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0617-MUS-07/2013
Billie Causey, Jr.
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Bill Causey was born in Natchitoches, Louisiana in 1943 to Margaret Hicks and B. P. Causey. His mother was a teacher and his dad was a band director and taught music at Centenary College. Bill began his teaching career at Broadmoor Junior High and later went to work as band director at Captain Shreve High. He became the alumni director at Centenary but left after three years and opened an insurance business. During this time he also had the Bill Causey Band. While at Shreve, he also directed jazz bands and began a city jazz band. Bill Bush at the Moulin Rouge asked him to take a week at the club so that he could take a vacation and that began Bill Causey's Big Band and some of his students including George Hancock and Gary Hawk began playing big band music with him at clubs. Each year he would do a jazz program at high schools, give door prizes to students and showcase big band music to kids and he kept the city jazz band going until he opened his music store, The Band House. He has provided the horns for the casinos when they brought in Wayne Newton, Don Rickles, the O'Jays, the Temptations, and the Four Tops. Both of Bill's sons have played with him, one the drums and the other the French horn and the trumpet. Bill plays with the band Earshot Graffiti and has two Band Houses, in Shreveport and Texarkana. Bill and Judy have three children and nine grandchildren.