Clifton Chenier
Few artists can claim to have single-handedly invented a musical genre but Clifton Chenier comes very close. There were obviously antecedents to his style of music but it's a good bet that if he had never come along zydeco would be very different—or possibly not exist at all. The cape and gaudy crown he wore was part of the flamboyant showmanship, as was the gold tooth to some extent, but the King of Zydeco moniker by which he was known wasn't mere hyperbole. The way he fused French music with blues and rock 'n' roll set the standards for the genre once and for all, and his band grew to include saxophone and even a trumpet at times.
Chenier's early influences were blues, R&B and Creole music from Southwestern Louisiana and after recording for the Specialty and Chess labels in the mid-'50s he got the chance to record for Arhoolie in the 1960s. While Chenier saw himself more as a R&B-type artist, albeit one wielding a large piano accordion instead of an electric guitar, Chris Strachwitz, the label's owner, wanted him to record French songs, to which he relented, although he also recorded more commercial forms of music. His career gradually gained momentum and in the mid-Seventies he formed the Red Hot Louisiana Band. After a series of strong records for Arhoolie, Chenier eventually received a Grammy for I'm Here, an album he released on the Alligator label in 1983. It was the first time that a Creole zydeco artist accepted such an award on national television and it gave the genre a higher profile. The next year he was invited to perform at the White House.
Chenier's contribution to zydeco is immeasurable. His brother Cleveland began using a piece of corrugated metal for a rubboard and it became de rigueur in zydeco bands. Although the zydeco market was located mostly between Houston and New Orleans, Chenier ended up playing all over the country and made forays into Europe, even playing at the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival. He also played with some of the most famous blues performers on the scene. Chenier died in 1987, but recordings of previously unreleased material continued to be released, some among the best in his catalog. Although his passing left a big hole, other performers started coming to the forefront, including Clifton's son, C. J. Chenier. He kept his father's legacy alive by touring with the Red Hot Louisiana Band. —Paul-Emile Comeau