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.
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, 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.
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.
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.
James Floyd Soileau is an American record producer.
Beau Jocque was a Louisiana French Creole zydeco musician and songwriter active in the 1990s.
Rosie Ledet is an American Creole Zydeco accordion player and singer. Since circa 2020, she also performs under the name Rosie Bellard.
Joseph Denton "Jay" Miller was an American record producer and songwriter from Louisiana, whose Cajun, swamp blues, and swamp pop recordings influenced American popular culture.
Scott Billington is an American record producer, songwriter, record company executive and blues musician.
Geno Delafose is an American zydeco accordionist and singer. He is one of the younger generations of the genre who has created the sound known as the nouveau zydeco. His sound is deeply rooted in traditional Creole music with strong influences from Cajun music and also country and western. His father was the fellow zydeco accordion player, John Delafose.
Cajun music has its roots based in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada, and in country music.
A Cajun accordion, also known as a squeezebox, is single-row diatonic button accordion used for playing Cajun music.
"My Toot Toot", also popularly known as "Don't Mess with My Toot Toot" or "(Don't Mess with) My Toot Toot", is a song written by Sidney Simien and performed by him under his stage name Rockin' Sidney. Simien wrote the song and released it on the Maison de Soul Records label in Ville Platte, Louisiana. In October 1984, he included the tune on his third album, My Zydeco Shoes Got the Zydeco Blues, recording the entire album at his home studio in Lake Charles, Louisiana and playing all the instruments himself.
Cedric Watson is an American musician. He has been nominated four times for Grammy Awards.
Andre Thierry is an American Zydeco musician. He leads the band Zydeco Magic.
Captain Gumbo is a Dutch band formed in 1987, which plays mostly zydeco and Cajun music; that is, music in the French traditions of the U.S. state of Louisiana, based around the diatonic accordion. In 1990, their version of "Allons à Lafayette" reached No. 30 in the Dutch singles chart. The band was still active as of 2013.
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.
