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.
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.
Slim Harpo was an American blues musician, a leading exponent of the swamp blues style, and "one of the most commercially successful blues artists of his day". He played guitar and was a master of the blues harmonica, known in blues circles as a "harp". His most successful and influential recordings included "I'm a King Bee" (1957), "Rainin' in My Heart" (1961), and "Baby Scratch My Back" (1966), which reached number one on Billboard's R&B chart and number 16 on its broader Hot 100 singles chart.
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.
Otis Verries Hicks, known as Lightnin' Slim, was an American blues musician who played Louisiana blues and swamp blues for Excello Records.
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.
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".
Dennis Taylor was an American musician, arranger, and author. Taylor had recording credits on saxophone as well as clarinet, and as an arranger.
Lay Your Burden Down is a studio album by Buckwheat Zydeco, released in 2009 through Alligator Records. The album ranked number five on Billboards Top Blues Albums. In 2010, the album earned Buckwheat Zydeco the Grammy Award for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album. This is Buckwheat Zydeco's first record with Alligator Records and was produced by Steve Berlin, who produced his 1994 album Five Card Stud.
John Irvin Delafose was an American French-speaking Creole Zydeco accordionist from Louisiana.
Nathan Williams Sr. is an American zydeco accordionist, singer and songwriter. He established his band Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas in 1985.
Lanor Records is an American record label based in the bayou region of Louisiana. It is known for its issues of Cajun and zydeco music.
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.
Taking It Home is a studio album by the zydeco musician Buckwheat Zydeco, released in 1988. Zydeco supported the album with a North American tour. The title was also used for a 1990 video release of a Buckwheat Zydeco show recorded in London.
Louisiana Music is an album by the zydeco musician Rockin' Dopsie, released in 1991. His major label debut, it was also his final album.
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.
Five Card Stud is an album by the American musician Buckwheat Zydeco, released in 1994. It peaked at No. 14 on Billboard's World Albums chart. Zydeco supported the album with a North American tour. Five Card Stud was released around the same time as Zydeco's children's album, Choo Choo Boogaloo.
One for the Road is Buckwheat Zydeco's debut 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. It was released on J.D. Miller's Blues Unlimited label in 1979. The majority of the tracks were written by Buckwheat Zydeco, credited to his birth name, Stanley Dural. He reworked Fats Domino's "Good Hearted Man" renaming it "You Got Me Walkin' the Floor" and Clifton Chenier's "Oh My, Lucille" as simply "Lucille". B. B. King's "Rock Me Baby" was also covered. The track "I Bought Me a Raccoon" was his first local hit and was inspired by his pet racoon, Jack, who he brought on the road and draped over his shoulders while playing.
