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. Musicians use 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.
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.
"Tarzan Boy" is the debut single by Italian-based act Baltimora. The song was written by Maurizio Bassi and Naimy Hackett, and released in 1985 as the lead single from Baltimora's debut album Living in the Background. The song was remixed and re-released in 1993, and has been covered by several artists throughout the years.
Jean Audrey Knight was an American R&B and soul singer from New Orleans, Louisiana. Launching her professional career in the mid-1960s, Knight was best known for her 1971 hit single "Mr. Big Stuff", released by Stax Records.
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".
James Floyd Soileau is an American record producer.
Centerfield is the third solo studio album by musician John Fogerty. Released on January 14, 1985, it spawned the hit singles "The Old Man Down the Road", "Rock and Roll Girls" and the title track "Centerfield". This was Fogerty's first album in nine years; After the decision not to release his Hoodoo album, Fogerty decided to take a long break from the music business because of legal battles with his record company. In the meantime, Fogerty's recording contract with Asylum Records was reassigned to co-owner Warner Bros. Records so this album was the first released on the Warner Bros. label.
"Easy Lover" is a song performed by Philip Bailey of the band Earth, Wind & Fire and Phil Collins of the band Genesis, jointly written and composed by Bailey, Collins, and Nathan East. The song appears on Bailey's solo album, Chinese Wall. Collins has performed the song in his live concerts, and it appears on both his 1990 album, Serious Hits... Live!, and his 1998 compilation album, ...Hits. It is Bailey's only US Top 40 hit as a solo artist.
Lebeau is an unincorporated community in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States, in the central part of the state. Nearby communities include Palmetto, Ville Platte and Washington. The community is part of the Opelousas–Eunice Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 71 and Louisiana Highway 10.
"Walk of Life" is a song by the British rock band Dire Straits, being the third track on their fifth studio album Brothers in Arms (1985). It was released as a single in the US in October 1985 and in the UK in January 1986.
"The Power of Love" is a pop song co-written and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Jennifer Rush in 1984. It was released in December 1984 by CBS Records as the fifth single from her debut album, Jennifer Rush (1984), and has since been covered by Air Supply, Laura Branigan, and Celine Dion.
"Frankie" is a song by American vocal group Sister Sledge, released as a single in 1985. It is taken from their eighth studio album, When the Boys Meet the Girls (1985).
Ora D. Allen, known by the stage name Denise LaSalle, was an American blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, and record producer who, since the death of Koko Taylor, had been recognized as the "Queen of the Blues". Her husband was rapper Super Wolf.
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958; it has since been recorded by numerous other music artists. By the song's 50th anniversary in 2008, Lee's original version had sold over 15 million copies around the world with the 4th most digital downloads sold of any Christmas single. In 2019, Lee's recording of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In November 2023, Lee released a music video for the song, and in December 2023 the song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, marking Lee's third number-one single and making Lee the oldest artist ever to top the Hot 100 at age 78, later breaking the record once again one week later at the age of 79. The song also set the record for the longest period of time between an original release and its topping the Hot 100, as well as the longest time between number-one singles by an artist: 63 years, one month and two weeks.
"Cheri, Cheri Lady" is a song by German pop duo Modern Talking from their second studio album, Let's Talk About Love (1985). It was released as the album's only single on 2 September 1985 and reached number one on the German Singles Chart, becoming the duo's third consecutive number-one single in Germany, following "You're My Heart, You're My Soul" and "You Can Win If You Want". The single spent four weeks at the top and a total of 24 weeks on the German chart, and eventually went gold, selling over 250,000 units there. "Cheri, Cheri Lady" has also been certified silver in France, denoting sales in excess of 250,000 units.
Evangeline was an American country music band initially composed of Kathleen Stieffel, Sharon Leger, Beth McKee, Rhonda Lohmeyer, Nancy Buchan, and Dudley Fruge (drums). They recorded two studio albums—a 1992 self-titled debut and 1994's French Quarter Moon—for Margaritaville Records, an MCA Records subsidiary owned by Jimmy Buffett.
My Toot Toot is Jean Knight's third studio album and her first in four years. The title track was previously a Zydeco hit for Rockin' Sidney. Other cover versions on this album include a rerecorded version of Knight's biggest hit "Mr. Big Stuff" and Shirley & Lee's hit "Let the Good Times Roll." It would be twelve years before Knight released another studio album, though she did continue touring and making live performances.
KAOK is a radio station broadcasting the talk format. Licensed to Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States, the station serves the Lake Charles area. The station is currently owned by Cumulus Media and features programming from Fox News Radio, Premiere Networks, and Westwood One. Its studios are located on Broad Street in downtown Lake Charles and its transmitter is at the intersection of Fruge Street and I-210.
"Married But Not to Each Other" is a song originally recorded by American R&B artist Denise LaSalle. It was composed by LaSalle, along with Francis Miller. LaSalle's original version became a major hit on the American R&B music chart in 1976, reaching the top 20 that year. It was one of several singles composed by LaSalle that became a charting single. It was later covered in 1977 by American country artist Barbara Mandrell, whose version reached the top five of the American country chart.
