Johnny Rebel (singer)
American singer-songwriter (1938–2016) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Clifford Joseph Trahan (September 25, 1938 – September 3, 2016), better known by the stage names Johnny Rebel and Pee Wee Trahan, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who performed songs that were supportive of white supremacy.[1] He used the Johnny Rebel name for a series of recordings for J. D. "Jay" Miller's Reb Rebel label in the 1960s in response to the civil rights movement.[2] The 12 songs exhibit racial hatred marketed as "subtle, rib-tickling satire".[3][4] The songs frequently used the racial slur "nigger" and often voiced sympathy for racial segregation, the KKK, and the Confederacy.
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![]() Trahan as a junior in high school, 1955 | |
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Birth name | Clifford Joseph Trahan |
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Born | (1938-09-25)September 25, 1938 Moss Bluff, Louisiana, U.S. |
Died | September 3, 2016(2016-09-03) (aged 77) Rayne, Louisiana, U.S. |
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Years active | 1959–2003 |
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After retiring in 2003, Trahan claimed that he "just did it for the money" and that he "didn't set out to spread hate or start trouble". He said, "At that time, there was a lot of resentment – whites toward blacks and blacks toward whites. So, everybody had their own feelings. Lots of people changed their feelings over the years. I basically changed my feelings over the years up to a point."[5]