9th Ward Daily Photo

9th Ward Daily Photo: Cajun Joe’s

9th Ward Daily Photo via rl reeves jr

We go to Cajun Joe’s for hot crawfish with plenty cayenne chile in the boil, and fried catfish po boys that come crisp out of good clean cooking oil. Bonus for the neighborhood regulars that sit around outside sipping off plastic pint flasks while they read the Advocate paper.

9th Ward Daily Photo

9th Ward Daily Photo: Lester Robertson and the Upsetters

9th Ward Daily Photo via rl reeves jr

Listening to Montel Records early R&B cats Lester Robertson and the Upsetters this afternoon.

Lester was the first artist signed to Montel and popped big across the Gulf Coast when his 45 “My Girl Across Town” dropped in 1959. Lester already had a hit under his belt from ’57 when he sang for Joe Hudson and His Rocking Dukes on “Baby Give Me A Chance (Excello)

If you were partying in the juke joints of Louisiana in that golden era you may have seen the Dukes at the Bantam Club in Prairieville just one of dozens of old tonks that would eventually fall to the sands of time.

Any old-timers reading? Holler at us if you have a tale from the era you’d like to share.