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New Orleans Cajun-Zydeco Fest, 2019. Zydeco (/ ˈ z aɪ d ɪ ˌ k oʊ,-d iː-/ ZY-dih-koh, -dee-; French: zarico) is a music genre that was created in rural Southwest Louisiana by Afro-Americans of Creole heritage.
Chavis made his first recording in 1955, "Paper in My Shoe", based on a song he heard performed by Creole accordionist Ambrose "Potato" Sam. [5] Chavis's version was an uptempo tune with a dance beat about being too poor to afford new shoes or socks, so he placed a paper in his shoes to keep his feet warm when the holes in the sole got too large. [12]
Important musicians in the years after World War II brought back the accordion as the lead instrument, following the string band era of the late 1930s and 1940s when the accordion was not featured on recordings. During the 1970s and beyond the trend continued, sometimes with elements of country-western music of the day and rock added to the sound.
In mild contrast, zydeco dancing is a syncopated two-step or jitterbug. A Cajun dancer will cover the dance floor while the zydeco dancer will primarily dance in a smaller area. Cajun music can be found predominantly at Louisiana festivals and dance halls, in addition to weddings in Acadiana. Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festival, 2015.
Major figures in the genre include Professor Longhair and Guitar Slim, who both produced major regional, R&B and national hits. [3] Louisiana blues created a specialized form of blues music sometimes using zydeco instrumentation and slow, tense rhythms that is closely related to New Orleans blues and swamp blues from Baton Rouge.
The term Creole music (French: musique créole) is used to refer to two distinct musical traditions: art songs adapted from 19th-century vernacular music; or the vernacular traditions of Louisiana Creole people which have persisted as 20th- and 21st-century la la and zydeco in addition to influencing Cajun music.
Zachary Richard mentions Chenier in his song "Clif's Zydeco" (on Richard's 2012 album Le Fou). The Squeezebox Stompers' "Zydeco Train" says, "Clifton Chenier, he's the engineer." The jam band Phish often covers Chenier's song "My Soul" in live performances. [17] Chenier is the subject of Les Blank's 1973 documentary film Hot Pepper.
[3] He is credited by Louisiana music scholars with laying the groundwork in the early 20th century for both Creole and Cajun music. [4] He wrote several songs now regarded as Cajun and zydeco standards. His music and playing greatly inspired post-World War II Cajun accordion makers such as Marc Savoy. [5]