Archive Files of Cajun, Creole, and Zydeco Musicians
Posted between 1999 and 2008

Lee Benoit

and the Bayou Stompers

Click here for high res versions of photos posted on Flickr.

Click here to go to Lee Benoit's Official Web Site, which includes links to his MySpace page and to videos.

2005 CD: Ma Petite Femme

As of August 2006, there are no new photos of Lee Benoit to post, but that is not because Lee Benoit has been inactive. In fact, he and his band are busy almost every night of the week playing at restaurants like Mulate's in Breaux Bridge and New Orleans and Boutin's in Baton Rouge--not leaving much time for the festivals where most of the photos on LSUE's web pages are obtained.

He is scheduled to perform at the 2006 Rice Festival in Crowley, so there may be some new photos posted here afterwards, but meanwhile, be sure to check out his 2005 CD, Ma Petite Femme, which features not only top notch performances by Lee Benoit but also top notch engineering and mastering by Lee Benoit, seamlessly bringing together his own multiple performances on many cuts and performances by Al Berard recorded separately at Berard's studio (fiddle, guitar, and really pretty mandolin on various cuts). Berard also wrote five of the songs, including the title cut, a tribute to Valerie Benoit.

The song "Ma Petite Femme" received the Cajun French Music Association 2006 Song of the Year Award. Valerie Benoit, who has lead vocals on "J'ai passé devant ta porte" on the CD and on a really nice version of "Le vieux soulard et sa femme," was named Female Vocalist of the Year, and Lee Benoit was named Male Vocalist of the Year. He also received the Accordionist of the Year Award.

In addition to the original songs on the CD by Berard, Benoit also sings Maurice Lasserre's "La vieille mémère par la fenêtre" as well as several Cajun standards, including a haunting version of "Mon amour est morte" that includes a cello in the instrumentation.

Lee Benoit obviously worked very hard on the CD, but what comes across is the beauty of the music, with everything in balance, including his vocals that are always clear and expressive. The liner notes include both French and English lyrics. For more information, be sure to go to Lee Benoit's web site.

Lee Benoit in 2003

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Lee Benoit is shown in the top photo with his wife, Valerie Benoit, while he was singing his tribute to her, "Valerie," at the Cajun French Music Association Festival in August 2003. Shown above is Mark Hebert on fiddle.

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Go to the Official Site of Lee Benoit and the Bayou Stompers, which includes sound clips from their CDs (including the latest CD, "Dis 'n' Dat," and the band's schedule.

Lee Benoit and the Bayou Stompers are one of the most active Cajun bands in the region. They play traditional Cajun music four nights a week at one of the top Cajun restaurants that has locations in Breaux Bridge, New Orleans, and Baton Rouge, and they also perform at many festivals and special events. Benoit was named "Accordionist of the Year" for 2000 by the Cajun French Music Association. The annual Le Cajun Awards Ceremony was held August 17, 2001.

One his first CD, Lee Benoit Avec Amis, released by Master-Trak in 1994, Lee Benoit's friends were Steve Riley on fiddle, KBON's Freddie Pate on acoustic guitar, Eddie Bonin on triangle, and Mark Miller on acoustic bass. The CD was nominated for the Cajun French Music Association's Best First Album Award, and "Valerie," a song on the CD, received a nomination as Song of the Year.

His second CD, Live at Vermilionville, was recorded at a Cajun and Creole Living History Museum and Folklife Village on the banks of Bayou Vermilion in Lafayette and released by Master-Trak in 1998. On the CD, the band members mesh well together in combination with Benoit's clear, distinct vocals that listeners who do not understand Cajun French well will especially appreciate.

Among the songs on Live at Vermilionville are Cajun favorites: "The Lacassine Special," Belton Richard's "Just a Dream" and "Another Lonely Night," D. L. Menard's "The Back Door," Wayne Toups' "Johnnie Can't Dance," Camey Doucet's "Mom, I'm Still Your Little Boy," Eddie Shuler's "Think of Me," and "Madame Sosthene," among others. Benoit's version of the familiar song "The Bosco Stomp" adds some new licks, contributing even more energy to one of the most lively songs in the Cajun repertoire. The CD ends with a song titled "The Visit," written by Lee Benoit, Richard Meaux, and Freddie Pate. "The Visit" is about the regret a son experiences when he faces the reality that, with his mother in the grave, it is too late today to tell her what he should have said yesterday. It received the 1998 CFMA Song of the Year Award. The same year, the album received a nomination as Album of the Year, Benoit earned nominations as Male Vocalist of the Year and Accordionist of the Year, and The Bayou Stompers were nominated as Band of the Year.

Other members of the band on that CD include fiddler and vocalist Mark Hebert, who has played with a number of other well known bands; Valerie Benoit, Lee Benoit's wife and the inspiration for the song "Valerie," on guitar; Vern Lagneaux on bass and vocals; and Joey Savoie on drums. Maegen Benoit, the Benoits' teenage daughter, is now playing drums with the band.

In October 2000, Lee Benoit released a new CD, Dis 'n' Dat, recorded by Master-Trak. His official web site (see link at the top) has more information, including sound clips.

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The photographs on this page were taken in 1999 at the Liberty Theater in Eunice and at Festivals Acadiens in Lafayette.

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All photographs and text by David Simpson.

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