Artist page

James "Sugar Boy" Crawford was a New Orleans R&B artist born on October 12, 1934, and he passed away on September 15, 2012. He began his musical journey playing the trombone and formed a band that local DJ Doctor Daddy-O named "The Chapaka Shawee," which translates to "We Aren’t Raccoons" in Creole. Crawford was signed by the president of Chess Records, leading to a rebranding of the group. He is best known for authoring the classic song "Iko Iko," originally titled "Jockomo," in 1954. Despite the song becoming a standard, Crawford's visibility in the music scene diminished after a severe beating in 1963, which incapacitated him for two years and forced him to leave the music business. Later in his life, Crawford made appearances on his grandson's 1995 CD "Let Them Talk" and performed on stage with Davell, including at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 1996 and the 7th annual Ponderosa Stomp in April 2008. Both also appeared in HBO's series "Treme" in October 2012 (season 3, episode 4). It is important to note that he should not be confused with other artists, including a sideman and a songwriter known for "Hustlin Dan," which is often mistakenly attributed to him.

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