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Artist
Jo-El Sonnier
12+ albums
cajunlouisianaLouisiana Frenchaccordionjoel sonnier
about
Jo-El Sonnier (/ʒoʊˌɛl sɒnˈjeɪ/;) (born in Rayne, Louisiana, on 2 October 1946; died 13 January 2024) was an American singer-songwriter and accordionist who performed country music and Cajun music. In 2009, he was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. In 2015, he won a Grammy Award for Best Regional Roots Music Album. Initially 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 by the late 1980s, he continued recording music releasing more than thirty albums primarily on independent labels. Sonnier was born to French-speaking sharecroppers in Rayne, Louisiana. At age three, he began to play his brother's accordion. By age six, Sonnier had performed on the radio; at age eleven, 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,
