Evangeline was an American country music band initially composed of Kathleen Stieffel (guitar, vocals), Sharon Leger (bass guitar, washboard, vocals), Beth McKee (keyboards, accordion, vocals), Rhonda Lohmeyer (lead guitar), Nancy Buchan (fiddle, mandolin), and Dudley Fruge (drums). They recorded two studio albums—a 1992 self-titled debut and 1994's French Quarter Moon—for Margaritaville Records, an MCA Records subsidiary owned by Jimmy Buffett.

Evangeline
OriginNew Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
GenresCountry
Years active1988–1996
LabelsMargaritaville/MCA, Renegade
Past membersNancy Buchan
Dudley Fruge
Sharon Leger
Rhonda Lohmeyer
Beth McKee
Kathleen Stieffel

Biography

edit

Evangeline was a New Orleans–based band composed, at its most popular point, of singer Kathleen Steiffel, bass guitarist/washboardist Sharon Leger, keyboardist/accordionist Beth McKee, lead guitarist Rhonda Lohmeyer, fiddler/mandolinist Nancy Buchan, and drummer Dudley Fruge.[1][2] The band entered a talent competition called Jazz Search in 1988, followed by the Marlboro Talent Roundup and the True Value Country Music Showdown. They were eventually discovered by singer Jimmy Buffett, who signed them to Margaritaville Records, his personal subsidiary of MCA Records.[2]

Evangeline released its self-titled debut album in 1992, under the executive production of Buffett.[3] Although this album produced no chart singles in the US, "If I Had a Heart" peaked at No. 81 on the RPM Country Tracks charts in Canada. Fruge and Buchan left the group before the release of their second album, 1994's French Quarter Moon. This album produced their first US chart single in "Let's Go Spend Your Money Honey", a No. 70 on the Billboard country charts. Also included on this album was the song "She's a Wild One", which later became a Number One hit in 1994 for Faith Hill under the title "Wild One".[4] A third album, Louisiana Aye Yi Yi, recorded in 1990 when Evangeline was composed of Rhonda Lohmeyer, Sharon Leger and Leslie Doyle, was issued in 1996. That final recording featured more Zydeco and Cajun songs than their first two albums, including tunes written by Rockin' Sidney (Sidney Simien), D. L. Menard, and several traditional Cajun songs.

Discography

edit

Albums

edit
Title Album details
Evangeline
  • Release date: May 19, 1992
  • Label: Margaritvaille/MCA
French Quarter Moon
  • Release date: November 23, 1993
  • Label: Margaritvaille/MCA
Louisiana Aye Yi Yi
  • Release date: July 16, 1996
  • Label: Renegade Records

Singles

edit
Year Single Peak chart
positions
Album
US Country CAN Country
1992 "Bayou Boy" Evangeline
"Am I a Fool"
1993 "If I Had a Heart" 81
"I'm Still Loving You"[5] French Quarter Moon
1994 "Let's Go Spend Your Money Honey" 70
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos

edit
Year Video Director
1992 "Bayou Boy" Jim Shea[6]
1993 "Still Lovin' You" Sara Nichols[7]
"Let's Go Spend Your Money Honey" Jim Shea[8]

References

edit
  1. ^ McCall, Michael. "Evangeline biography". Allmusic. Retrieved December 19, 2008.
  2. ^ a b "Evangeline biography". Country Works. Archived from the original on March 20, 2005. Retrieved December 19, 2008.
  3. ^ Loftus, Johnny. "Evangeline review". Allmusic. Retrieved December 19, 2008.
  4. ^ Loftus, Johnny. "French Quarter Moon review". Allmusic. Retrieved December 19, 2008.
  5. ^ "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. September 25, 1993.
  6. ^ "Bayou boy / director, Jim Shea". Retrieved January 10, 2011.
  7. ^ "Still lovin' you / director, Sara Nichols". Retrieved January 10, 2011.
  8. ^ "Let's go spend your money honey / director, Jim Shea". Retrieved January 10, 2011.
edit