Starting out on
trombone, Crawford formed a band, which a local
DJ, Doctor Daddy-O, named the Chapaka Shawee (
Creole for "We Aren't Raccoons"), the title of an
instrumental that they played. Crawford recalled, "During high school we had a little band, nothing real organized at first. I was back playing piano... The other fellows in the band were Edgar "Big Boy" Myles, Warren Myles, Nolan Blackwell,
Irving "Cat" Banister, and Alfred Bernard- just a bunch of youngsters having fun." The group was signed by
Chess Records president
Leonard Chess and was renamed Sugar Boy and his Cane Cutters. His song "Jock-A-Mo" became a standard at the
New Orleans Mardi Gras, but Crawford disappeared from public view. In a 2002 interview for
Offbeat magazine, he described how his career came to an abrupt halt in 1963, after a severe beating at the hands of state troopers incapacitated him for two years, forcing him to leave the
music industry. In 1969, he decided to sing only in church. He made some stage appearances with Davell, including one at the
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Among the artists Crawford recorded with was
Snooks Eaglin. Crawford died after a brief illness in a hospice in 2012, aged 77. ==References==