Clifton Chenier

Clifton Chenier, one of the true innovators of Louisiana music and zydeco’s great ambassador to the world stage, was born on June 25, 1925, in the countryside near Opelousas. At an early age Chenier had already found his calling: “I always kept it in mind that, if I ever was going to be a man, I was going to play accordion. But what’s more than that, I was going to play it one way: my style.” Chenier “zydecorized” his favorite songs by R&B and blues greats, playing them on the accordion and singing quite a few of them in French. His repertoire also encompassed Cajun waltzes, the Creole pre-zydeco sound known as la-la, deep folkloric blues, country hits, big-band standards, South Louisiana swamp-pop, music of the Native peoples of the region, and more. Chenier recorded for Elko in 1954, then went on to record bilingual blues and R&B songs for Specialty and Chess. He toured the country on R&B package shows, and by the early ’60s went back to working “the crawfish circuit” between Houston and Lafayette. In 1964, Chenier signed to Chris Strachwitz's Arhoolie Records, which exposed him to an enthusiastic new audience among young fans of the blues and folk revivals. He became a favorite on those circuits and often performed at festivals in the U.S. and overseas. In 1984, Chenier won a Grammy Award in the Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording category. In 2014, he was posthumously honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He passed away on December 12, 1987.