Lee Benoit

Lee Benoit is a Cajun musician from Rayne, Louisiana.

Early life

Lee was born in Louisiana, USA in 1959. At the age of five, he was given an electric organ by his grandmother, who raised him. He started to play Christmas songs on it, by ear.

At the age of twelve, he started to play the electric guitar and formed a band. They played rock n' roll and were influenced by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Hank Williams and others. Lee also learnt to play the bass guitar during his teenage years.

In 1976, he joined the Marines as an Automated Data Processor. After leaving the Marines in 1980, he returned to education. In 1985, he became a nationally registered paramedic. He worked as a paramedic on an ambulance for seven years and then for another seven years on an oil platform. He continued to play rock and country music in his spare time. [ [http://www.myspace.com/leebenoit MySpace.com - Lee Benoit - Rayne, Louisiana - Folk / 2-step - www.myspace.com/leebenoit ] ]

Inspiration and first recording

At the age of 29, he was inspired to take up the accordion by hearing the Cajun performer Wayne Toups. Lee fell in love with the instrument and playing Cajun music. He soon added Cajun songs to his set lists.

In 1993, he signed to the Master-trak label and in 1994 recorded his first CD (Lee Benoit Avec Amis). The album was nominated for "Best First Album" and "Valerie" was nominated for "Song of the Year" by the Cajun French Music Association. [http://www.cajunfrenchmusic.org/music/pastwinners.htm] Floyd's Record Shop, Louisiana ("Officially Louisiana's Oldest Record Store"), described Benoit as 'the cream of the crop' of the new generation of musicians coming out of South Louisiana. [ [http://www.floydsrecordshop.com/Benoit_Lee_-_Avec_Amis_P622.cfm Floyd's Record Shop] ]

Performances, recordings and recognition

He performs with his group Lee Benoit & The Bayou Stompers. They are one of the most active Cajun bands in South Louisiana performing six nights a week at some of the most popular Cajun restaurants from Breaux Bridge to New Orleans. They occasionally take their music on the road and perform at festivals and special events. Lee is very proud of his Cajun heritage and spends a great deal of his time performing traditional and contemporary Cajun music. [http://www.lsue.edu/acadgate/music/lbenoit.htm Lee Benoit and the Bayou Stompers ] ]

After the success of his first album, he contiuned to record his own albums as well as contributing to several CDs by other musicians. In 1995, he recorded "Third Generation" [ [http://wm06.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:w9fpxquhldje~T2 allmusic ((( La Musique De Les Castilles > Credits ))) ] ] with Hadley Castille. He also played on Hadley's "Forty Acres and Two Mules" [ [http://www.lsue.edu/acadgate/music/castille2.htm Hadley Castille ] ] album in 2000.

Lee played accordion and guitar on Doug Kershaw's "Two Step Fever" CD in 1999. [ [http://wm01.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:jvfpxqtkldse~T2 allmusic ((( Two Step Fever > Credits ))) ] ] He also co-produced and played guitar on Hunter Hayes "Through My Eyes" CD in 1999 [ [http://www.hunterhayes.com/Through%20My%20Eyes.html Through My Eyes ] ] and co-produced Hunter's second CD, "Make A Wish", in 2001. [ [http://www.hunterhayes.com/Make%20A%20Wish.html HUNTER HAYES "Make A Wish" CD ] ]

In 1998, he released his second album, "Live at Vermilionville" which was nominated in five categories by the Cajun French Music Association: "Male Vocalist Of The Year", "Accordionist Of The Year", "Album Of The Year", "Band Of The Year" and "Song Of The Year". He won the latter award, for "The Visit", at the ceremony on August 13, 1999.

In September 2000, Lee released his third CD, "Dis N Dat".

In 2001, he was awarded "Accordionist Of The Year" and in 2002 earned the "Presidents Award" from the Cajun French Music Association.

Lee recorded and mixed his fourth CD, "Ma Petite Femme" at his home and it was released in 2005. This album cemented his reputation, with Lee winning "Male Vocalist Of The Year", "Accordionist Of The Year" and "Song Of The Year" (with the title song "Ma Petite Femme") from the Cajun French Music Association. Lee also received nominations for "Best Recording Of The Year" and "Peoples Choice 2006".

References

Discography

*"Avec Amis" (1994)
*"Live At Vermilionville" (1998)
*"Dis 'N' Dat" (2000)
*"Ma Petite Femme" (2005)

ee also

*Cajun Music
*History of Cajun Music
*List of Notable People Related to Cajun Music
*Cajun French Music Association

External links

* [http://www.leebenoit.com Lee Benoit & The Bayou Stompers]
* [http://www.lsue.edu/acadgate/music/lbenoit.htm Contemporary Louisiana Cajun, Creole and Zydeco Musicians Page ]
* [http://wm03.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=LEE|BENOIT&sql=11:jxfixqygldte~T0 Allmusic Page]
* [http://www.mterecords.com/ccajun.htm MTE Records]
* [http://www.haysam.com/godbless/cd.htm Don Haynie & Sheryl Samuel]
* [http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=123809426 Myspace Page]
* [http://media.www.cm-life.com/media/storage/paper906/news/2002/01/30/Lifeline/night.Of.Louisiana.To.Jam.At.Cmu-2484627.shtml cm-life.com]
* [http://zydecocajunbyway.com/leeb.html Zydeco Cajun Byway]
* [http://bayougenealogy.com/zydeco.html Bayou Genealogy]