The Strawberry Alarm Clock's "Incense & Peppermints," the Monkee's "Daydream Believer" and the Who's "I Can see for Miles" were shouldered aside on the charts in 1967 when "Judy in Disguise" hit America's radios.
It was an exhilirating moment for Louisianians because most people who loved dancing and rock music knew the band who did "Judy:" their own John Fred and the Playboys.
Affable Baton Rouge-based John Fred passed away this week of complications following a kidney transplant, said an obit by Times writer John Andrew Prime.
Me, I'll never forget visiting Shreveport in the 1960's and hearing an ad on KEEL radio that featured John Fred's insouciant version of the John Lee Hooker song "Boogie, Chillun."
Despite being known as a one-hit wonder by the national press, John Fred's catalog of music ("Shirley," "Agnes English," "Up and Down," etc) is appreciated across the globe. He was enjoyed by rockabilly-minded people as well as aficionados of soul and blues.
Gourrier's big hit, by the way, put Shreveport on the map for some listeners. "Judy" was released by Stan Lewis' Paula Records, Shreveport.
Hordes of people have sexy memories of *sweating in* John Fred and the Playboys at dances across the region.
2 comments:
Can you go in and correct your Obit about John Fred? He passed after a length kidney illness, not liver as many are reporting.
He passed after complications of a kidney transplant.
I know because he was my daughter's grandfather, "Papa Fred" - as she called him.
Dave, please accept my apologies. It was my error.
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