Johnny Rebel (singer)

Not to be confused with Johnny Rebb.

Johnny Rebel
Birth name	Clifford Joseph Trahan
Also known as	Tommy Todd Jericho Jones Johnny "Pee Wee" Blaine Johnny "Pee Wee" Trayhan Johnny "Pee Wee" Trahan Filthy McNasty
Born	October 3, 1938 (1938-10-03) (age 73) Moss Bluff, Louisiana, United States
Origin	Crowley, Louisiana, United States
Genres	Country, Rockabilly, Swamp pop
Occupations	Singer, Songwriter
Instruments	Singing, Guitar
Years active	1958–present
Labels	Reb Rebel, Zynn, Todd, Flyright, Viking, Ringo, WOW, X-Rated, Wildwood, Master-Trak, AggWood, Try It Man, Johnny Rebel
Associated acts	Pee Wee Whitewing & The Country Boys Johnny Blaine & Cross Country, Alex Bertrand, Al Foreman, Abe Manuel, Bobby McBride, Warren Storm, Alton Thibodeaux, Rufus Thibodeaux, Pee Wee Whitewing

Johnny Rebel is the pseudonym of Cajun country musician Clifford Joseph Trahan (born October 3, 1938), also known as Pee Wee Trahan. Trahan has used this pseudonym most notably on racist^[1] recordings issued in the 1960s on J. D. "Jay" Miller's Reb Rebel label of Crowley, Louisiana.^[1][2] Johnny Rebel is often misidentified as the pseudonym of David Allan Coe, and some of his songs have been misattributed to Johnny Horton.

Rebel music

His songs frequently use the racial epithet nigger and often voice sympathy for Jim Crow-era segregation and the Ku Klux Klan.

Trahan first recorded under the Johnny Rebel moniker in the mid-1960s. He employed J. D. "Jay" Miller's recording studio in Crowley, Louisiana. Miller, in fact, produced the sessions and issued the recordings on his own Reb Rebel label.^[2]

Trahan's first release — the fifth for the Reb Rebel label — was a 45 RPM single of "Lookin' for a Handout" and "Kajun Ku Klux Klan." He would record five more singles for the label, which included "Nigger, Nigger," "In Coon Town," "Who Likes a Nigger?," "Nigger Hatin' Me," "Still Looking for a Handout," "Some Niggers Never Die (They Just Smell That Way)," "Stay Away from Dixie," and "Move Them Niggers North."^[2] At least two of Trahan's songs, "Keep a-Workin' Big Jim" and "(Federal Aid Hell!) The Money Belongs to Us", were not about race, but about political issues — namely, the efforts of Louisiana district attorney Jim Garrison to solve the Kennedy assassination, and a song critical of U.S. federal aid programs.^[3]

In 1976, Trahan's song "Lâche pas la patate" ("The Potato Song"), sung by Jimmy C. Newman earned gold record status in Canada.^[4]

Two of these songs were eventually issued in album format by Reb Rebel Records under the title "For Segregationists Only".^[2]

After a hiatus of about three decades, Trahan returned as Johnny Rebel in 2001 when he issued his CD single "Infidel Anthem," recorded in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks.^[3] In 2003 Trahan released the album It's the Attitude, Stupid!, on the Try It Man record label. At least two persons or entities claim ownership of the Johnny Rebel catalog. At present, however, it is unclear who actually owns the recordings.^[3]

Johnny Rebel's songs have been covered by other singers such as Big Reb and the German band Landser. In 2005, his song "Some Niggers Never Die (They Just Smell That Way)" was used in the film What Is It? directed by Crispin Glover.^{[citation needed]}

Trahan has rarely allowed himself to be photographed by anyone other than close friends and family, although he claims there are indeed images of him on the Internet. He says he has no idea where those photos originated.^[3] Trahan has owned a driving school in Crowley, Louisiana which he handed over to his son in 2008.^[5] He appeared in a front-page article of the Crowley Post Signal on December 10, 2008 (about his writing of songs celebrating area high school football teams).

A CD compilation of his works simply shows a hooded Klansman together with a depiction of the Confederate Battle Flag.

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details
1971	For Segregationists Only Release date: 1971 Label: Reb Rebel Records
2003	The Complete Johnny Rebel Collection Release date: 2003 Label: Johnny Rebel Records
	It's the Attitude, Stupid!' Release date: 2003 Label: Try It Man Records

Singles

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Year	Single	Peak positions	Album
		US Country
1966	"Lookin' for a Handout / Kajun Klux Klan"	—	For Segregationists Only
	"Nigger Hatin' Me / Who Likes a Nigger"	—
1967	"(Federal Aid Hell!) The Money Belongs to Us / Keep a Workin' Big Jim "	—
1968	"Nigger, Nigger / Move Them Niggers North"	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Footnotes

1. ^ ^{a b} Shane K. Bernard, The Cajuns: Americanization of a People. Jackson, Miss: University Press of Mississippi, 2003, p. 63f.
2. ^ ^{a b c d} John Broven, South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican, 1983, p. 252f. ISBN 0882896083.
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Nick Pittman, "Johnny Rebel Speaks", in: Times of Acadiana, Lafayette, Louisiana, ca. 2000.
4. ^ "Page about Lâche pas la patate on Discogs.com". http://www.discogs.com/Jimmy-C-Newman-The-Potato-Song-Lache-Pas-La-Patate/release/1716852. 
5. ^ http://www.letsdrivecrowley.com/About_Us.html

References

• B & H Interview Johnny Rebel, 'A True Son Of Louisiana, 2009' [1]
• John Broven, South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous (Gretna, La.: Pelican, 1983).
• Shane K. Bernard, The Cajuns: Americanization of a People (Jackson, Miss: University Press of Mississippi, 2003).
• Terry E. Gordon, Rockin' Country Style
• Landser: Deutsche Wut/Rock gegen Oben, 1997, CD (track 9 "Kreuzberg" is a German language cover of Trahan's "Coon Town")

Persondata
Name	Rebel, Johnny
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Short description
Date of birth	October 3, 1938
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Date of death
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