Helen Boudreaux - Singer, Songwriter, Trucker...

Hélène (Helen) Jeanne Boudreaux
Born St. Martin Parish, La., March 14, 1939
Vocalist, songwriter, author, Traiteuse and Faith Healer.
(337) 228-1714
Instrument: Guitar (self taught).
Style: Cajun, Country.
Awards: 2003 - CFMA President's Award for the promotion of Cajun heritage and culture, 1992 - CFMA Le Cajun for "Best Single", 1992 - nominated female vocalist, 1994 - won CFMA Le Cajun for female vocalist of the year, 1995 - Americanism Award by the Arnaudville Louisiana Chapter of the
Veterans of Foreign Wars, 1997 - CFMA Heritage Award, 1999 - Le Cajun nominee Female for Vocalist of the Year-1999, 1999 - Appreciation Award from the Young Aces of Cajun Music and Bayou Boudin Cafe' of Breaux Bridge, La.
Recordings: "When A Tear Becomes A Rose", "Around Midnight," "Return To Your Friend"-1992,(Cass.&CD) "Pour Toute Ma Famille"-1993. (CD) "Une Deuxieme Chance" -1995, "Truck Driving Cajun Mama" -1998, Nominated as songwriter of the year on Matthew Courville's "Chanson Pour Pa Pa" - 2000.
          Helen has currently completed the recording a CD of 23 songs acapella (vocals only) and all in French that originate from the early 1900's. She has worked with artists such as Rick Benoit, Carl Hollier, Blake Mouton, Lee Benoit, Jay Cormier, Vernon Bergeron, Jimmy Usie, John Hebert, Robert Elkins, Russell Quibodeaux, Jason Bergeron, Gary Usie.
          She was born in the small town of Catahoula Lake, St. Martin Parish La., one of fourteen children who grew up on her Papa's share cropper farm. She worked the fields to help earn the family's living. She can remember when she was three years old singing Christmas songs and singing along with a battery operated radio whose battery was larger than the radio. After 8 or 9 songs the battery would would weaken and the music fade out. She sat on the porch in a rocking chair and sang loud enough for all the neighborhood to hear. When she was a little older she would sing for company visiting, in school programs, at church, on the school bus, while working in the cotton and pepper fields.
          She started working with country and French bands when she was about thirteen years old and even younger. She worked with J.B. Perry and his band, Larry Brasseaux, Ralph Boutte and Willis Touchet's band and sang at Guidry's and The Star Club in Henderson La. Married at sixteen she had to give up her singing in her early twenties to raise a family, but started singing again in her early thirties. She worked at the Midway Club with Jo-el Sonnier, The Balcony with Johnnie Allen and for several years sang with Larry Brasseaux at La Poussiere on Sunday night and often sang with Walter Mouton's band on Saturday nights. In 1980, her children now grown up, she started a new career, driving eighteen wheelers which she was very proud of. She started running eighteen wheelers solo in 1984 pulling a tanker and hauling chemicals. She continued singing with various Cajun bands and in July of 1987 she entered three talent contests Tommy McClain at the Lafitte Bar in Lafayette, La. sponsored. In the first contest she placed second, the second contest she placed first and the third she placed first. For the rest of the year she continued to sing with different groups in Louisiana and Texas such as Belton Richard and The Musical Aces, Nolan Cormier and The Hee Haws, Jay and The Travelers, Howard Noel and The Cajun Ramblers, Aldus Roger and The Lafayette Playboys, Blackie Forestier and The Cajun Aces and Rodney Mouton, Oran "Doc" Guidry, Nonc" Jule and others.
          She started singing professionally in 1991 and she joined The Cajun French Music Association of Louisiana, Lafayette Chapter. In 1994 she joined Le Theatre Cadien. She wrote the songs for the play, La Douce Reunion, and traveled to Acadie New Brunswick with the theatre troup for the first World Assembly of the Acadians. She was invited to perform on Canadian National Television. She was a Cajun music DJ for a local public radio station from 1994 till 1997. In 1996 she wrote a column for In Tune Magazine. In 2000, she was profiled by Larry Woods of CNN for his program, "Across America" because of her work with young Cajun musicians. She is the founder of an annual festival for young Cajun artists, monthly jam session and a "Wall of Fame" program. She was an over the road line haul truck driver in 48 states and Canada, driving solo. She was a driver instructor for two of the tank lines, a graduate of hazardous material training school and was a driver instructor who won several safety awards. In 1989 she was the pioneer woman contestant at the 22nd annual truck rodeo in St. Louis, Mo., representing the company she worked for.
          She is a mother of eight children, a grandmother of twenty-four and a great grandmother of four. She is also a songwriter with B.M.I., has been carpenter, bricklayer, plumber, electrician, seamstress, waitress and cook. She grew her own vegetable garden, canned her own vegetables, milked cows, cut firewood, did domestic work in the neighborhood, was a den mother and is a recording artists. In the summer of 1993 she purchased a second-hand guitar, checked out a "How to Learn to Play the Guitar" at home video, from the public library and after one month she was entertaining locally. Her last two CD's, Deuxieme Chance and Truck Driving Mama, along with any more recordings, will be on her own label of "Boudreaux Records". She volunteers much of her time to help others less fortunate than her. She has published her first book titled "Cajun Survivor". In 1998, Helen wrote the verse to the Cajun song "Pour Mon Pa Pa", in tribute to Mathew Courville’s Grand Pa which Mathew sang on his first released CD in 1999. That song was nominated and was on the Le Cajun ballot as one of the top three songs that were selected for the annual CFMA Le Cajun Music Award Ceremonies in 2000. This song was the only new song on Mathew’s CD. and therefore possibly helping to make Mathew the youngest Cajun recording artist to have ever had that honor. Also, Helen’s Cajun song "Une Deuxieme Chance" was recorded on CD by Rodney Thibodeaux and Susan Fallon Diez in 1999. Another one of her song’s titled "Where Are You?" was recorded on CD by Hubert Maitre in 2000. (Source of biography: Helen Boudreaux.)

	The Cyber Sisters SiteRing This site owned by Blanche Trahan