Although he had trouble with his left hand after receiving an electrical shock, he continued to make club appearences and play music. HOUSTON- Creole Blues Musician Ashton Savoy, recently passed away at the age of 80. Although he was not exactly a household name in Houston, he was internationally known as a blues virtuoso with both his singing and his guitar. Ashton was born in Sunset, Louisiana in 1928. He grew up in a musical family, his father played fiddle and guitar. As a teenager, he moved to New Orleans where he became blues player when he was influenced by T-Bone Walker and Reed.
In 1958, he recorded the song “Baby Baby” in Lake Charles for the Kry label. Two years later Savoy moved to Houston, where he fell in with local blues players. He toured Europe and remained active on the scene here through the ’80s and ’90s, playing mostly blues, sometimes in French, and occasionally zydeco at clubs including the Big Easy, Shakespeare’s and the Silver Slipper. The Louisiana-born, Houston-based singer and guitarist cut several songs a half century ago that can be hunted down on compilations, but he wasn’t nearly as well documented as his hero and friend Lightnin’ Hopkins. His niece, Sandra Savoie-Arceneaux, says he suffered an injury in 1999 while fishing. He threw a pole over a live wire and received an electrical shock., damaging his left hand. Although he had trouble making chords on the guitar after the accident, he continued to appear on local stages, unable to stop playing music. Ashton Savoy is survived by his wife, Leona, eight children, three sisters, three brothers and extended family.