Alton James Hulin began his musical career at age fourteen when he recorded a single titled “Many Lonely Nights.” In 1959, he founded the Lonely Knights Band, and the following year he recorded “I’m Not a Fool Anymore.” The song was released on LK Records, a label jointly owned by Hulin’s father and local songwriter Robert Thibodeaux. In 1964, Hulin formed a twelve-piece band that included a young Edgar Winter, who frequently traveled from Beaumont and stayed at Hulin’s home on weekends.

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Later that same year, at just twenty years old, Hulin scored his biggest success when “Not a Fool Anymore” was released nationally. The single climbed to No. 25 on the Billboard chart and went silver, selling more than half a million copies. Written by Hulin’s high school music teacher, Robert Thibodeaux, the song became a staple of the South Louisiana sound. Hulin followed with another regional favorite, “As You Pass Me By,” better known as “Graduation Night,” which sold more than 150,000 copies.

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For more than forty years, Hulin has filled nightclubs across South Louisiana—from Alexandria to New Iberia to Port Arthur—where fans continue requesting his French rendition of “Jolie Blonde.” In addition to his musical career, Hulin and his wife, Colleen, own and operate the well-known Yellow Bowl Restaurant in Jeanerette. A devoted and community-minded performer, he has also headlined numerous benefit concerts for charities including Muscular Dystrophy and Toys for Tots.