Bobby Lacour

New Orleans singer/guitarist Bobby Lacour may well have started his career as a jazz player in the early 60s, before trying his hand at R & B. In any event he seems to have had his first solo sessions for Allen Toussaint in 1965 but nothing was issued at the time. They did finally appear on Sundazed’s fine double CD “Get Low Down” under the name “Bobby Lu Cure” (despite my trying to tell them this was the same guy). The catchy “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” is nice easy paced Crescent City music, featuring some lovely piano touches from the Great Man. ListenSend My Love To Me is a typical New Orleans soul ballad of the period, a dead slow - almost full stop – pace with some tasty guitar (Lacour himself?) and a heartfelt vocal on top. And is that Toussaint I can hear doing the background vocals?

By the end of the decade Lacour had his first release on John Berthelot’s Great Southern label. ListenDaddy Want You Home is a slow sensual song featuring a restrained Lacour vocal over a horn rich Louisiana band. Nice sax work (Berthelot himself?) and tasteful guitar (Lacour again?) make this a memorable ballad. The flip "If I Had My Life To Live Over" is a swinging jazzy tune that could only come from New Orleans. This 45 also came out on Joe and Sylvia Robinson’s New Jersey All Platinum label – I wonder how it got there.

Like so many other artists Lacour popped up on Senator Jones’ Hep Me label as well. His initial offering “Commandments Of Love” was an interpretation of the Larry Williams song best known for the version on Okeh by Little Richard. I think Lacour sounds at his very best on this string laden track. His next release has the famous dancer “I Found What I Wanted” on it. There have been a couple of versions of this lovely George Jackson / Raymond Moore song by Mary Wells and George himself – but I think Bobby’s rendition might just be the best cut. The flip ListenToo Hurt To Cry from the same writers’ prestigious songbook is another winner. Now there aren’t many vocalists that can get near Candi Staton when she puts her mind to it as she does on her cut, and the backing of the Fame Gang behind her is as impeccable as ever, but I must confess a fondness for Lacour’s effort. The pace is much reduced which seems to help the number, and Bobby himself adopts such a world weary tone on his vocal that the emotional impact is enhanced. Well worth listening with an open mind I think. This track was replaced by the midpaced “Cry Like A Baby” (not the Dan Penn song) on Bobby’s final Hep Me release.

Lacour continued to make music in New Orleans, playing jazz with Rudy Balliu and Max Collie for example, into the 90s at least.

UPDATE ~ Expert musicologist and liner note writer Bill Dahl has very kindly been in touch. He writes that "If memory serves (as many interviews as I've done over the years, sometimes it gets a little foggy), I tracked Bobby down and talked to him at the time by phone and he strongly denied that the songs on the Sundazed CD were his. He said he wasn't that old, or something to that effect. So don't blame Sundazed--Bobby didn't want to take credit for them (my original assumption was that it was him). All I could go by was what the guy told me." Well I'm amazed frankly. Hard to believe that there were two guys making the same sort of music in the same period in the same city of New Orleans, one called La Cure and the other called Lacour but there we are.

Discography

If I had my life to live over / ListenDaddy want you home ~ GREAT SOUTHERN 100 / ALL PLATINUM 2321 (1970)
Commandments of love / Hippie Joe ~ HEP ME 104 (early 70s)
I found what I wanted / ListenToo hurt to cry ~ HEP ME 106 (early 70s)
I found what I wanted / Cry like a baby ~ HEP ME 109 (early 70s)

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