Clifton Chenier - King of Louisiana Blues & Zydeco

Clifton Chenier — King of Louisiana Blues & Zydeco 

Vinyl 6LP and Book Box Set

In South Louisiana, Clifton Chenier (1925-1987) grew up hearing his father play a style of music known as La La at house dances held in Black French Creole communities. It had a percussive and syncopated sound, played in spare combinations of an accordion and a washboard used to scrub out a rhythm. After picking up accordion as a curious teenager, Chenier soon brought into this sound the rhythm and blues that dominated radios and jukeboxes, crafting a new style that would be called zydeco.

In the 1950s, he recorded for Elko, Specialty, and Chess, and joined national package show tours with stars like Little Richard and Etta James. A decade later, Chenier was quietly settled in Houston, the big stages seemingly behind him. But one rainy Saturday night at a Houston neighborhood bar, Chenier's cousin Lightning Hopkins introduced him to Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie Records, where zydeco and Clifton Chenier would find a new home and champion.

Clifton Chenier: King of Louisiana Blues and Zydeco is a 6LP retrospective box set assembled in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Chenier's birth. The set features a chronology of Chenier's landmark work with Arhoolie and other labels, alongside a healthy dose of previously unissued gems. The 160-page book includes photos, posters, and other graphic artifacts from the Strachwitz Collection and deeply researched liner note essays by Grammy award-winning writer Adam Machado, public folklorist and radio host Nick Spitzer and longtime Louisiana journalist Herman Fuselier, along with a moving personal remembrance by Clifton's son, Zydeco musician C.J. Chenier. The set is the first release on Arhoolie since the label became a part of Smithsonian Folkways.

 

1. Louisiana Stomp

2. Clifton's Blues

3. Boppin' the Rock

4. Ay-Tete Fee

5. Rockin' Accordion

6. Baby What You Want Me to Do

7. That's Alright

8. Ay, Ai, Ai

9. Why Did You Go Last Night

10. Zydeco Et Pas Sale

11. Louisiana Blues

12. Lafayette Waltz

13. Hot Rod

14. Louisiana Shuffle

15. French Zydeco

16. Bon Ton Roulet

17. Jole Blonde

18. If I Ever Get Lucky

19. Black Gal

20. Keep on Scratching

21. Black Snake Blues

22. Let's Talk It Over

23. Walking to Louisiana

24. Johnny Can't Dance

25. Grand Mamou

26. Gone a la Maison

27. Live from PHR Studio, Clifton Chenier!

28. Mr. Charlie

29. Hey Madeleine

30. 634-5789 (That's My Number)

31. Drifting Blues / Breaux Bridge Waltz

32. Shake, Rattle and Roll

33. Rock House

34. Breaux Bridge Waltz

35. Ma Negresse Est Gone

36. Fannie Mae

37. Going Home Tomorrow

38. J'ai Conet, C'est Pas Me Femme (I Know, You're Not My Woman)

39. Since I Met You Baby

40. Cher Catin

41. You're My Mule

42. I'm on the Wonder

43. You're Fussin' Too Much

44. All Your Love

45. Zydeco Cha Cha

46. Ti Na Na (Little Na Na)

47. Someone Told Me It Was All Over

48. You Can't Sit Down

49. Oh! My Lucille

50. Take Off Your Dress

51. M'appel Fou (They Call Me Crazy)

52. Je Suis en Racolteur (I'm a Farmer)

53. Je Marche Le Plancher (I Walk the Floor)

54. Tu Le Ton Son Ton (Every Now and Then)

55. Down the Road I Go

56. Calinda

57. Zydeco

58. What I'd Say

59. Dust My Broom

60. My Mama Told Me

61. Night Time Is the Right Time

62. I'm a Hog for You

63. Grand Prix

64. You Got Me Crying

65. Tit Mam's Zydeco

66. Party Down (At the Blue Angel Club)

67. I'm Coming Home (To See My Mother)

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