Louisiana

Westbank band The Falcons inducted into Louisiana Music Hall of Fame

Published

2 years ago

April 10, 2024

Press Room

Westbank band The Falcons inducted into Louisiana Music Hall of Fame

John Dupont
| Post South

A band from the Westbank now holds a spot on a list with Louisiana music icons.

The Falcons, a band that began in 1957, was inducted last Monday night into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. They joined such icons as Louis Armstrong, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, Buddy Guy and others.

The Falcons formed in an era when the Baton Rouge area had an abundance of recording studios, and AM radio stations, such as WLCS and WIBR, would play local songs.

The presentation was recorded on the “Baton Rouge Live Music” program, which is found on YouTube.

Maringouin native Donald “Duck” Militello, 73, his brother C.J., 73, and Leroy “Rocky” Jarreau, 77, accepted the award on behalf of their fellow performers who have since died.

“My dad was a musician, and his dream was to have his sons play music,” Donald Militello said.

He and his brothers were sons of a cotton farmer in Frogmore, at the southernmost end of Pointe Coupee Parish. They used school instruments to learn music.

“My two brothers joined the school band – my brother C.J. had a sax that had pads that were leaking and he had to put rubber bands on the keys to make them open and close,” Militello said. “My brother Nunzio, who is deceased, came home with a trumpet, and pulled cylinders out of the valves and knocked knots out of it to make it open and close.”

They picked up songs they heard on radio.

After being kicked out of the band for teaching fellow students how to play music by ear, their father took them to Baton Rouge to a downtown music store. He came home with a sax, a trumpet and two sets of drums, Militello said.

“We were rehearsing one time on the front porch because Mom would run us out the house, and it sounded like a flock of geese squeaking,” he said.

One Saturday morning, they were asked to play for a family wedding in Maringouin at the community center.

“We knew about seven songs – all instrumentals,” Militello said. “We played them all day long.”

The songs included “Red River Rock,” “Red Sails in Sunset” and “Honky Tonk.”

Wilson Angelle was the original vocalist/guitar player for the band.

The sax case on the side of the stage was full of money by the end of the reception.

“That was our first paying gig,” Militello said.

They recorded “High School Ring” on the SAL Records label, based in Maringouin, in 1964.

The Falcons are an ideal group for the Hall of Fame honor, said Mike Shepherd, Louisiana Music Hall of Fame founder.

“This Hall of Fame is not limited to only the biggest of the big,” he said. “My vision is to celebrate good people from good groups, and make the rest of them want to be in it.”

Donald and C.J. Militello, along with with Jarreau, continue to perform weekend gigs on a regular basis.

“The music is just a part of us” Donald Militello said.

“It’s all we know and what we are, and we do it because we love it – we eat, breathe and sleep it, and then get up the next day and do it again.”

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Louisiana

Red, Rock & Blue: Registration deadline approaches for tournament benefitting La. military charities

Published

7 hours ago

April 5, 2026

Press Room

Red, Rock & Blue: Registration deadline approaches for tournament benefitting La. military charities

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – The Red, Rock & Blue charity softball tournament to benefit Louisiana military charities is quickly approaching.

SLOW-PITCH SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT

April 17 – April 19
BREC Oak Villa | Baton Rouge

Each team will get a three-game guarantee. There are different divisions for different skill levels.

Team registration is open to the public. You can register a team online.

The deadline to register is Friday, April 10.

Click here for more information about the 32nd annual charity slow-pitch softball tournament.

Past tournaments have been held in July, but the 2026 tournament was moved to spring for the cooler temperatures.

Red Rock and Blue typically gives $50,000 or more to military charities like The Blue Star Mothers of Louisiana and Gulf Coast Veterans each year.

The Caterie Reunion IV to benefit Red Rock and Blue is also set for August 15 at The Texas Club in Baton Rouge. More information on that event, including the musical lineup and ticket sales, is coming soon.

*WAFB is a sponsor and supporter of the Red, Rock & Blue non-profit organization.

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Click here to subscribe to our WAFB 9 News daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.

Watch the latest WAFB news and weather now.

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Louisiana

How carbon capture is becoming one of the biggest fights in Louisiana politics

Published

19 hours ago

April 5, 2026

Press Room

How carbon capture is becoming one of the biggest fights in Louisiana politics

Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Mark T. Guillory, second from right, speaks to fellow members of Save My Louisiana and, on the far left, State Treasurer Dr. John Fleming on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2025, outside the 19th Judicial District courthouse in downtown Baton Rouge. The group sued the state of Louisiana to challenge a law that allows companies seeking to do carbon capture to store the gas under private land. Fleming, a critic of carbon capture who is running for U.S. Senate, was present for the news conference held immediately after the lawsuit was filed. Guillory, a Rapides Parish resident, is one of the plaintiffs. Gary Musgrove, president of the group, is fifth from the right.

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Louisiana

Vehicle hits revelers, injuring about 15, at Lao New Year celebration in Louisiana

Published

1 day ago

April 4, 2026

Press Room

Vehicle hits revelers, injuring about 15, at Lao New Year celebration in Louisiana

More than a dozen people were injured when a vehicle struck revelers at a parade celebrating the Lao New Year on Saturday in rural Louisiana, authorities said.

The driver was quickly arrested and charged with impaired driving, police said.

Video shared on social media showed multiple people on the ground at the annual event in Broussard and New Iberia. The videos showed firefighters tending to one person trapped beneath the car, which wound up in a ditch along the parade route.

About 15 people were hurt, some seriously, according to the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office.

“Based on the preliminary investigation, this does not appear to be an intentional act,” said a spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office, Rebecca Melancon.

Acadian Ambulance, a private ambulance company, said on social media that it responded to the emergency at around 2:30 p.m. and sent 10 ambulances and a helicopter to aid the injured. Two patients were airlifted, it said.

The Louisiana State Police said the driver, who is 57 and lived in Jeanerette, La., appeared impaired when police arrived and later tested positive for a high blood alcohol level. He was charged with impaired, negligent and careless driving and having an open container of alcohol in the vehicle.

The parade is part of a three-day New Year celebration set in the Lanexang Village, a Laotian neighborhood near New Iberia with hundreds of families near the Buddhist temple grounds of Wat Thammarattanaram.

It features Southeast Asian food, live music, a parade and other family-friendly activities attracting thousands each year.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry issued a statement on behalf of himself and his wife about the incident. “Sharon and I are praying for all those affected, and are grateful for the first responders who have responded to the scene,” he said.

The festival’s organizers issued a statement on Facebook saying they were “profoundly saddened” by the tragedy. “We are praying for the victims and for their families during this difficult time,” it said.

Afternoon and evening events were canceled, but the festival planned to hold religious services Sunday, the organizers said.

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