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When someone says “with all due respect,” brace yourself. An insult is about to follow. But I don’t mean it as a putdown when I say to zydeco accordion players, with all due respect, you are no Clifton Chenier. I’m only telling the truth. As an accordionist, you are worthy of respect and admiration. But you can’t touch Clifton Chenier.
Chenier was without equal when it came to the accordion. He could play French music, blues, R&B, jazz, country and more, and do it all with soul that would make Ray Charles jealous.
Chenier’s Red Hot Louisiana Band of the 1970s, superb musicians that blended sax, organ, trumpet and blues guitar, was ahead of its time. That original sound they baked up 30 years ago is fresher than most “new” zydeco dished out today.
That’s why almost 18 years after his death, Chenier is still called the king of zydeco. His songs are played weekly on zydeco radio. A multi-million dollar complex in Lafayette, Louisiana proudly bears his name.
And King Clifton, already a Grammy and National Heritage Fellowship winner, is still winning awards. The latest is an Elaine Weissman Lifetime Achievement Award from the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance, which is based in Memphis.
The award will be given February 13, 2006 in Austin, Texas at the 18th International Convention Folk Awards Show, a highlight of the alliance’s annual conference. Each year, the awards, named after the late Elaine Weissman of the
California Traditional Music Society, honors two artists and one business person who have donated their life’s work and talent to the advancement of the performing folk arts.
Other new honorees are Tom Paxton, who wrote “Ramblin’ Boy” in 1965 and penned songs for Peter, Paul and Mary and Judy Collins, and folklorist Kenneth Goldstein, producer of more than 200 albums for Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houston, Lead Belly, Odetta and many others.
In a press release from the alliance, executive director Louis Jay Meyers said, “On behalf of the board and the membership, it will be a great pleasure to make these presentations. The added poignancy of the award to Clifton Chenier puts a human face on the recent tragedy for the music community in New Orleans and the larger communities of the Gulf Coast.”
Well, here we go again confusing zydeco, the music of the black Creoles of southwest Louisiana, with New Orleans. But we’ll let it pass this time because New Orleans and the Jazz Fest was a second home for Chenier, whose appearance there regularly drew thousands of fans. He also packed ’em in San Francisco, Austin, Texas, Paris, France and across Europe.
But make no mistake about it. Chenier was a country boy, born in Opelousas and the son of sharecroppers. Much of his adult life was spent in Lafayette.
Chenier told stories how people used to laugh at him for speaking French, playing the accordion and being from the country. But he proved if you just accept who you are and be the best at it, the world will respect you for it.
Nearly two decades after his death, this Creole accordion man from the country is still winning awards. Congratulations, King Clifton.
OTHER NEWS
In other news, Jo-el Sonnier was the only Cajun/zydeco musician nominated for a Grammy when The Recording Academy announced its nominees December 8 at Gotham Hall in New York. Sonnier’s Cajun Mardi Gras CD, issued by Green Hill Productions of Brentwood, Tennessee, was nominated in the Best Traditional Folk Album category.
The CD features Sonnier covering New Orleans carnival classics, such as “Hey Pockaway,” “Big Chief,” “When the Saints Go Marching In” and “Mardi Gras Mambo.”
Sonnier competes against recordings by the Chieftains (Live From Dublin – A Tribute to Derek Bell), Jimmie Dale Gilmore (Come On Back), Tim O’Brien (Fiddler’s Green) and Tom Paxton (Live in the UK). The 48th Annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast at 7 p.m. February 8 on CBS.
A native of Rayne and a recording artist since the age of 11, Sonnier has enjoyed a career that has brought him from the dance halls and festivals of southwest Louisiana to The Grand Ole Opry, Hollywood and top country music studios in Nashville. Sonnier’s biggest success came in the late 1980s, when “No More One More Time” and “Tear Stained Letter” became Top 10 country hits.
His notoriety led to more Nashville work. Sonnier’s accordion mastery was featured on recordings by Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Hank Williams, Jr., Alan Jackson, Neil Diamond, Elvis Costello, Mark Knopfler and many others. Sonnier also became an admired songwriter with tunes recorded by George Strait, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Anderson and others.
In Hollywood, he landed acting roles in Mask, A Thing Called Love and They All Laughed.
Despite his national success, Sonnier remains dedicated to his French-speaking roots and his fellow Cajuns have responded in kind. The Cajun French Music Association voted Sonnier’s “La Valse de Chere BeBe” as its Song of the Year for 1995. The recording also helped him take Male Vocalist of the Year honors.
Sonnier has received a big pat on the back from zydeco musician Terrance Simien and his wife and manager, Cynthia. The Simiens have spearheaded a five-year campaign to establish a Cajun/zydeco Grammy category.
The Simiens are happy for Sonnier, but disappointed more Cajun and zydeco artists weren’t nominated this year.
“We’re always disappointed about that because there is so much great music here that goes unnoticed alot with the Grammy awards process,” said Cynthia Simien. “One reason is because we do not have a powerful voting member constituency. If the Hawaiian music or Native American music community can unify by increasing their membership base, hence getting their own category, so can we.
“As a state with such a rich and fruitful music heritage, we should have a more developed infrastructure which includes affiliation with The Recording Academy. Voting is one benefit of NARAS members, but now we hope this state recognizes that there are lots of other reasons to participate with this organization that has given our artists $1.5 million, with more coming in, in their greatest time of need in the aftermath of (hurricane) Katrina.
“We know we now have the increased support of the Tipitina’s Foundation and industry leaders in both Shreveport and Baton Rouge, ready to launch a new membership outreach in the new year.”
For more information on the Cajun/zydeco Grammy category effort or NARAS membership, call (337) 837-9997 or visit www.terrancesimien.com.
Contact Herman Fuselier at [email protected].
