R.I.P.: Jerry LaCroix

Jerry LaCroix, a singer and saxophonist whose career included stints with Edgar Winter‘s White Trash, Blood, Sweat & Tears, and Rare Earth, has passed away (May 7, 2014); he was 70.

Although he was never a household name in his own right, LaCroix’s soulful vocals made him a favorite performer for those in the know — a group that, early in his career, included Columbia president Clive Davis, who not only presided over White Trash’s deal with the label’s Epic subsidiary, but ended up playing matchmaker between LaCroix and Blood, Sweat & Tears after White Trash fell apart. Although he’d just released his own solo album, 1974′s ‘The Second Coming,’ he decided to abandon promotional efforts because, as he put it, “Blood, Sweat & Tears was going on a world tour and I hadn’t seen the world.”

His blend of rhythm and blues, soul, rock, and swamp pop, stood the test of time. LaCroix performed for more than half a century. He was inducted into the Gulf Coast Music Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. MORE HERE