Selected Music
What is Zydeco
Zydeco is a popular accordion-based musical genre hailing from the prairies of south-central and southwest Louisiana.
Contrary to popular belief, it is not Cajun in origin; rather, zydeco is the music of south Louisiana’s Creoles of Color, who borrowed many of zydeco’s defining elements from Cajun music. (In turn, Cajun music borrowed many of its traits from Creole music.)
The word zydeco (also rendered zarico, zodico, zordico, and zologo) derives from the French expression les haricots, meaning "beans." Folk etymology holds that the genre obtained this name from the common Creole expression "Les haricots sont pas salés" ("The beans aren’t salty"). This phrase has appeared in many Creole songs, and serves as the title of a popular zydeco recording (also called "Zydeco est pas salé"). Without debunking this etymology, folklorist Barry Jean Ancelet has noted that this explanation has been generally accepted without much critical analysis. He also has observed that variations on the word zydeco appear in black French songs from as far away as the Indian Ocean.
Most interestingly, Ancelet contends that Les haricots sont pas salés is a lyrical metaphor for difficult times: in the past, Creoles seasoned their food, such as beans (les haricots), with salted meat — when times were bad, salted meat became too expensive, which explained why "the beans aren’t salty." Zydeco is actually the most modern form of Creole music from Acadiana, and it first appeared after World War II, when pioneers of the genre like Clifton Chenier and BooZoo Chavis combined more traditional sounds with new rhythm and blues elements.
In fact, the first zydeco-ish recording was Clarence Garlow’s hit "Bon Ton Roula," issued in 1949 on the Macy’s label. (Earlier forms of la musique créole were called, for instance, juré, la-la, and pic-nic, and are perhaps best represented by the recordings of Creole accordionist Amédé Ardoin.) Zydeco has evolved considerably over the decades, and now draws on pop music sources like soul, disco, rap, and even reggae. It also is increasingly performed in English, instead of in its original Creole dialect. And, oddly, it generally is regarded as "party music" — even though early zydeco drew heavily on "low-down" blues elements (as demonstrated by Clifton Chenier’s repertoire).
Zydeco frequently appears in movies, TV programs, and commercials — even more so than Cajun music, which, unlike zydeco, has retained much of its traditional flavor. It has attracted a loyal following worldwide outside Louisiana, as demonstrated by the large numbers of "zydeco dancers" on the east and west coasts. Despite its commercialization (and Americanization), zydeco remains a relevant means of cultural expression for the Creoles of Acadiana.
The quick definition
Zydeco is a syncopated dance music played by Creole French speaking people of African descent who historically lived on the prairies of Southwest Louisiana. At its core it is the sound of an accordion paired with the scrapping of a rubboard.
Is Zydeco music the same as Cajun music?
Cajun and Creole people have lived and worked side by side for generations. They have shared and traded many aspects of their cultures including music. Some Zydeco songs are played by Cajun bands and some Cajun songs are played by Zydeco groups, but they are two different types of music. One major difference is that you'll find fiddles and steel guitars in Cajun groups, but not in Zydeco bands
Do they play Zydeco in New Orleans?
When Creole and Cajun people migrated from Southwest Louisiana they tended to go where the work was and that wasn't New Orleans. They went west to places in Texas like Port Arthur, Beaumont, Galveston, and Houston. Some people in Houston even claim Zydeco started there! Because of the growing popularity of Zydeco, clubs in New Orleans now book Zydeco groups mainly for the tourists and conventioners. New Orleans has great musical traditions of its own and the people take pride in their own music.
Are there different styles of Zydeco?
There sure are! The old split was between piano accordion players, the most famous being Clifton Chenier, and button box players, the most famous being Boozoo Chavis. Playing button box used to imply you were country and piano accordion meant you were more urban, but now a days things just aren't that simple anymore. You can hear kids mixing button box playing with hip hop beats and even a real traditional performer like Geno Delafose will pick up a piano accordion at least part of the night. Basically everybody has a certain ideal of what makes their music Zydeco music, but they all season it differently to fit their taste.
The Beginning of Zydeco
In the late 1940's, Louisiana's Creole musicians became inspired by the rhythm and blues and jazz played on radio and juke boxes, so they eliminated the fiddle and brought out the rubboard. From then on, the music of Creoles diverged from Cajun music. Rural Creoles combined La La with the blues and jazz of urban blacks to create the rollicking and syncopated sounds of zydeco.
In 1954, Boozoo Chavis recorded the first modern zydeco song, "Paper in My Shoe," a regional hit. Unfortunately, a royalty dispute provoked Chavis to leave the music industry.
Boozoo Chavis returned in the mid-1980's with a series of hits which helped ignite a zydeco revival that continues today. Since the mid-1980's, both zydeco and Cajun music and dance have burst into worldwide popularity.
Sources: Ancelet, "Zydeco/Zarico"; Bernard, Swamp Pop; Brasseaux et al., Creoles of Color; Broven, South to Louisiana; Savoy, Cajun Music; Tisserand, Kingdom of Zydeco.
