Classie Ballou and the Family Band
Waterfront Blues Festival
Portland, OR.
July 5, 2008

Recorded from KBOO FM. An all volunteer radio station in Portland. FM>HD>FLAC>Dime or at times FM>H2 ZOOM>HD>FLAC>Dime. As always there are some bumps in the road, but nothing that would stop me from down loading these shows. I've tried to fix all the drops and pauses in the music. Enjoy the festival, twofthrs

Louisiana swamp-blues man Classie Ballou made his recording debut as the guitarist on Boozoo Chavis' first single, "Paper In My Shoe," the record that literally put zydeco music on the map. With his own band, The Tempo Kings, Ballou recorded some impressive originals for the Excello and Goldband labels, blowing away listeners with his patented Creole/Afro/Latin rhythms on weird guitar instrumentals like "Crazy Mambo," "Confusion," and "Hey! Pardner!," and gritty swamp blues like "D-I-R-T-Y D-E-A-L" and "Dream Love."

After giving Cookie Thierry (of Cookie & the Cupcakes, who recorded the swamp-pop classic "Mathilda") and pianist Carol Fran their starts, Classie led the bands of Big Joe Turner and Rosco Gordon, playing guitar on Rosco's well known Vee-Jay hit "Just a Little Bit."

In the 1960s, Ballou moved from his native Louisiana to his current home of Waco, Texas, from where he has ruled the Southwest with his unique mix of blues, R&B and Zydeco. He passed on an offer to tour with Ike and Tina Turner when that duo was at its zenith in favor of spending more time with his family.

Today, much of his family is in his band. Son Cedric plays bass. Grandson Cedryl handles the drums. Daughter CaCean plays guitar and keyboards. But the family member that draws the most attention is Cam-ron. He’s Classie’s 8-year-old grandson (CaCean’s son), who takes over for Cedryl on drums for some of the set. Classie began to teach Cam-ron rhythms at age 1 by tapping beats on his crib and having the baby repeat them. By age 3, Cam-ron was playing a miniature drum kit. The next year, he moved to a full-sized kit and has now been a part of the family band for more than 3 years.

Ballou's family will also appear as Cedryll Ballou & the Zydeco Trendsetters (see bio) as part of the Zydeco Swamp Romp on the A&E Front Porch Stage on Saturday, July 5.

Set List

1. insturmental
2. unknown
3. unknown
4. hey pardner
5. ain't that a shame
6. walkin to new orleans >
blueberry hill > tequila >
let's go crazy
7. boom boom
8. wipe out
9. wonderful world
10. tubesnake boogie