Clarence "Jockey" Etienne

Zydeco, blues and R&B drummer, percussionist from Louisiana, USA. Drummer on countless Excello Records recording sessions at J.D. Miller's Crowley, Louisiana studio in the 1950's. Etienne played a cardboard box on Slim Harpo’s “Baby Scratch My Back,” which became a No. 1 Billboard R&B hit in 1966. The cardboard box drumming became his signature. Etienne earned the nickname "Jockey" after he began racing horses at the age of 7 at local tracks. He later did races as far as Mexico, before he became too tall to ride and retired. (BORN: Officially listed as November 23, 1933 in Saint Martinville, Louisiana, USA, but Clarence said that the date could be incorrect and that the year could have been between 1931 and 1935; DIED: Sunday, August 16, 2015.) Etienne played a cardboard box on Harpo’s “Scratch My Back,” which became a No. 1 Billboard R&B hit in 1966. The cardboard box drumming became his signature.