On March 29, 1937, Mr. and Mrs. Van Broussard welcomed their first child, Van Jr. The birth of a child is a momentous occasion for any young couple, and for the Broussard¹s this was truly cause for celebration. It is doubtful though, that this cattleman and his wife could have known that his namesake was destined to become one of Louisiana¹s most beloved and famous music legends.
For the next 69 years, and counting, Van Broussard Jr. and his siblings have shown us an inexhaustible pool of skill, talent, and creativity that would amaze even the most confident of parents. The Broussards have always been hard working, giving people, and their musical pedigree would rival the VonTrapps. The Broussards have given us Louisiana’s “Sound of Music”. One of Van’s recordings, “Mathilda”, is even nicknamed “Louisiana¹s National Anthem”. It is a distinct Cajun gold… a sound born of roots in blues, bluegrass, and bare knuckles.
“South Louisiana people work hard, then they play hard. Mix in a few drinks and occasionally a ‘disagreement’ would break out. We were kind of young and maybe not so smart… so like I said occasionally the band would kind of come down and disagree,” Van said with a big smile.
The family roots in music really started in earnest with Van’s grandfather, Sidney Babin. “My mom’s dad was an amazing fiddle player. He was in the house band for the Louisiana Hay Ride. Man did he play with some greats… Hank Williams, Vin Bruce, Elvis!!! Now my dad didn’t have much time for music because he was always working but he and my mom always supported us. I guess we did alright.”
Alright in deed! Van’s brother Henry has his own band called Flame. “I’m real proud of Henry. We played together for a while and he decided to go out on his own. They’ve done real well.” Van’s sister is Grace Leblanc of the famed Dale and Grace. Their long illustrious career was highlighted by the number one hit “I’m Leaving It All Up To You”. “Everywhere we go, through all the years, people always loved Grace.”
Van’s road to fame began in a very humble and inauspicious environment, a manner that is true to his nature even today. At what is now the corner of Airline Highway and La. Hwy. 42, there sat an old wooden country store, H.A. Webbs and Sons. One of the stores employees was an African American man named Pete Franklin. On breaks and after work, Pete would sit out on the porch of the store and sing and play his guitar. Young Van was fascinated by Pete’s guitar playing and the soulful sound of his music. “I just fell in love with his music,” Van said. “It just drew me in and I wanted nothing more than to learn how to bring the joy he gave me to others. Pete was great to me. He was great to me and I love him for what he did. He really changed my life. To this day I have his guitar hanging on my wall. It’s one of my most cherished possessions.”
Van learned to play and perform Blues originally and to this day it is the music that is closest to his heart. He worked hard to learn all that Pete could teach him and credits Mr. Franklin with his distinct soulful, bluegrass Cajun sound. His blues background would also serve him well as it led to playing with such greats as B.B. King and Fats Domino.
He would go on to carve his own niche of fame that would connect to the hearts of the people of Louisiana. But his road to fame and into the web of the lives of the people in the south almost never was.
In his youth Van was a big fan of speed. He knew a lot about cars and liked to drive fast, often toying with local law enforcement. In 1954, at the age of 17, Van was playing guitar for a Dixieland band at the Moonlight Inn in Ascension Parish. Perhaps, due to his relationship with local law enforcement, or perhaps not, the Moonlight was raided. Van, being underage, was kicked out, banned, and forced to find another band to play in. “I didn’t really feel comfortable with those guys anyway. They were really nice to me but I felt that they were way more accomplished musicians than I was at the time. I went to play with Joe Moran, Leonce Bourgeois, and Herman Renne. We played at Mike’s in Chacbay because there weren’t any state police down there. The band added Joe Guidry and Jimmy Leblanc on horns.”
To the surprise of most, Van has never formally trained in singing. One night, soon after they started, some girls at Mike’s wanted to hear Elvis songs, and no one else knew any. So Van stepped up. “I really wasn’t any good, but the place went crazy so I started to work harder on my singing.”
Much like the Beatles in Hamburg, the band and Van cut their teeth and perfected their sound in Chacbay. They did really well and got better and better, then came disaster.
On September 13, 1957 a Friday night, as he returned home from a gig in Reserve, Louisiana, Van lost control of his car. “I don¹t remember what happened. I was headed north on Airline Highway and hit the bridge in Gonzales at New River. My car flipped over and crossed New River upside down on the guardrail.” The rail dislodged, crashed through the bottom of the car and entered his leg just above the ankle. The metal traveled through his leg, crushing his bone to fragments, and severed it just below his knee. His leg muscles were ripped open to his hip. His hand and arm were torn open and the pipe finally came to rest in the top of Van’s head. To this day he has a horseshow shaped scar in the top of his scull but doesn’t consider it a very lucky horseshow. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
”I thank God for giving me a second chance. I didn’t live my life in fear after that. I felt I owed it to God to live life to its fullest. I was lucky enough later to meet Carol, the love of my life. It was a long time before we got together, but I knew right away that she would be my girl. She is my inspiration and I’m thankful for her everyday of my life. She makes my heart smile.”
Van and Carol went on to marry and have three children. The family has five children. Sidney, the oldest, is a paramedic. Debra, now Debra Bell, owns Val’s Marina. Ryan is a house builder, Vanessa a mother of two, and the baby, Michelle is now expecting her first child.
“Van is a great father and a wonderful grandfather,” Carol told us. “His face lights up to this day every time one of his kids is around and his grandchildren put a sparkle in his eye daily. I love to see that. At three and four years old they know the words to many of his songs. He takes them on stage sometimes and they each have their favorite songs. At night if they won’t go to sleep we will put a video of Van on and they will lie in bed and fall asleep to grandpa’s music. Occasionally he’ll make a mistake when he is singing and they will go ‘No Pa, that’s not right’. That really cracks him up.”
Carol’s favorite song is “Winter Wind” which Van recorded in 1959. It was the first song she ever heard Van sing as she waited outside a bar for her father. “Music was the center of my life,” she said. “Everywhere I went I had my transistor radio. I was in the parking lot and I heard this magnificent voice, like the voice of an angel. I was only thirteen at the time, but I snuck in there. I had to see who it was that was touching my soul. That’s the first time I saw Van Broussard and I fell in love with him right there.” That was in 1963 and it would be more than twenty years before the two would come together.
In 1958, Van expanded the band to its current size. He added two more horns (total four) and an organ and they were off and running. Being the Renaissance Man that he is, Van had other interests as well. In 1959, he put his knowledge of cars and engines to use and got involved in drag racing. As with most things, he would drive himself to be the best. (He currently is considered by many to be one of the best large crane operators in the industry.) In 1978, he captured the national drag racing record, driving his 1968 Hemi Barracuda 141 mph and 9.62 in the quarter mile.
What Van really became though was a hit maker. The list of his hits is one that tugs at the hearts of people in the South especially those who grew up in Ascension. They swarm onto the dance floor at the sound of the first notes of songs like “Cold Shoulders”, “Lord I Need Somebody Bad”, and “Lost World” which features another local legend Royce Tarver on steel guitar. Van’s personal favorite is “My Dearest Darling,” a song on his 2000 CD, originally recorded by Miss Etta James. There’s “Danny Boy” and “Tell Me the Truth,” two songs recorded in Charles Kirkland’s studio behind Gascon’s Music Store in Plaquemine. His hit “Lord I Need Somebody Bad” still gets loads of jukebox play wherever available and of course, as we mentioned before “Mathilda” is the Louisiana National Anthem.
Van is loved by his fans across the country and recognized by his peers in the business for his musical magic. In August of 1990, The South Louisiana Music Association awarded Van its Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1998 he was inducted into the Louisiana Hall of Fame and in April of 2000, the Hall again recognized him with a special recognition for 50 years of perseverance in the music industry.
In all the years he has performed and with the millions of records sold, Van has remained true to his nature and to his roots. He is the same down home Ascension Parish resident as always. This is his home, the place he feels most comfortable, playing to the crowds of dancers that hold him and his music dear to their hearts. “I don’t play concerts. I get nervous if people just sit and stare at me. I want to feel their energy and see them dancing. That’s how I know we’re doing well. And at the end of the night I like to go home to my wife.”
Recently Van was invited to tour Europe with D.J. Fontana the drummer for Elvis, Scotty Moore Elvis’ guitar player, and the group that backed up Elvis, The Jordanians. Carl Perkins who did “Blue Suede Shoes” was also on the ticket. Despite the considerable money lost, Van is, and always will be, Louisiana’s boy. “This is my home. These are my people. This is where I¹m most happy.” As Van prepares to celebrate his 69th birthday in March, we hope that he will stop and take a moment to realize the hundreds of thousands of hours he and his music have brought joy and happiness to the people of his home town.
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