Early life Eddie Bo grew up in
Algiers, Louisiana and in the
Ninth Ward of
New Orleans. There he learned piano and music theory, and to sight read and arrange music. At this time he was influenced by Russian classical pianist
Vladimir Horowitz and was introduced to
jazz pianists
Art Tatum and
Oscar Peterson. He began playing in the New Orleans jazz scene, but switched to
R&B after deciding it was more popular and brought in more money. He played at the Club Tijuana under the name of Spider Bocage, later forming the Spider Bocage Orchestra, which toured the country supporting singers
Big Joe Turner,
Earl King,
Guitar Slim,
Johnny Adams,
Lloyd Price,
Ruth Brown,
Smiley Lewis, and
The Platters. From 1959, he recorded for
Ric Records, and had regional hits including "Every Dog Has Its Day" and "Tell It Like It Is", and in 1961 recorded the novelty dance song "Check Mr Popeye", reissued nationally by
Swan Records, which became one of his best-known recordings though not a national hit. During the 1960s, Bo continued to release singles on a string of local record labels, including Rip, Cinderella, and Blue Jay, though only a few achieved national distribution. On these records, his style got
funkier, and he used more of his jazz training, helping to create a distinctively different and influential New Orleans piano style. He also worked as a record producer, with musicians including
Irma Thomas,
Chris Kenner,
Johnny Adams, The song, on the Scram label, was recorded in just one take. He then formed his own label, Bo-Sound, and had another regional hit with "Check Your Bucket". He continued to perform frequently in New Orleans and at festivals elsewhere, and toured intermittently. Like his home and recording studio it was hit by
Hurricane Katrina while Bo was on tour in
Paris. Due to Bo's carpentry and bricklaying skills he took on the task of completing the hurricane-damage repairs himself. After his death, his body was cremated on the instructions of a woman claiming to be his sister, although other close relatives of Bo have subsequently claimed that she was unrelated to him. A memorial concert was held in his memory on April 1, 2009, with guests including
Dr. John, Irma Thomas and
Allen Toussaint.
Family Eddie Bo was survived by two sisters—Gloria Bocage-Sylva, who lives in
Oakland, California, and Lisa Bocage-Howard—and two brothers—Oliver and Cornelius—plus eleven children, including Valeri Ann Bocage, Edwin Joseph Bocage, Jr., Owen David Bocage, Nancy Marie Bocage-Siegel, Cheryl Bocage-Joseph, Tanya Bocage-Sales, Sonjia Bocage-Anderson, Tomekia Bocage-Jones and Ava Nicol. ==Popular references==