Roy Mouton – The Leader of the Pack – Covington’s Legendary Band Director

Roy Mouton: Covington’s legendary Band director

Roy Joseph Mouton Jr. was born on May 25, 1942, in Lafayette, Louisiana, the son of Roy J. Mouton, Sr. and Amanda "Mandy" Williams. He died in Covington, Louisiana on November 14, 2007 at age 65 and is buried in Broussard,  Lafayette Parish in Sacred Heart Cemetery.  After graduating from Paul Breaux High School in Lafayette, he pursued a degree in music. He studied at both USL in Lafayette and Southern University in Baton Rouge, where he earned both his B.S. and a Master's Degree in music. Afterwards, he continued to study music at the Vander Cook School of Music in Chicago, Illinois. 

He began his career in music as a band director and educator at Rosenwald High in New Orleans and continued for eleven years, from 1957 to 1968, before he came to Covington and made his mark with the St. Paul's Wolves. Roy Mouton accepted a job at St Paul's as band director and Fine Arts Department Chair in 1969 where he remained until leaving in the mid -1980's where he took at job as band director at Covington High School. The  St. Paul's 1970 yearbook mentions the tremendous job Mouton has done to build up the schools  first successful band in many years, and how the band was showcased at many school events and in an end of the year concert presented to the students and parents. 

Hubert Cyprian, a Covington native and regular library patron, was a former Covington High Marching Lion band member under Mr. Mouton. Hubert provided this insight: "Mr. Mouton always talked to me about his band years. He was originally from Lafayette. He moved down here because of integration. They were hiring for African American teachers. He wanted to be the first for St. Paul's.  That's why St. Paul's always stood out from other bands. A legacy they still have til' this day." Cyprian's words ring true even today the marching band continues to be a crowd pleaser with leading drum majors, contemporary music, high-stepping, dancing, and really cutting loose.   

In 1971, after just two years of Mr. Mouton's leadership, St. Paul’s had a stage band and according to the 1971 yearbook it reached its highest level of performance. This stage band was led by Mouton and another  man, Geoff Roach. The band performed in Slidell, Covington, and New Orleans and played a mix of musical genres including swing,  jazz, and rock. In addition, another 4-piece band known as The Saint Paul’s Combo played that year and received superior ratings in Loyola’s University Jazz Festival.  From 1972 until Roy Mouton left the school, the band’s reputation only grew more, adding more performances and awards as the school grew to have stage, concert, marching bands and "spin-off bands" such as The Saint's Paul's "Combo".  As band director, Mouton worked with many other professionals  with the focus of making the Wolves better as time went on, building upon it’s progress year by year.

Andrew Moran, St. Paul's current band director of 16 years had some great insight to share about Mouton. He told of how the band prior to Mouton was structured and performed in a military style and how Mouton modernized it.  In 1975, the marching band's signature uniform seen today, was first introduced. Moran tells how this uniform's style was coined as the, “The Southern Gentlemen” at that time.  Mouton envisioned the band having a style unique to the wolves that separated them from other marching bands.  Moran shared how money was raised by collecting tabs from soda cans.   About twelve to fourteen years ago,  Moran modernized the uniform to a more formal look, one that currently reflects today's times, but the style is the same as the original uniform from 1975.  

In addition to Roy Mouton, another musician influenced St. Paul's musical style under Mouton's leadership. Hubert Cyprian provided an image from an original music score that he wanted to share. (See captioned image).  The signature on the musical score does not belong to Roy Mouton but to Roy Johnson.

Cyprian shared,  "The signature is an Assistant and Director from the 1970s at Southern University named Roy Johnson. He and Mr. Mouton were friends. Mr. Mouton always wanted his band program to play the most recent popular new songs out at the time. Roy Johnson would ride his motorcycle to St. Paul's band practice. He'd ask the band students what is the latest song out. They would play the record and Roy Johnson would arrange for each section. Mr. Mouton told me all of this history at the time. Mr. Mouton wanted to have the only Catholic school on the Northshore playing Funk music."  

Andrew Moran, the band director for the Wolves today shared how many of Roy Johnson's arrangements are still performed by the Wolves today. Moran simplified it, Same style, Same arrangements pertaining to the Marching Wolves today who are still performing a few of the 1970s Wolves musical arrangements. 

Hubert’s memory is in step with Moran’s as Moran shared how Johnson and Mouton met at Southern University and remained close friends. Mouton frequently asked his friend Johnson to complete arrangements . Cyprian reinforces this dynamic duo telling how "Roy Johnson wrote all of their most popular tunes."  This is not to say Mouton did not arrange music, he did,  but he knew the power of team work and collective and collaborative strengths which are necessary when stepping onto higher ground. In the years Roy Mouton was Band Director at St. Paul’s, he developed a marching band on the move led by highly energetic drum majors, not just at the Mardi Gras but statewide and even nationwide. Roy Mouton was a graduate of Southern University in the 1950s and Andrew Moran tells of how  "Mouton brought all that with him to implement into St. Paul's , as he took the wolves away from a military , tradition based marching band to what we see today, a unique Southern-style band."  It is evident Mr. Mouton's leadership and vision as band director is still seen in today's Wolves.  Covington was lucky to have Lafayette born Roy Mouton ! Happy Mardi Gras ! and I hope you catch dem' wolves jammin' in the streets as the parade passes you by. Laissez les bons temps rouler! 

Resources :

A collection of yearbooks from St. Paul's in the Genealogy collection at the Covington Library: 

-Written by Ramona Elder