• Track Listing

Cousin Joe's early life was violent and eventful, a bootlegging father who beat him and a mother who left home. Along the way he learned to play monte, cotch and coon can from his cousin. He bought a ukulele for $1.75, and used his prodigious musical skills to escape a world of workaday drudgery. He quit education before high school to work as a plasterer's helper. Other jobs followed, including a position at Walsh Lundy's Busy Bee Shoe Repair Shop. One day, while he was playing his ukulele, he was heard by John McElroy and John Green, two dancers. They were impressed enough to persuade him to join them. Joe formed part of their troupe, dancing and playing for tips. He moved on, working at the Sazerac Club, then The Plaza and the Grand Terrace. By now he'd graduated to a six-string guitar and had a band that included pianist Louis Givens. He was on his way. This collection chronicles his progress. Also featured are New Orleans personalities Paul Gayten and Bobby Marchan. Both had talent that deserved to be heard far beyond the Big Easy.