Editor's Note: This is a repost from last year, or the year before - whatever. Mardi Gras is the final big blowout before the period of fasting and sacrifice called Lent. Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, is the end of carnival season and the final day you can indulge in those earthly pleasures we all love so much. Ash Wednesday is next Wednesday. Feel free to party as you please; here's some music to help you on your way. Play 'em loud, play 'em often and play 'em all year [...]
The season of Mardi Gras, the final big blowout before the period of fasting and sacrifice called Lent, begins this weekend. Feel free to party as you please; here's some music to help you on your way. These are some Louisiana-style tunes to spice up your Mardi Gras mixtape. Play 'em loud, play 'em often and play 'em all year – make every day a Mardi Gras Day. MP3: "Between Eunice & Opelousas" by Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys MP3: "Zydeco [...]
Mardi Gras is the final big blowout before the period of fasting and sacrifice called Lent. Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, is the end of carnival season and the final day you can indulge in those earthly pleasures we all love so much. Feel free to party as you please; here's some music to help you on your way. Play 'em loud, play 'em often and play 'em all year – make every day a Mardi Gras Day. Don't forget: You can tune in to real-time live webcams for a [...]
Zydeco Party King is a reissue from an outfit called The Great American Music Company of some mid-sixties sides by Zydeco great Clifton Chenier. The sides were recorded originally for Crazy Cajun records. There are 15 songs, all of which are top rate. The instrumentation is sparce - bass, drums, piano and frattoir playing behind Chenier's primo accordion and vocals. Listeners used to later Chenier material featuring horns and even an organ may be a little surprised at the production. When I listen to this CD I hear a master at work. This is going to get a [...]
Mance Lipscomb - Charlie James ( buy ) (1964) Clifton Chenier - Louisiana Blues ( buy ) (1965) Just before I went on holidays, I received this wonderful box set, a best of Chris Strachwitz's Arhoolie label. I had burned it a few years ago but having the real thing is really something different : the liner notes are fantastic ! The man behind that label, Chris Strachwitz, is one of the most important record makers in roots music, and the equal of [...]
The late Clifton Chenier, king of zydeco He sure could squeeze out those blues.
Erskine Hawkins Orchestra feat. Avery Parrish - After Hours ( buy ) (1940) Clifton Chenier - Blues After Hours ( buy ) (1969) This instrumental blues piece was first written and arranged by Avery Parrish who played piano in Erskine Hawkins Orchestra (photo below), for Bluebird records in 1940. The slow walking bass and right hand melody are easily recognizable and deliver a perfect wee-wee hours athmosphere, with smoky bar and sleepy pianist. The horn section only comes in at the very end of [...]
Seems like we have a little swine flu problem on our hands. Now you know what to do: call in sick, even if you don't feel too bad. No use taking any chances. Turn on the TV, that will certainly help to calm you down. Fox News Channel is particularly calming - according to them, it's all Obama's fault for not building that wall along the Rio Grande. OK, you know what the symptoms are. Fatigue. Fever. Chills. Nausea. Vomiting. The same things you get from watching Fox News Channel. You can't get [...]
There's just something about Mardi Gras - you can't help feeling good even if you're 2,000 miles away from the French Quarter. Here are some of our favorite Mardi Gras-inspired songs in honor one of our favorite holidays. We've got some of the classics by New Orleans legends like Professor Longhair , the Meters , Dr. John as well as some that are a little more under the radar like Bobby Charles , Earl King and Clifton Chenier . MP3s: [...]
Since tomorrow is Mardi Gras, it seems fitting to kick off the week with some zydeco from the King of Zydeco himself, Clifton Chenier. Influenced by both early Creole musicians like Amédé Ardoin and blues musicians like Professor Longhair, Chenier took the French Creole music of rural Southwest Louisiana and blended it with blues and R&B to create the sound that became known as zydeco. And unlike other Cajun/Creole accordionists, Chenier preferred the louder, more flexible piano accordion to the smaller, more traditional diatonic. But, as he liked to tell his son C.J. Chenier , "whatever [...]
We're taking a trip from Texas to New Orleans and plan to get there in time for Mardi Gras. Along the way, we're revisiting some of the interesting characters we've met in past years. Today we go deep into the dark heart of Cajun country. They called Clifton Chenier "King of the Bayou." Even after his death in 1987, Chenier remains an undisputed giant of Louisiana music - he singlehandedly attracted millions of listeners to the rhythmic gumbo of blues and Cajun music called Zydeco. Hell, he may not have invented the music but he came pretty close to setting [...]
Ask Nick where he gets his shoes Right, this week Dearest Tim's really put his feet in it. Well, his feet and those of others. And the "it" he's put them in is this week's Contrast Podcast . Yes, Dearest Friends, the current episode is given over entirely to matters podiatric: tootsies, boots, shoes, walking, and the like. So move your feet over here to download it, and don't forget to comment here . What's afoot: [...]
Happy New Year all. I'm back from a long weekend getaway in New Orleans for my brother in law's wedding. That's my big head up there covering up Andrew Jackson and most of St. Louis Cathedral. It was also four (4!!) full days without a computer. There was a laptop available, but my wife challenged me, so I stayed away. Yes, my name is Pete, and I am a computer addict. ("Hello Pete"). Anyway, on to the subject at hand: New Orleans, Louisiana. This was my first visit. New Orleans had always been at the top [...]
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