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.  

King of Louisiana Blues & Zydeco is a 4 CD/6 LP 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 Fusilier, 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.  

With music and storytelling and abundant visual imagery, this set demonstrates Clifton Chenier's life as a transformative artist -- from his earliest days practicing in the barn back home, to his reign as the undisputed King of Zydeco. 

Clifton Chenier - "Calinda (Live from Austin City Limits)"

Clifton Chenier - "Party Down (At the Blue Angel Club) (Live)"

Clifton Chenier - "Someone Told Me It Was All Over"

Clifton Chenier - "Je Suis En Racolteur (I'm a Farmer)"

Clifton Chenier - "My Mama Told Me" (Live)

Clifton Chenier - "Baby What You Want Me to Do (Live)"

Check out my newest mix, recorded Oct. the 17th 2025. Enjoy. 

1. Frankie Lee Sims - Well Goodbye Baby
2. Guitar Junior - Got It Made
3. Young Jesse - Oochie Coochie 
4. Charles Lucas Combo - Walkin 
5. Bo Bo Thomas - I Wish I Would Be A Catfish
6. Helen Foster - Someday Somewhere 
7. Frankie Lee Sims - What Will Lucy Do 
8. Clarence Garlow - Za Belle 
9. Alvin Tyler - Walk On 
10. Long John Hunter - Ride With Me Baby 
11. Mac Rebenack - Storm Warning 
12.  Long John Hunter - El Paso Rock
13. Tommy McGhee - Poppin’ 
14. Little Miss Peggy & The Bill Parker Band - Yellow Pants An Blue Suede Shoes 
15. The Blue Dots - Saturday Night Fish Fry 
16. Rudy Ray Moore - Ready Willing And Able 
17. Milton Allen - Lovin’ Huggin’ Kissin’ My Baby 
18. Guitar Junior - Get It 
19. Eddie Bo - I Love To Rock `N` Roll 
20. King Charles/Left Hand Charlie - But You Thrill Me 
21. Charles Sheffield - It’s Your Voodoo Working 
22. Young Jesse - I Smell A Rat 
23. Donnie Jacobs - If You Want Good Lovin’ 
24. Long John Hunter - Hey Mrs. Jones 
25. Larry Heart - Oh Nelly 
26. Ronald Bezette - Store Bought Mama 
27. Bill Matte - Parlez Vous L’Francais 
28. Clifton Chenier - (High As A) Georgia Pine 
29. Willis Prudehomme - Zydeco Queen 
30. Hop Wilson - Chicken Stuff 
31. Clarence Garlow - Crawfishin’ 
32. Good Time Brothers - Waitin’ On You Baby  
33. Calvin Spears - Doin’ The Rock And Roll 
34. Wonder Boy Travis - You Know Yeah 
35. Big Bertha Henderson With Al Smith  Orchestra - Ain’t Talkin’ To You Baby
36. Big Chenier - Please Try To Release 
37. Joe, Ron & George - Half Ton Mama 
38. Clarence Garlow - Pretty Little Dollie 
39. Pee Wee Trahan - I’m Gonna Learn 
40. Clarence Garlow - Bon Ton Roule 
41. Ray Viet - Bop Stop Rock 
42. Elton Anderson - Sick & Tired 
43. Arthur Crudup - She’s Got No Hair 
44. Mickey & Silva -No Good Lover 
45.Jerry Morris - Cool Down Baby 
46. Little Billy Earl - Who’s Baby Are You Baby 
47. Olive Brown - Roll Like A Big Wheel 
48. Mickey Gilley - I Ain’t Goin’ Home 
49. Al Ferrier  - Let’s Go Boppin’ Tonight 
50 Kip Anderson - I Wanna Be The Only One 
51.Tibbs Brothers - Miss Rip van Winkle 
52. Rod Bernard - Pardon Mr. Gordon 
53. Johnnie Allan - Tell Me Do You Love Me So 
54. Al Ferrier - What Is That Thing Called Love 
55. Clarence Garlow - Jolie Tee Catin

55 R&B / Rock 'n' Roll / Zydeco / Blues /  Rockabilly Howler. Oct. the 17th/25

Ohnoo

One Woman

Motordude Special Recorded live at Albany NY dance in 2025

Motordude Special

Pass thru your window

Amadee Two-step

What am I supposed to do?

Tit Gallop pour la pointe au pins

Soileau hot-step

I'm Dead [Jazz Funeral]

Fun, Fast, Zydeco party tune, Celebrating flirtation.... Cajun Style!

Tossed Salad

Bayou Nights

Nice 'n Fat

Paradox is a genre-spanning collective uniting diverse voices and styles: from soul to rock, country to island rhythm. Their music bridges faith, love, and human experience, blending cultures and sounds into one unmistakable vibe. Every song tells a story, every rhythm carries the truth of the Human Condition.

Americana, Deep Southern Swampland, grooving from that muckrat point of view

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution, the national museum of the United States. We are part of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located in Washington, D.C. 

We are dedicated to supporting cultural diversity and increased understanding among peoples through the documentation, preservation, and dissemination of sound. We believe that musical and cultural diversity contributes to the vitality and quality of life throughout the world. Through the dissemination of audio recordings and educational materials we seek to strengthen people's engagement with their own cultural heritage and to enhance their awareness and appreciation of the cultural heritage of others.

The Smithsonian may archive materials posted on this website pursuant to its document retention policies. By posting content, you are giving the Smithsonian and those authorized by the Smithsonian permission to use or modify it for any educational, promotional, or other standard museum purpose, in media of all kinds whether now known or later developed. For more on the Smithsonian's terms of use and privacy policies visit: http://www.si.edu/termsofuse 

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New tracks tagged #Zydeco