Lonnie Brooks

Brooks was born in Dubuisson, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana. His singles for the label included the regional hit "Family Rules", which remains a favorite of the swamp pop idiom in southern Louisiana and southeast Texas. Other Goldband singles included "Made in the Shade" and "The Crawl" (both of which were later recorded by the Fabulous Thunderbirds). The album won the Grand Prix du Disque Award from the 1980 Montreux Jazz Festival. While in Montreux, Brooks befriended the country music star Roy Clark, who arranged for him to appear on the country music television program Hee Haw. After that time, Brooks recorded exclusively for Alligator, releasing seven albums in his own name and contributing to shared recordings and compilation appearances. Brooks continued to tour in the United States and Europe. His sons, Ronnie Baker Brooks and Wayne Baker Brooks, are also full-time blues musicians, fronting their own bands and touring extensively in the United States and abroad. Wayne Baker Brooks also played in his father's band. The Brookses are frequent guest performers at each other's shows and have booked appearances as the Brooks Family. Besides his live and recorded performances, Brooks appeared in the films Blues Brothers 2000 and The Express: The Ernie Davis Story and in two UK television commercials for Heineken beer. His song "Eyeballin'" was used in the film Forever LuLu. "Got Lucky Last Night", featuring Johnny Winter, was used in the film Masters of Menace. Brooks was an influence on the soul artist Reggie Sears. ==Death==