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Buckwheat
Zydeco
Contemporary
zydeco's most popular performer, accordionist Stanley
"Buckwheat" Dural was the natural successor
to the throne vacated by the death of his ... more
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Wayne
Toups
Certainly
one of the most exciting musicians to come out of Acadiana
is Wayne Toups. From the moment he bursts on-stage with
his accordion, Toups is going full blast and the show
is only going up.... more
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Rosie
Ledet
Accordionist,
singer and songwriter Mary Roszela Bellard, "Rosie"
Ledet (pronounced led-dett), was raised on rock &
roll music. During her teenage years in southwest Louisiana,
she listened to classic... more
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Terrance
Simien
One
of zydeco's most soulful vocalists and fieriest accordionists,
Terrance Simien was also among the music's most pop-oriented
artists, infusing his sound with elements of R&B,
funk, gospel and reggae... more
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Chubby
Checker
Chubby Checker was the
unrivaled king of the rock & roll dance craze; although
most of the dances his records promoted -- the Pony, "the
Fly," and the Hucklebuck, to cite just three -- have
long since faded into obscurity, his most famous hit,
"The Twist," remains the yardstick against which
all subsequent dancefloor phenomena are measured. Born
Ernest Evans on October 3, 1941, in Philadelphia, ... more
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Queen
Ida
Queen Ida
was the first female accordion player to lead a zydeco
band. Favoring a 31-button accordion, she is noted for
her melodic playing, and for focusing on the treble
side of her instrument, which makes her style similar
to Mexican playing styles. Though like many other zydeco
artists of the '80s, her music... more
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Beau
Jocque
Easily
the biggest zydeco star of the 1990s, Beau Jocque heralded
the rise of the genre's new, urbanized style; infusing
his high-octane sound with elements of rock, soul, hip-hop
and even reggae, he bridged the gap between traditional
Creole culture and contemporary music to create a funky,
bass-heavy hybrid calculated for maximum mainstream
appeal... more
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Clifton
Chenier
Clifon
was born on a sharecropper's farm near Opeluosas in 1925.
With elder brother Cleveland he helped his impoverished
parents work the fields from sunup to sundown, riding
mules and picking cotton. Fascinated by his father Joseph's
accordion playing Clifton started traveling with Joseph
to Saturday-night suppers and house parties. When his
father gave... more
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Fats
Domino
The
most popular exponent of the classic New Orleans R&B
sound, Fats Domino sold more records than any other black
rock & roll star of the 1950s. His relaxed, lolling
boogie-woogie piano style and easygoing,... more
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Fernest
Arceneaux
A
torch-bearer for the classic zydeco traditions personified
by Clifton Chenier, Fernest Arceneaux earned the title
"The New Prince of Accordion" for his virtuosic
prowess. Born August 27, 1940 to a large sharecropping
family based in Lafayette, Louisiana, he first... more
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Rockin'
Dopsie
If Clifton Chenier
was the king of zydeco music, Rockin' Dopsie (pronounced
doopsie) with his unequaled proficiency on the button
accordion was its crown prince. Like Chenier, Dopsie was
devoted to preserving the old French songs that... more
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Armadie
Ardoine
The
first creole French recordings were cut soon after Joseph
Falcon hit with "Lafayette" in 1928. The best
known early artist was Amadie (Amade) Ardoin, who was
affectionately calle Tite Negre, "the little black
guy." On record he had a delightfully crisp, clean,
crying sound; his singing and accordion styles were very
much... more
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Chubby
Carrier
The traditional
two-steps and blues-inspired rhythms of Zydeco are transformed
into the modern dance-inspiring music of Roy "Chubby"
Carrier and his group, The Bayou Swamp Band. While The
Chicago Tribune referred to Carrier as "one of
the finer s ndard bearers... more
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