Zydeco

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Early Creole musicians playing an accordion and a washboard in front of a store, near New Iberia, Louisiana (1938). Zydeco music originated from Creole music — today's rubboard or frottoir is a stylized version of the early washboard.

Zydeco is a form of American folk music, originated in the beginning of the 20th century among the Francophone Creole peoples of south-west Louisiana and developed alongside the music of the French-speaking Cajuns. Zydeco is heavily syncopated (back-beat), usually fast-tempo, and dominated by the button or piano accordion and a form of a washboard known as a rub-board or frottoir. Zydeco music was developed for house dances to permit attendees to dance all night. As a result, the music integrated waltzes, shuffles, two-steps, blues, rock and roll, and most dance music forms of the era. Today, the tradition continues while integrating reggae sounds, hip-hop sounds, and other styles in addition to the traditional forms.

[edit] Instruments

The first Zydeco vest frottoir (rubboard) was designed by Clifton Chenier, the "King of Zydeco," in 1946 while he and his brother, Cleveland, were working at an oil refinery in Port Arthur, TX. The first Zydeco rubboard made to Chenier's design was made at Chenier's request by their fellow Louisianian, Willie Landry, a master welder - fabricator, who was also working at the refinery. The Zydeco rubboard, designed solely as a musical instrument, is in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution. ^[1]

Other instruments common in Zydeco include the guitar, bass guitar and drums.

[edit] Evolution

Zydeco's rural beginnings and the prevailing economic conditions at its inception are reflected in the song titles, lyrics, and bluesy vocals. The music arose as a synthesis of traditional Creole music, some Cajun music influences, and African-American traditions including R&B and blues. It was known as "la-la"; "zodico" and various other names. Amédé Ardoin made the first recordings of creole music in 1928. This Creole music served as a foundation for what later became known as zydeco.

The music was brought to the fringes of the American mainstream in the mid-1950s, with the popularity of Clifton Chenier and Boozoo Chavis. In 1954, Boozoo Chavis recorded "Paper in My Shoe". This is considered to be the first modern zydeco recording, though the term "zydeco" was not in use yet (see 1954 in music). Chenier became the first major zydeco star and also popularized the word zydeco in the 1960s. One of his hits was "Les Haricots Sont Pas Salés" (The Snap Beans Aren't Salty — a reference to the singer being too poor to afford salt pork to season the beans) and he said that "Zydeco" was a corruption of les haricots (French for the beans).

In the mid-1980s, Rockin' Sidney brought international attention to zydeco music with his hit tune "My Toot Toot". This led to a resurgence of Zydeco artists, and spawned a new crop of innovators. Young zydeco musicians, such as Terrance Simien, Chubby Carrier and C.J. Chenier began emerging in the 1980s and 1990s. Buckwheat Zydeco, one of the leading zydeco performers, integrated horns and R&B in the mid-1980s. Mojo & The Bayou Gypsies began featuring fiddle as a lead instrument in zydeco during the mid-1980s. Chris Ardoin, Beau Jocque, Keith Frank, and Zydeco Force added a new twist to traditional Zydeco by tying the whole sound to the bass drum rhythm to accentuate or syncopate the backbeat even more. This style is sometimes called "double clutching." Today, there are multiple hotbeds of zydeco: Louisiana, Texas, California, and globally touring bands.

[edit] Current Artists

• Psycho Zydeco Sydney, New South Wales
• Zydecats Fremantle, Western Australia
• Chubby Carrier USA
• MOJO and The Bayou Gysies Worldwide
• Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience Worldwide
• Zydamax Midlothian, Texas
• LocoZydeco Toronto, Canada

[edit] Footnotes