James "Sugar Boy" Crawford (born October 12, 1934) is a New Orleans R&B artist. He is the author of the classic "Jock-A-Mo" in 1954, a hit that was later recreated as "Iko Iko", by The Dixie Cups and redone by many artists including Dr. John, Belle Stars, The Grateful Dead and Cyndi Lauper. ...show more

James "Sugar Boy" Crawford (born October 12, 1934) is a New Orleans R&B artist. He is the author of the classic "Jock-A-Mo" in 1954, a hit that was later recreated as "Iko Iko", by The Dixie Cups and redone by many artists including Dr. John, Belle Stars, The Grateful Dead and Cyndi Lauper.

Starting out on trombone, he formed a band which local DJ Doctor Daddy-O named "The Chapaka Shawee" (Creole for "We Aren't Raccoons"), the title of an instrumental they played. Signed on by Chess Records president Leonard Chess, the group was re-named "Sugar Boy and his Cane Cutters".

Although his song became a standard at the New Orleans Mardi Gras, Crawford himself disappeared from public view, and in a 2002 interview for Offbeat, told how his career came to an abrupt halt in 1963 after a severe beating which incapacitated him for two years, forcing him to leave the music business. In 1969, he decided to limit his singing to in church only.

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