Edwin Joseph Bocage was born in 1930 in Algiers, a neighbourhood of New Orleans on the West bank of the Mississippi river. He served in the army before studying at the Grunewald School of Music in his home city. He played piano and was mainly interested in Jazz. He later formed the Spider Bocage Orchestra and the toured the USA, supporting local singers including Lloyd Price, Smiley Lewis, Guitar Slim and Earl King. He also worked with The Platters and Big Joe Turner.
He released his first single “Baby” on Ace Records in 1955 and followed up with a series of singles on a variety of labels. His style became jazzier in the sixties, but he achieved only local recognition. In terms of singles output in the New Orleans area, he was second only to Fats Domino. By the end of his career, he had recorded for more than forty record labels!
He also became more involved in the studio, producing songs for several well-known performers, such as Irma Thomas, Chris Kenner, Art Neville and Robert Parker. His only national hit came in 1969, with “Hook and Sling, Pts. 1 & 2”, which reached number thirteen on the R&B chart, after which he set up his own record label Bo Sound.
Eddie wasn’t just a musician. He also set up a restoration company, applying his woodworking and building skills, and, later, opened a food outlet, which, along with his house and studio, was destroyed in the floods caused by Hurricane Katrina. He died in 2009.
In 2016, the Last Music Company released an album that Bo recorded in 1991 at Sea Saint Studios with UK Jazz trombone player Chris Barber, entitled “The 1991 Sea Saint Sessions”, featuring Red Morgan (alto sax), Charles Moore (bass guitar), Russell Batiste Jr. (drums), and Walter Payton (tuba and bass). It is an excellent sample of New Orleans R&B.
This brief account of his contribution doesn’t do justice to a musician who worked on and off in the New Orleans music industry throughout his life, touring and performing regularly at festivals. The importance of his contribution is indicated, however, by the Lifetime Achievement Award that he received from the South Louisiana Music Association.
