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Louisiana Sounds Across the Country Introduction "You can find Louisiana in everything," Landreth once told me during an interview, after demonstrating how to play Jimi Hendrix's "Crosstown Traffic" as blistering Cajun blues. Here is more proof--a dozen dispatches from way down in the state, by a writer who has done the miles and vividly caught the people he's heard and met along the way. It is not the Louisiana in everything. But it's close."~ David Fricke -Rolling Stone July 14th 2015

Clifton Chenier

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Zydeco Music Many consider Clifton Chenier as the King and creator of the Zydeco we know today and in some pictures you can actually see him wearing a crown. Clifton Chenier has influenced many and has been praised for his musical creativity by many musical greats around the United States. Nationally known individuals such as Paul Simon, Rory Gallagher, and John Mellencamp have praised Chenier for his musical contributions. He was recognized for his ability to smoothly transition into and out of different key signatures of music. He will forever be remembered as a Louisiana legend and musical genius both in Louisiana and other states.
"We went on to and recorded ["Ay-Te Te Fe"] and I've been going ever since...New York, Chicago, Florida, but they had me with a fellow named Lowell Fulson. He had some hit records out. Mine was hit, too, but mostly down here. His was a hit in New York, Chicago...so he was carrying me in New York, but I was carrying him down here. That man showed me how to stand up on the bandstand."
"I've been on the road with pretty near all the artists you can call: Lowell Fulson, Bobby Bland, Junior Parker, Jim McCracklin, Pee Wee Crayton, T-Bone Walker, Five Royals, The Midnighters, [Etta] 'Eddie' James, Bill Doggett, Ray Charles, Little Richard, me and Jimmy Reed and Chuck Berry. I met everyone you could call, mostly...'Eddie' James? Her name is Etta but I call her Eddie...
I met Etta James in 1955...Went all over Florida, New York, Chicago, everywhere me and Etta James. She stayed with me about a year and something on the road. One time they pulled us over, thought Etta James was a white woman, and wanted to kill us..." "That blew my mind man," said Multi-Grammy winner David Hidalgo of Los Lobos while he was in east Los Angeles after hearing Clifton Chenier for the first time.~

It was said that Mr. Buckwheat Zydeco was known as the leader of the world's most successful zydeco band. Buckwheat Zydeco and the Ils Sont Partis Band has recorded with Eric Clapton, Dwight Yoakam, Willie Nelson, and David Hidalgo of Los Lobos. Mavis staples of the Staple singers was featured on Buckwheat's album and his ensemble opened gigs for legendary groups such as U2. Mr. Buckwheat was also featured on Rolling Stone Keith Richard's solo debut. The legend died last year and was and is still remembered all over the country.
Buckwheat performing with the Neville Brothers of New Orleans in Texas.~
(Interactive Video 360 view~ You can move and interact with the video while watching!)
Lil Nathan and the Zydeco Big Timers, a more modern zydeco group has made some amazing strides in the music industry for Louisiana. "Over the years, Lil Nate has opened up concerts for many national recording artists such as Keith Sweat, Tank, New Edition, Dru Hill, and many others. He has graced the stages of Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla., the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC..." Lil Nathan even recorded a song with nationally known rapper Kevin Gates which received national airplay. In 2008, Lil Nathan received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. "A master of the single note and triple row accordion, Lil Nate currently serves as an instructor for UL’s “traditional music” program which is part of the Dr. Tommy Comeaux Endowed Chair in Traditional Music."~

Grammy winner Wayne Toups, also known as the Cajun Springsteen, has been around the US and around the world. Above Wayne Toups shared Cajun field with ULL's Pride of Acadiana Marching
Band. "His songs have been heard on such film soundtracks as Steel Magnolias and Dirty Rice. Always in demand for session work in his native Louisiana, Wayne Toups has also been hired to back the British pop artist Thomas Dolby as well as many of the stars of Nashville, including Alan Jackson (“Little Bitty”), Clay Walker (“Live, Laugh, Love”), Mark Chesnutt (“It Sure Is Monday” and “Gonna Get a Life”), Sammy Kershaw."~