Hot Rod | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1990 | |||
Genre | Zydeco | |||
Label | Slash [1] | |||
Producer | Chris Strachwitz, C.J. Chenier | |||
C.J. Chenier chronology | ||||
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Hot Rod is an album by the American musician C.J. Chenier, released in 1990. [2] [3] He is credited with the Red Hot Louisiana Band. [4] [5] Although Chenier grew up listening primarily to R&B, he considered Hot Rod to be a traditional zydeco album. [6]
Chenier supported the album by playing shows with, among others, Buckwheat Zydeco and Terrance Simien. [7] [8]
Recorded in less than two weeks, the album was produced by Chris Strachwitz and Chenier. [9] [10] [11] The majority of the band had played with Chenier's father, Clifton Chenier. [12] "You're Still the King to Me" is a tribute to Clifton. [13]
"Hot Rod", written by Clifton, was C.J.'s favorite zydeco song as a child. [14] "Jole Blon" is a cover of the Cajun waltz. [15] Chenier wrote Hot Rod's remaining 10 songs, including the ballad "It's a Shame". [16] [17]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Calgary Herald | B+ [19] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Orlando Sentinel | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Republican | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Calgary Herald noted that "it's just Chenier's gritty accordion and fellow musicians delivering a heaping helping of blues, rock and country via a spicy zydeco mixture." [19] The Washington Post considered "Harmonica Zydeco" to be the album's best original composition, and labeled the album "an infectious celebration of his family roots." [22] The Houston Chronicle called the band "still the tightest rhythm section in zydeco, equally capable of holding down a mesmerizing blues groove and picking up a triangle and extra rubboard to funkify an ancient Acadian reel." [8]
The Orlando Sentinel opined that "this is genuine, 100 percent zydeco although the genre's soul and blues components are more prominent in C.J.'s music than in his father's... C.J.'s accordion sometimes plays sax-style licks or mimics a Hammond organ." [21] USA Today thought that Chenier "proudly carries the torch with plenty of rock ... folk and R&B squeezed into the squeezebox-driven grooves." [23] The Dallas Morning News determined that Chenier's "muscular when he needs to be but doesn't insist, as Buckwheat sometimes does, on forcing marriages between zydeco and other brands of music." [24]
AllMusic wrote that "the majority of the songs are jumping little pieces, with a mishmash of zydeco, boogaloo, and R&B all rolled into one." [18]
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "I Feel Alright" | |
2. | "Got My Eyes on You" | |
3. | "It's a Shame" | |
4. | "Zydeco Express" | |
5. | "You're Still the King to Me" | |
6. | "Before It's Too Late" | |
7. | "Harmonica Zydeco" | |
8. | "Your Time to Cry" | |
9. | "Hot Rod" | |
10. | "Old Fashioned Party" | |
11. | "Jole Blon" | |
12. | "Just the Beginning" |
Zydeco is a music genre that was created in rural Southwest Louisiana by Afro-Americans of Creole heritage. It blends blues and rhythm and blues with music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles such as la la and juré, using the French accordion and a creole washboard instrument called the frottoir.
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.
The music of Louisiana can be divided into three general regions: rural south Louisiana, home to Creole Zydeco and Old French, New Orleans, and north Louisiana. The region in and around Greater New Orleans has a unique musical heritage tied to Dixieland jazz, blues, and Afro-Caribbean rhythms. The music of the northern portion of the state starting at Baton Rouge and reaching Shreveport has similarities to that of the rest of the US South.
Clifton Chenier, was an American musician known as a pioneer of zydeco, a style of music which arose from Creole music, with R&B, blues, and Cajun influences. He sang and played the accordion and won a Grammy Award in 1983.
Maison de Soul is a Louisiana-based Zydeco and blues record label. It was founded in 1974 in Ville Platte, Louisiana by Floyd Soileau and remains under his ownership. It is one of four record labels under Soileau's Flat Town Music Company umbrella, and combined the Flat Town labels make up "the largest body of Cajun, zydeco, and swamp music in the world". Living Blues magazine has called Maison de Soul "the country's foremost zydeco label".
Wilson Anthony "Boozoo" Chavis was an American accordion player, singer, songwriter and bandleader. He was one of the pioneers of zydeco, the fusion of Louisiana Creole and blues music developed in southwest Louisiana.
Clide Vernon "Sonny" Landreth is an American blues musician from southwest Louisiana who is especially known as a slide guitar player. He was born in Canton, Mississippi, and settled in Lafayette, Louisiana. He lives in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.
Terrance Simien is an American zydeco musician, vocalist and songwriter. He and his group The Zydeco Experience won the Grammy Award for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album in 2008 and for Best Regional Roots Music Album in 2014.
C. J. Chenier is the Creole son of the Grammy Award-winning "King of Zydeco", Louisiana musician, Clifton Chenier. In 1987, Chenier followed in his father's footsteps and led his father's band as an accordion performer and singer of zydeco, a blend of cajun and creole music. With five previous albums to his credit, by 1994, Chenier began to record for Chicago-based Alligator Records.
The Grammy Award for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album was an honor presented to recording artists at the 50th, 51st, 52nd and 53rd Annual Grammy Awards (2008–2011) for quality zydeco or cajun music albums. The Grammy Awards, an annual ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, are presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".
Nathan Williams Sr. is an American zydeco accordionist, singer and songwriter. He established his band Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas in 1985.
Andre Thierry is an American Zydeco musician. He leads the band Andre Thierry Accordion Soul Music.
Paul Alton "Lil' Buck" Sinegal was an American blues and zydeco guitarist and singer.
Mel Melton is an American musician, singer, and chef. Much of his music is in the Zydeco style and his cooking primarily focuses on the culture of southern Louisiana.
Bogalusa Boogie is a studio album by the American zydeco musician Clifton Chenier. It was released in 1975 via Arhoolie Records. The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011. In 2016, the album was inducted into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry.
Where There's Smoke There's Fire is an album by the American musician Buckwheat Zydeco, released in 1990. Zydeco and his band, Ils Sont Partis, supported the album with a North American tour. The album peaked at No. 140 on the Billboard 200.
I'm Here! is an album by the American musician Clifton Chenier. It was released in 1982 via Alligator Records. Alligator licensed the album in the hope that label head Bruce Iglauer could produce the follow-up. Chenier is credited with His Red Hot Louisiana Band. The album was reissued in 1993.
Positively Beadhead is an album by the American musician Terrance Simien, released in 1999. Simien supported the album with a North American tour. The album title refers to Simien's practice of throwing beads to his fans during concerts.
Too Much Fun is an album by the American musician C. J. Chenier, released in 1995. He is credited with his backing band, the Red Hot Louisiana Band. It was his first album for Alligator Records. Chenier supported it with a North American tour. The first single was "Man Smart, Woman Smarter".