Swamp Pop star passes away

Swamp Pop star Roy Chaffin, of Turkey Creek, passed away on Monday, February 9, after being diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
As of press time, no arrangements have been announced.
According to an article in the May 6, 2021, edition of the Ville Platte Gazette, in high school, Roy and his friends had house parties where they played music and sang. Roy started with guitar, and by 1977, he started playing and singing in night clubs. In 1980, Roy joined a band with Elwood Charles and they even recorded a 45 single called “Gimme Gimme a Little Lovin’.” The B side was titled “A Thousand Goodbyes.”
Roy and Elwood played together for about three years. When Elwood left, Roy called the band the Bayou Boogie Band, and they played quite a bit around the Alexandria area. Over the years, he played with several bands, including the Knight Train Band, The Cartoons, and the Paul & Pete Band. He also recorded other 45 singles, but in 1998, he recorded a solo album with some notable studio musicians, such as drummers Clint West and Warren Storm. That album contained his biggest hit, “You’re So Easy to Love.”
From growing up idolizing the big Swamp Pop stars, Roy had become friends with them throughout the years and played regularly at the annual Swamp Pop Reunion in Ville Platte. Johnnie Allan has actually become a good friend of Roy’s. While Roy doesn’t play night clubs anymore, there was a time he played often, even traveling to festivals in Texas and Wisconsin. He always returned to his beloved Evangeline Parish, though, where he enjoyed and played for the Boggy Bayou Festival in his home town. “Father Prescott was such a good man,” Roy said of the festival founder. “He and all the others organizing the event are such good people. I wanted to help as much as I could.”
In the beginning, Roy even brought his own P.A. and set it up for the whole weekend before the festival could afford a sound company. “I love the local people and everybody who comes. I just felt like it was a good thing to do. I just wanted to help the community if I could,” he said.