Joe Walker (Zydeco)

Last updated

Joe Walker
Birth nameJoseph Walker
Born1944
Lafayette, Louisiana, United States
Genres Zydeco
Instruments Accordion, singer
Associated acts Clifton Chenier, Fernest Arceneaux

Joe Walker (born 1944) is an American Zydeco singer and accordionist.

Contents

Biography

Walker began his career in the wake of Clifton Chenier, and became the star of Zydeco of the late 20th century, thanks to albums such as Zydeco Fever and In the Dog House, edited by Zane Records. [1]

Style

Walker has a powerful voice with a rich texture. His style is heavily influenced by gospel music. [2]

Related Research Articles

Washboard (musical instrument)

The washboard and frottoir are used as a percussion instrument, employing the ribbed metal surface of the cleaning device as a rhythm instrument. As traditionally used in jazz, zydeco, skiffle, jug band, and old-time music, the washboard remained in its wooden frame and is played primarily by tapping, but also scraping the washboard with thimbles. Often the washboard has additional traps, such as a wood block, a cowbell, and even small cymbals. Conversely, the frottoir dispenses with the frame and consists simply of the metal ribbing hung around the neck. It is played primarily with spoon handles or bottle openers in a combination of strumming, scratching, tapping and rolling. The frottoir or vest frottoir is played as a stroked percussion instrument, often in a band with a drummer, while the washboard generally is a replacement for drums. In Zydeco bands, the frottoir is usually played with bottle openers, to make a louder sound. It tends to play counter-rhythms to the drummer. In a jug band, the washboard can also be stroked with a single whisk broom and functions as the drums for the band, playing only on the back-beat for most songs, a substitute for a snare drum. In a four-beat measure, the washboard will stroke on the 2-beat and the 4-beat. Its best sound is achieved using a single steel-wire snare-brush or whisk broom. However, in a jazz setting, the washboard can also be played with thimbles on all fingers, tapping out much more complex rhythms, as in The Washboard Rhythm Kings, a full-sized band, and Newman Taylor Baker.

Zydeco is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which 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.

Swamp blues is a type of Louisiana blues that developed in the Black communities of Southwest Louisiana in the 1950s. It incorporates influences from other genres, particularly zydeco and Cajun. Its most successful proponents included Slim Harpo and Lightnin' Slim, who enjoyed national rhythm and blues hits.

Rockin Sidney American zydeco and R&B musician and songwriter

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.

Buckwheat Zydeco American accordionist

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.

Cajun music Music of Cajun Louisiana is rooted in ballads of French-speaking Canadians

Cajun music, an emblematic music of Louisiana played by the Cajuns, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Although they are two separate genres, Cajun music is often mentioned in tandem with the Creole-based zydeco music. Both are from southwest Louisiana and share French and African origins. These French Louisiana sounds have influenced American popular music for many decades, especially country music, and have influenced pop culture through mass media, such as television commercials.

Rockin Dopsie American zydeco musician (1932–1993)

Alton Jay Rubin, who performed as Rockin' Dopsie, was an American zydeco singer and accordion player who enjoyed popular success first in Europe and later in the United States.

Clifton Chenier American Zydeco accordion player and singer

Clifton Chenier, a Louisiana French-speaking native of Leonville, Louisiana, near Opelousas, was an eminent performer and recording artist of zydeco, which arose from Cajun and Creole music, with R&B, jazz, and blues influences. He played the accordion and won a Grammy Award in 1983.

Joseph or Joe Walker may refer to:

Boozoo Chavis American zydeco musician, singer and songwriter

Wilson Anthony "Boozoo" Chavis was an American accordion player, singer, songwriter and bandleader. He was one of the pioneers of zydeco, the fusion of Cajun and blues music developed in southwest Louisiana.

James Floyd Soileau is an American record producer.

Scott Billington is an American record producer, songwriter, record company executive and blues musician.

San Francisco Blues Festival

Debuting in 1973, the San Francisco Blues Festival was one of the longest running blues festival in the United States. Tom Mazzolini, the event's producer, founded the blues festival to educate the public about the history and evolution of the blues. Many of the performers at the early concerts were the pioneers and originators of the West Coast blues sound.

Cornelius Green III, known professionally as Lonesome Sundown, was an American blues musician, best known for his recordings for Excello Records in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Bon Ton Roula Song written by Clarenece Garlow

"Bon Ton Roula" is a zydeco-influenced blues song first recorded by Clarence Garlow in 1949. The following year, it became a hit, reaching number seven in Billboard magazine's Rhythm & Blues chart and introduced the style to a national audience.

John Delafose American zydeco musician

John Irvin Delafose was an American French-speaking Creole Zydeco accordionist from Louisiana.

The Blast Furnace Blues Festival is a blues music festival, started by ArtsQuest in 2011 in conjunction with Michael Cloeren Productions. The festival is held at the Yuengling Musikfest Cafe and the Fowler Blast Furnace Room. Both venues are located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The Blast Furnace Blues Festival was founded to showcase the best in contemporary and traditional blues, acoustic and electric blues, soul, zydeco and gospel music. Performers featured include national recording artists as well as local and regional performers. There was no festival held in 2013. It was removed due to the introduction of several smaller music and arts festivals, but made its return in 2014 with a completely revamped setup.

Lil Buck Sinegal American guitarist

Paul Alton "Lil' Buck" Sinegal was an American blues and zydeco guitarist and singer.

Dwayne Dopsie American Zydeco musician

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, Louisiana - based band, Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers.

References

  1. Herzhaft, Gérard: La gran enciclopedia del blues, Ed. RobinBook, Barcelona, 2003, ISBN   84-95601-82-6, p. 382 (Encyclopedia of the Blues, University of Arkansas Press)
  2. This article incorporates information from the corresponding article in the Spanish Wikipedia