James "Sugar Boy" Crawford, Jr. (October 12, 1934 – September 15, 2012) was an American R&B musician based in New Orleans. He was the author of "Jock-A-Mo" (1954), which was later rerecorded as "Iko Iko" by the Dixie Cups, and became a huge hit.
New Orleans R&B legend James Crawford, born in New Orleans, attained the “Sugar Boy” moniker because of his sweet nature as a child.He learned to play piano at a neighbour’s house, and at Booker T. Washington High School, played the trombone and formed a band. The group caught a break in 1952, when Doctor Daddy-O invited them to perform on his Saturday morning radio show. The group didn’t have a name until Daddy-O dubbed them, “The Chapaka Shawee” (Creole for “We Aren’t Raccoons”), the title of an instrumental the group played.
The popularity from their radio appearance led to a regular work at the Shadowland and the Pentagon clubs, as well as an Aladdin Records contract. Under the guise of “The Sha-Wez,” the Aladdin record was a flop, but the group’s itinerary steadily grew. The following year, Chess Records president Leonard Chess was in town promoting some new releases when he heard Sugar Boy and the group rehearse at WMRY. In exchange for five dollars, Chess taped an audition demo and left town. A month later, disc jockey Ernie the Whip called the group and said he had a surprise for them.
When the band gathered at WMRY, Ernie presented them with a 78 rpm recording of “I Don’t Know What I’ll Do,” credited to “Sugar Boy and his Cane Cutters.” (Chess couldn’t use the name Sha-Wez as the group was still under contract to Aladdin.) Chess released the primitive audition and it did well locally. Sugar Boy then signed a contract and Chess directed him to the J&M Studio for more recordings. With guitarist Snooks Eaglin in support, Crawford waxed “Jock-A-Mo.” A decade later, the Dixie Cups recut the song as "Iko Iko," one of the most popular and enduring Crescent City R&B records ever made.
The third Sugar Boy and His Cane Cutters single, "I Bowed on My Knees," earned the group a residency at the Baton Rouge nightspot the Carousel Club, but brought an end to their Chess affiliation, leaving more than a dozen unreleased sides on the shelf; Myles left the line-up in 1955 to join Li'l Millet & His Creoles, and Crawford dissolved the Cane Cutters soon after in favour of a solo career. Sugar Boy returned to New Orleans in 1956, and signed with Imperial Records, where he waxed several memorable releases including “Morning Star,” “You Gave Me Love” and the brilliant “She’s Gotta Wobble (When She Walks).” After his Imperial tenure, Sugar Boy had singles on Montel and Ace before his career, and nearly his life, came to an abrupt halt.
Crawford was left in a coma. A metal plate was inserted in his skull and he lost much of his memory. It took him two years to recover from his brain injury, and he had to learn again how to walk, talk, and play the piano.
“His life was sort of robbed,” said his grandson Davell Crawford. “I found it pretty amazing for a guy that lived a certain way with attention around him and lots of love from people who adored his gift, when that was taken away he had not one bit of bitterness. I also found out that he was the kind of guy who didn’t want to raise any confusion with lots of issues. He would rather be at peace and go on about the day doing what he wanted to do.”
Although he briefly attempted a comeback, Crawford felt his talent had diminished. He abandoned rhythm and blues and confined his singing to the church.He became a building engineer, and later ran a locksmith business. In 1984 he met Benny Goodman’s brother, Gene Goodman, who ran a music publishing company, and who offered to help him recover royalties for Jock-A-Mo. “I figured 50 per cent of something was better than 100 per cent of nothing,” said Crawford.
Eventually his grandson, the singer Davell Crawford, coaxed Crawford out of retirement when he lent backing vocals to grandson Davell Crawford's debut LP, Let Them Talk.He made some stage appearances with Davell, including one at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 1996, and at the seventh annual Ponderosa Stomp in April 2008. He also guested with gospel singer Jo “Cool” Davis as recently as the 2012 Jazz Fest and made a guest appearance singing gospel in an episode of the HBO series Treme. He died after a brief illness in Canon Hospice in 2012, aged 77, one month before the episode aired. James "Sugar Boy" Crawford was also Inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame.
(Edited from AllMusic, The Telegraph, The Louisiana Weekly & obitsnola.com) (I am a bit dubious with the 2nd & 6th photographs as Google images are not 100% accurate, but hopefully someone can confirm they are or are not Sugar Boy Crawford)