Dwayne Dopsie | |
|---|---|
 Dwayne Dopsie in 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Dwayne Rubin |
| Born | March 3, 1979 Lafayette, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Genres | zydeco |
| Instrument(s) | accordion, vocals |
| Website | dwaynedopsie |
Dwayne Rubin, better known by his stage name Dwayne Dopsie, is an American Zydeco musician. He is the accordionist and vocalist for his New Orleans-based band, Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers.
Dwayne Dopsie was born March 3, 1979, in Lafayette, Louisiana. [1] He is the youngest of accordionist Rockin' Dopsie's eight children, and picked up music in the household from an early age. He began playing washboard at age six and accordion at seven, and performed with his father on stage at Mardi Gras and on television for a Super Bowl halftime during his childhood. [2]
After Rockin' Dopsie died in 1993, Dwayne Dopsie dropped out of high school to pursue zydeco music full-time. [2] He founded his own band, the Zydeco Hellraisers, in 1999 when he was nineteen years old, [3] and that same year was named "America's Hottest Accordionist" in a competition run by the American Accordion Association. [4]
In 2013, Dopsie collaborated with Corey Ledet, Anthony Dopsie and Andre Thierry on the album Nothin' But the Best, which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Regional Roots Music Album. [5] Dopsie received another nomination in the same category for his 2017 album Top of the Mountain. Dopsie plays regularly at New Orleans events such as Mardi Gras and Jazz & Heritage Festival, has done numerous tours of the United States, [6] [7] [8] [9] and has toured internationally several times, including performances in Canada, Georgia, and China. [4] In 2018, Dopsie signed with Louisiana Red Hot Records [ permanent dead link ], who released Bon Ton in the June, 2019.
Dopsie's style is grounded in Zydeco but incorporates musical elements from rock and roll, rhythm and blues, blues, and reggae. [10]
| Year | Category | Work nominated | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Best Emerging Zydeco Band or Performer | Won | [11] | |
| 2000 | Best Emerging Zydeco Band or Performer | Won | [11] | |
| 2003 | Best Accordionist | Won | [11] | |
| 2012 | Best Zydeco Band or Performer | Won | [11] | |
| Best Zydeco Album | Been Good to You | Won | [11] | |
| 2013 | Best Accordionist | Won | [11] | |
| 2014 | Best Zydeco Band or Performer | Won | [11] | |
| 2015 | Best Zydeco Band or Performer | Won | [11] | |
| Best Zydeco Album | Calling Your Name | Won | [11] | |
| 2016 | Best Zydeco Band or Performer | Won | [11] | |
| 2017 | Best Zydeco Band or Performer | Won | [11] | |
| Best Zydeco Album | Top of the Mountain | Won | [11] | |
| Best Accordionist | Won | [11] | ||
| 2018 | Best Zydeco Band or Performer | Won | [11] | |
| 2019 | Best Zydeco Band or Performer | Won | [11] | |
| Best Zydeco Album | Bon Ton | Won | [11] | |
| 2020 | Best Zydeco Band or Performer | Won | [11] | |
| 2021-22 | Best Zydeco Band or Performer | Won | [11] | |
| Best Zydeco Album | Set Me Free | Won | [11] | |
| 2023 | Best Accordionist | Won | [11] |
Zydeco is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers. It blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana. Although it is distinct in origin from the Cajun music of Louisiana, the two forms influenced each other, forming a complex of genres native to the region.
Sidney Simien, known professionally as Rockin' Sidney, was an American R&B, zydeco, and soul musician who began recording in the late 1950s and continued performing until his death. He is best known for his 1985 single "My Toot-Toot", which reached top 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and earned him a Grammy Award.
Stanley Dural Jr., better known by his stage name Buckwheat Zydeco, was an American accordionist and zydeco musician. He was one of the few zydeco artists to achieve mainstream success. His music group was formally billed as Buckwheat Zydeco and Ils Sont Partis Band, but they often performed as merely Buckwheat Zydeco.
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Alton Jay Rubin, who performed as Rockin' Dopsie, was an American zydeco singer and accordion player who had success first in Europe and later in the United States. He played accordion on "That Was Your Mother" on Paul Simon's album Graceland (1986).
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"Mardi Gras Mambo" is a Mardi Gras-themed song written by Frankie Adams and Lou Welsch. The song's best known version was recorded in 1954 by the Hawketts, whose membership included Art Neville, a founding member of the Meters and the Neville Brothers. It is one of the iconic songs frequently played during the New Orleans Mardi Gras.
Scott Billington is an American record producer, songwriter, record company executive and blues musician.
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Ida Lewis "Queen Ida" Guillory is a Louisiana Creole accordionist. She was the first female accordion player to lead a zydeco band. Queen Ida's music is an eclectic mix of R&B, Caribbean, and Cajun, though the presence of her accordion always keeps it traditional.
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Nathan Williams Sr. is an American zydeco accordionist, singer and songwriter. He established his band Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas in 1985.
Paul Alton "Lil' Buck" Sinegal was an American blues and zydeco guitarist and singer.
Louisiana Music is an album by the zydeco musician Rockin' Dopsie, released in 1991. His major label debut, it was also his final album.
La Chanson Perdue is an album by the American musician Geno Delafose, released in 1998. He is credited with his band, French Rockin' Boogie. Delafose considered the album to be a combination of Creole zydeco and Cajun music; however, the title of the album in part refers to the popularity of zydeco overtaking traditional Creole music. Delafose supported the album with a North American tour.
Take It Easy, Baby is Buckwheat Zydeco's second album, credited to his band at the time, Buckwheat Zydeco Ils Sont Partis Band. Ils Sont Partis is French for 'They're Off!', used by horse race announcers at the start of a race. Like his debut release, One for the Road, it was released on J.D. Miller's Blues Unlimited label in 1980. All of the tracks were written by Buckwheat Zydeco, credited to his birth name, Stanley Dural.
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