Editing Boozoo Chavis (section)

=== First era: 1950s ===
Chavis made his first recording in 1955, "Paper in My Shoe", based on a song he heard performed by Creole accordionist Ambrose "Potato" Sam.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Tomko |first=Gene |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ZKzDwAAQBAJ |title=Encyclopedia of Louisiana Musicians: Jazz, Blues, Cajun, Creole, Zydeco, Swamp Pop, and Gospel |publisher=Louisiana State University Press |year=2020 |isbn=9780807169322 |location=Baton Rouge |pages=69–70}}</ref> Chavis's version was an uptempo tune with a dance beat about being too poor to afford new shoes or socks, so he placed a paper in his shoes to keep his feet warm when the holes in the sole got too large.<ref name="Kevin">{{cite web |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/chavis-boozoo |title=Boozoo Chavis, Singer, accordionist |last=O'Sullivan |first=Kevin |date=2004 |website=www.encyclopedia.com |publisher=Gale |access-date=15 October 2017}}</ref> The song, sung in both French and English,<ref name="latimes">{{cite news |last=Thurber |first=Jon |date=May 7, 2001 |title=Boozoo Chavis, Leader in Zydeco Music Scene |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-may-07-me-60429-story.html |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |location=Los Angeles, California |access-date=15 October 2017}}</ref> was originally released on the Folk-Star label, a subsidiary of [[Goldband Records|Goldband]], before being reissued by [[Imperial Records]]. This recording was among the first commercially released zydeco songs and a regional hit, and was subsequently acknowledged as a zydeco standard.<ref name="nyt"/> The song was recorded at the instigation of local entrepreneur [[Eddie Shuler]], who teamed Chavis up with a rhythm and blues band named Classie Ballou's Tempo Kings. The first recording session was not successful, so Shuler brought whiskey in for subsequent takes, and the band lost their inhibitions. An inebriated Chavis fell off of his chair at the end of the released version of "Paper in My Shoe", so the song fades out, which was one of the first records to use that technique.<ref name="Leigh">{{cite news |last=Leigh |first=Spencer |date=May 8, 2001 |title=Obituary: Boozoo Chavis |work=The Independent |location=London, England |page=Obituaries section, 6}}</ref> Chavis denied this widely shared anecdote.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last1=Billington |first1=Scott |title=Making tracks: a record producer's Southern roots music journey |last2=Guralnick |first2=Peter |date=2022 |publisher=[[University Press of Mississippi]] |isbn=978-1-4968-3915-2 |series=American made music series |location=Jackson}}</ref>

Chavis was convinced that the recording was more successful than the record companies claimed, later saying: "I got gypped out of my record. I get frustrated, sometimes. I love to play, but, when I get to thinking about 1955... They stole my record. They said that it only sold 150,000 copies. But, my cousin, who used to live in Boston, checked it out. It sold over a million copies. I was supposed to have a gold record."<ref name="allmusic"/> As a result, Chavis lost trust in the music business,<ref name="nyt"/> and over the next thirty years only released three more singles: "Forty-One Day's" (Folk-Star 1201, 1955), "Hamburger's & Popcorn" (Goldband 1161, 1965), and "Mama! Can I Come Home" ([[Huey P. Meaux|Crazy Cajun]] 813, 1974 [credited to the Dog Hill Playhouse Band]).<ref name="wangdangdula">{{cite web |url=http://wdd.mbnet.fi/boozoochavis.htm |title=Boozoo Chavis |last=Hoppula |first=Pete |date=May 2, 2009 |website=www.wangdangula.com |access-date=25 November 2016}}</ref> He found difficulty booking gigs without steady record releases.<ref name=":1" />

He performed rarely during the 1960s and 1970s, except for friends and family events,<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Snyder |first=Jared |title=The Accordion in the Americas: Klezmer, Polka, Tango, Zydeco, and More! |publisher=University of Illinois Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-252-07871-2 |editor-last=Simonett |editor-first=Helena |chapter='Garde ici et 'garde lá-bas: Creole Accordion in Louisiana}}</ref> devoting most of his time to farming and raising racehorses<ref name="allmusic"/> on his property in Dog Hill, on the outskirts of [[Lake Charles, Louisiana]]. The area derived its name because it is where people traditionally went to dump unwanted pets.<ref name="Tisserand"/><ref name=":3" /> During those years, zydeco's popularity was limited mainly to Louisiana. By the early 1980s however, zydeco was gaining recognition outside of Louisiana in the United States, as well developing as a strong following in Europe, thanks largely to the popularity of artists such as [[Clifton Chenier]], [[Buckwheat Zydeco]], and [[Rockin' Dopsie]]. Those artists were performing as main attractions at music festivals, were included in magazine stories, and were getting the attention of major record labels.<ref name="Silverman"/>