On Saturday, January 13, Cajun sensation and country music recording artist Jo-El Sonnier passed away. He was 77 years old.
Sonnier was performing at the Llano Country Opry in Texas and suffered a major heart attack following his performance. He played for over an hour at the Llano venue and received a standing ovation.
There was a request for an encore; however, Sonnier said he needed to rest before signing autographs, Dillon Weldon stated in his Instagram Post.
Sonnier was born in Rayne, Louisiana in October of 1946. He began playing his brother’s accordion by age 3, performed on the radio for the first time by age 6, and recorded his first song by age 11.
In 2013, he released the traditional Cajun French album, The Legacy. The album gained him his fifth Grammy nomination and would earn him his first Grammy win for “2015 Regional Roots Music Album of the Year.”
