up! arrived two years later. Beau Jocque suffered a fatal heart attack on September 10, 1999; the concert recording Give Him Cornbread, Live! was released nearly twelve months afterward.