Editing Boozoo Chavis (section)

=== Second era: 1984–2001 ===
In the early 1980s, Chavis was making a meager living with his race horses, and earned only a small amount of money performing at occasional house parties or dances. Chavis's family, and in particular his wife Leona, encouraged him to resume his music career.<ref name="Silverman" /> Chavis returned to performing music regularly in 1984 after discovering that another musician was impersonating him. He and his wife were driving to a horse race and heard an advertisement on the radio for a dance featuring Boozoo Chavis, after which he realized that there was enough name recognition for him to return to performing.<ref name="nyt" /> 

He signed a five-year contract<ref name="Silverman" /> with the [[Maison de Soul]] label,<ref name="allmusic" /> and released a locally successful single, "Dog Hill"<ref name="nyt" /> (on the ZBC label) and four albums: ''Louisiana Zydeco Music'' (1986), ''Boozoo Zydeco!'' (1987), ''Zydeco Homebrew'' (1989), and ''Zydeco Trail Ride'' (1990). ''Louisiana Zydeco Music'' included a re-recording of "Paper In My Shoe" that was included on many [[jukeboxes]] in Louisiana and became a regional hit for a second time.<ref name="Kevin" /> These four albums were frequently played on local zydeco radio shows.<ref name=":3" /> In addition, [[Rounder Records]] released a live album ''Zydeco Live!'' in 1989, and a compilation of his 1950s recordings, ''The Lake Charles Atomic Bomb'', in 1990.  He also recorded two albums for [[Sonet Records]] in the early 1990s.<ref name="wangdangdula" /> During this time period, many of his songs also appeared on compilation albums issued by labels in both the US and Europe that featured many of the most well-known zydeco performers.

Chavis earned the nickname "The Creole Cowboy" because of his background raising horses, as well as his habit of wearing a white Stetson hat during performances.<ref name="wapost" /><ref name="Kevin" /> In addition, the subject matter of some of his songs was explicitly rural, such as "Zydeco Hee Haw", "Johnnie Billy Goat", and "Motor Dude Special" named for his prized thoroughbred horse.<ref name="Hoekstra" /> Chavis also routinely wore an apron while on stage, to keep his sweat from damaging his accordion.<ref name="Silverman" /> Stylistically, Chavis provided a rural contrast, with fewer instruments and more repetitive (yet unpredictable and energetic) compositions, with [[La la (music)|la la]] roots, compared to the urban zydeco developed and popularized by Clifton Chenier, which featured a broad instrumental lineup, standardized compositions, and electric influences from [[Soul music|soul]] and [[Rock music|rock]].<ref name=":2" />

Chavis was a prolific writer of zydeco songs, some including references to his friends and acquaintances and others too raunchy to be sold openly.<ref name="nyt"/> The release of X-rated versions of his songs "Uncle Bud" and "Deacon Jones" on his 1999 album ''[[Who Stole My Monkey?]]'' resulted in a [[Parental Advisory|parental advisory sticker]], the first for a zydeco recording.<ref name="Leigh"/><ref name="Gettelman">{{cite news |last=Gettelman |first=Parry |date=April 2, 1999 |title=Same Old Boozoo, And That's Great |work=The Orlando Sentinel |location=Orlando, Florida |edition=Metro |page=Calendar section, 10}}</ref><ref name="Koda">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/who-stole-my-monkey-mw0000602510 |title=Who Stole My Monkey?: AllMusic Review |last=Koda |first=Cub |website=www.allmusic.com |access-date=6 November 2017}}</ref> Many of his songs have become standards of the zydeco repertoire, in spite of, or perhaps because of, their generally idiosyncratic and quirky construction and subject matter.  "If it's wrong, do it wrong, with me," he would tell his band. "If I'm wrong, you wrong, too!"<ref name="latimes"/>

Until 1990, Chavis was notoriously afraid of flying. He told record producer [[Floyd Soileau]] that if Soileau wanted him to fly to performances, he'd have to get him drunk to get on an airplane. Over a prior five-year period, Chavis made just one trip to California, and he drove there from Louisiana. But after Chavis's mother died in May 1990, he decided he had to overcome his flying phobia in order to advance his music career. His first flight was to New York City to perform at a club called Tramps, and he claimed to have enjoyed the experience.<ref name="Silverman"/>

During the 1990s, having overcome his fear of flying,<ref name=":3" /> Chavis performed widely with his band, the Magic Sounds (also credited as the Majic Sounds), and was crowned "The King of Zydeco" in New Orleans in 1993, after Clifton Chenier's death.<ref name="nyt"/> His style, using a button rather than [[piano accordion]], was more traditional than that of Chenier. He switched between single-, double-, and triple-row accordions and played in "cross position" and in [[Relative minor key|relative minor keys]] to make a bluesy sound on the diatonic instruments.<ref name=":2" /> Around this time, he would stage battles with [[Beau Jocque]], who was a young rival, but the two were in fact friends.<ref name=":3" />

According to ''[[The New York Times]]'', "with his rough-hewn voice and hefty accordion riffs, his band's one-chord grooves had a mesmerizing intensity that kept dance floors packed".<ref name="nyt" /> He appeared at the New York Jazzfest for ten consecutive years<ref name="Kevin" /> as well as appearances at the [[Newport Folk Festival]] and the [[New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival]], and in 2000 he was a featured act at the [[San Francisco Jazz Festival]].<ref name="Kevin" /> Chavis was featured in a 1994 documentary film titled ''The Kingdom of Zydeco''.