At the 2022 funeral of “Rock and Roll’s First Great Wild Man,” Jerry Lee Lewis, just one musician was invited to play live music. Dressed to the nines in the classically eccentric regalia of the Swamp Pop superstars, Michael Kuk solemnly performed a musical ritual he’s come to call his “Cajun send-off”: two verses of “Amazing Grace,” played on Zydeco accordion—the first instrumental, and the second sung in unison by all in attendance.
Tributes and Tradition
“Everybody knows ‘Amazing Grace,’” Kuk said of the song choice. “It’s kind of part of our DNA, it’s built into us.”
The Louisiana veteran, firefighter, and musician initially developed his personal farewell tradition as a way to honor the many veterans whose funerals he was frequently invited to play music for.
Michael Kuk at MayFest 2023, photo courtesy of Rickie Smith
When Lewis’ late sister Frankie Jean—a longtime friend of Kuk’s late girlfriend—learned of the “Cajun send off,” she made Kuk promise he’d perform it for Lewis whenever the rock ‘n roll icon died. That promise was made twenty-five years before the acclaimed musician passed at the age of eighty-seven; and Kuk didn’t disappoint.
“It was the honor of my life,” Kuk says of the experience, a statement that bears weight from a man who was inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 and into the 2023 Hammond Organ Hall of Fame in 2023. In West Central Louisiana, Kuk is a local celebrity—recognized for his long career as a firefighter that began when he founded the Moss Bluff fire department in the 1970s; as well as for his frequent appearances at local musical venues, festivals, and church services (given the nickname “chief of the keyboards” back in the 1970s, Kuk is equally at home playing a Zydeco accordion, a Hammond organ, or even a cathedral organ).
The Musical Legacy of Michael Kuk and the Louisiana Scramble
In addition to his unforgettable solo Swamp Pop Revue and Jerry Lee Lewis Tribute shows, Kuk has performed in some of the region’s most popular bands throughout the past fifty years. Currently he is the lead singer and keyboardist of the band Louisiana Scramble. “We are a scramble, because we are not all one pure thing or another,” he explained. Consisting of Cajun accordionist Shawn Saucier, bass player Jerry Benoit, blues guitarist Tom Johnson, and drummer Robert LaPointe—as well as Kuk—the band “might play a whole night of zydeco, or a whole night of Cajun, or rock & roll, a whole night of blues, or a little bit of everything,” said Kuk. “We’re scrambled eggs.”
Kuk and Louisiana Scramble are one of a dozen bands scheduled to perform at Vernon Parish’s MayFest in downtown Leesville this May. Although this will be the band’s first time performing the festival all together, Kuk—with his unmistakable getup and dance-able tunes—is a longtime favorite in the line-up.
“There’s this continuous flow of music, and they always try to showcase a lot of unusual talent,” said Kuk, on why he enjoys playing MayFest almost every year. “Obviously some of us are repeat performers, but they also look for new and upcoming type musicians too. There’s such a big variety of music that comes to the stage. It's just fun. I’d say it’s basically the biggest block party in West Central Louisiana.”
Learn more about MayFest at legendcountry.com/mayfest. Inquiries about booking Kuk and Louisiana Scramble can be made at (337) 442-0910 or (318) 379-8466.
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