[Dixielandjazz] follow-up on Tom's message: Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown Dies After Fleeing Hurricane Katrina

[David Richoux]

I always enjoyed Gatemouth's performances...

Dave Richoux


Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown Dies After Fleeing Hurricane Katrina

The 81-year-old musician had been battling lung cancer and heart 
disease.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Singer/guitarist Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, whose career spanned 50 
years and covered such genres as blues, jazz, country and Cajun, died 
Saturday in his hometown of Orange, Texas, where he had gone to escape 
Hurricane Katrina. He was 81.

Brown, who had been battling lung cancer and heart disease, was in ill 
health for the past year, said Rick Cady, his booking agent. The artist 
was living at his brother’s house at the time of his death. His home in 
Slidell, La. was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, Cady said.

Brown first hit it big in the blues realm with "Okie Dokie Stomp" and 
"Ain't That Dandy" during the 1940s. Eventually, he became known as a 
musical jack-of-all-trades who played a half-dozen instruments and 
culled from jazz, country, Texas blues, and the zydeco and Cajun music 
of his native Louisiana.

By the end of his career, Brown had more than 30 recordings and won a 
Grammy award in 1982.

Survivors include three daughters and a son.