Jo-El Sonnier (; born Joel Sonnier; October 2, 1946 – January 13, 2024) was an American singer-songwriter and accordionist who performed country music and Cajun music. Originally signed to Mercury Nashville Records, Sonnier charted several minor singles on the Billboard country charts in the late 1970s. By the late 1980s, he had signed to RCA Records, breaking through with the Top Ten hits "No More One More Time" and a cover of Richard Thompson's "Tear-Stained Letter". Although his chart success waned at the beginning of the 1990s, he continued recording music, releasing more than thirty albums primarily on independent labels.
Biography Jo-El Sonnier was born to French-speaking sharecroppers in Rayne, Louisiana, on October 2, 1946. At age three, he began to play his brother's accordion and quickly proved himself adept. By age six, Sonnier had performed on the radio; at age 11, he made his first recordings. He also released several independent singles and four albums as a teenager. By the 1970s, he was signed to Mercury Nashville Records, but without much success in the country music field.
Sonnier temporarily abandoned his pursuit of a country music career in favor of recording Cajun music on the independent Rounder Records label. Although his independent album did not produce much commercial success, it was nominated for a Grammy Award. After being signed as Merle Haggard's opening act, Sonnier later decided to return to country music; he was signed to RCA Records in the 1980s, where his biggest successes came in the singles "No More One More Time" and a cover of British singer Richard Thompson's "Tear-Stained Letter", songs which landed in the Top 10 on the country charts. Sonnier and Thompson performed the song together for a 1990 appearance on the American series Night Music (season 2, episode 16).
In the 1990s, Sonnier moved to Capitol Records, but his solo career faltered soon afterwards. He continued to find success as a session musician, and briefly took up acting as well. In the late 1990s, he returned to Rounder Records to record Cajun music once more, occasionally collaborating with Michael Doucet of BeauSoleil. Sonnier also saw his second Grammy nomination, for the 1997 album Cajun Pride; a third soon followed with 2001's Cajun Blood being nominated for Best Traditional Folk Album.
In 2009, Sonnier was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
Sonnier made a brief cameo appearance as a member of a dance band in the third episode of the first season of the HBO crime series True Detective, which is set in southern Louisiana.
On February 8, 2015, Sonnier won a Grammy Award for Best Regional Roots Music Album.
Sonnier died of a heart attack on January 13, 2024, just after a performance at Llano Country Opry in Llano, Texas, where he had played for over an hour and received a standing ovation. His performance ended with his signature "Tear-Stained Letter" and an encore of "Jambalaya". He was 77.
Personal life In 2017, Sonnier self-published a book titled The Little Boy Under the Wagon, in which he revealed that he had been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome.
Discography Albums Year Album Chart Positions Label US Country 1967 Hurricane Audry — Goldband 1968 The Scene Today in Cajun Music — 1969 The Cajun Valentino — 1980 Cajun Life — Rounder 1987 Come On Joe 17 RCA 1989 Right Next Door to Texas — Goldband The Cajun Troubadour — 1990 Have a Little Faith 45 RCA 1991 Tears of Joy — Capitol 1992 Hello Happiness Again — Liberty Complete Mercury Session — Mercury 1994 Cajun Roots — Rounder 1995 Cajun Kids — Little Morganville 1996 Live in Canada — Stony Plain Cookin' Cajun (with Eddy Raven) — K-Tel 1997 Cajun Young Blood — Ace Cajun Pride — Rounder 1998 Here to Stay — Intersound Cajun Memories — Green Hill 1999 Cajun Blood — Musique de' Jo-El 2000 Cajun Tradition — Green Hill 2001 The L.A. Sessions — Musique de' Jo-El 2004 Yesterdays with Jo-El Sonnier — Green Hill Cajun Christmas — Cajun Hymns — Cajun Mardis Gras — 2005 Back by Request — Musique de' Jo-El 2013 The Legacy — Takau Records "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Singles Year Single Peak chartpositions Album US Country CAN Country 1975 "I've Been Around Enough to Know" 78 — rowspan="3" 1976 "Always Late (With Your Kisses)" 99 — "He's Still All Over You" 100 — 1987 "Come On Joe" 39 — Come On Joe 1988 "No More One More Time" 7 2 "Tear-Stained Letter" 9 5 1989 "Rainin' in My Heart" 35 34 "(Blue, Blue, Blue) Blue, Blue" 47 50 Have a Little Faith 1990 "If Your Heart Should Ever Roll This Way Again" 24 26 "The Scene of the Crime" 65 46 1991 "You May Change Your Mind" — — Tears of Joy 1998 "Broken Hearted Side of New Orleans" — — Here to Stay "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Guest singles Year Single Artist Album 1998 "Catahoula" The Bellamy Brothers (with Eddy Raven) Over the Line
Music videos Year Video Director1988 "Tear-Stained Letter" S. A. Baron "Rainin' in My Heart" Steve Boyle1989 "(Blue, Blue, Blue) Blue, Blue"Jim May "If Your Heart Should Ever Roll This Way Again" 1990 "The Scene of the Crime" 1996 "Fais Do Do" (with Eddy Raven) Bob Whitt 1997 "Sugar Bee" (with Eddy Raven) 1998 "Catahoula" (with The Bellamy Brothers and Eddy Raven) chris rogers
Awards and nominations Grammy Awards
|2015 |The Legacy |Best Regional Roots Music Album
Academy of Country Music Awards
|1988 |Jo-El Sonnier |Top New Male Vocalist
References
External links Official website