George “Wydell” Jones, 71, who wrote the doo-wop hit “Rama Lama Ding Dong” and performed it as a member of the Edsels, has died. He was 71.
Jones, who had battled cancer, died at home in Youngstown, Ohio, last week, according to his son, Steffon Jones.
“Rama Lama” peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1961. The Youngstown, Ohio-based Edsels also included Jimmy Reynolds, Harry Green, Marshall Sewell and Larry Green.
During their heyday, the Edsels performed at the Apollo Theater in New York and appeared on “American Bandstand.”
Jones was born in Richmond, Va., and as a child moved to Youngstown, where his father worked in a steel mill. After high school, Jones joined the Air Force, where he sang in a vocal group with other servicemen and wrote “Rama Lama.”
Edison Chouest, 91, a commercial shrimper who turned one utility vessel into a major shipbuilding and offshore petroleum service company, has died.
Chouest died Wednesday, Edison Chouest Offshore spokesman Lonnie Thibodeaux confirmed. A cause was not released.
The company had its beginnings in 1960 when Chouest, who owned shrimp boats, bought a steel-hulled 65-foot utility vessel that had six months to go in a contract with Humble Oil Co. to supply a petroleum rig in the Gulf of Mexico.
During the 1960s, the company expanded by buying and refurbishing old vessels, and, in 1974, built North American Shipbuilding in Larose, La. That company built and designed its own cargo and utility vessels. The yard eventually added offshore specialty vessels and built ships for the U.S. military and government.
A second shipyard — North American Fabricators — was opened in Houma, La., in 1996. The Chouest family recently completed two other shipyards — Gulfship in Gulfport, Miss., and Navship, in Navegantes, Brazil.
The company is preparing to begin construction on what will be its largest shipyard, LaShip in Houma. The Associated Press
