Ciara Fantasy Ride CD

Jo-El Sonnier was born in Rayne, Louisiana to poor, French-speaking sharecroppers. He began to play accordion at three years of age and as he grew,so did his love for the instrument and his ability to play it. News of this gifted, French-singing child led to a radio debut by age 6 and his first recording session by age 11. As a favorite in local clubs, Sonnier remained a Louisiana sensation during his early adult life, but decided to try his luck in California. He received quite a reputation as a session player, but success as a solo artist eluded him. This led Sonnier back east during the mid-1970s with his sights now set on Nashville, where he landed a recording contract with Mercury Records. After several years of making recordings that failed to gain significant chart success, Sonnier decided to head home once again. Returning to Louisiana, Sonnier nearly gave up the accordion when he received a break from Merle Haggard, who sought Sonnier as his opening act on the road. This positive turn of events spawned a return to Los Angeles, where he began performing solo shows with the help of many notable friends including guitarist Albert Lee and Garth Hudson of "The Band". By 1984, just two years after his sojourn had concluded, Sonnier had a Grammy nominated recording to his credit with Cajun Life. The recognition achieved with the success of Cajun Life provided the freedom to fuse Sonnier's deep Cajun roots with country, rock, and pop influences. "Come On Joe" was the result of this unique mix, containing country Top 10 hits such as "Tear Stained Letter" and "No More One More Time." With radio success under his belt, Jo-El began to stretch out by becoming a sought after session player in Nashville. The sounds of his accordion can be heard on the albums of such greats as Alan Jackson, Neil Diamond, Johnny Cash, Elvis Costello, the Indigo Girls, Mark Knopfler, Emmylou Harris, Hank Williams Jr.