Clifton Chenier and His Red Hot Louisiana Band - "Party Down" (Live at the 1982 San Francisco Blues Festival)

Again another introduction of my old friend John Northcote to my musical tastes!

I well recall Clifton Chenier album covers on the wall of what was then Sunshine Records store in the ‘head’ street (Little Clarendon Street North Oxford; full of what we called head shops back then, ‘feed your head’ so I did!) 

Clifton Chenier and His Red Hot Louisiana Band - "Party Down" (Live at the 1982 San Francisco Blues Festival) 

This from the Smithsonian Folkways Facebook page (apparently!?) 

"One hundred years ago today, Clifton Chenier (1925–1987) was born in Opelousas, Louisiana. This performance of “Party Down” from the 1982 San Francisco Blues Festival captures the infectious energy that marked Chenier’s live performances—just one of the reasons he is known as the undisputed King of Zydeco.

Chenier didn’t just invent and popularize zydeco—he defined it. With his bold style and driving accordion, he fused the blues, R&B, Caribbean rhythms, and Creole and Cajun music into a dynamic, electrified sound that traveled from rural Louisiana to the world stage. “I always kept it in mind that, if I ever was going to be a man, I was going to play accordion,” he once said. “But what’s more than that, I was going to play it one way: my style.” A century after Chenier’s birth, his music continues to resonate across genres and generations.

In November, we will release  ‘Clifton Chenier: King of Louisiana Blues and Zydeco,’ a career-spanning box set that includes previously unissued material from the Arhoolie Foundation’s archive. This Friday, pick up a copy of the limited edition vinyl 7” featuring The Rolling Stones’ take on Chenier’s signature tune “Zydeco Sont Pas Salés” alongside a 1965 version by Chenier, out on Smithsonian Folkways, Arhoolie Records, and Valcour Records. The Stones’ new recording is out digitally on streaming platforms today.

Learn more: folkways.si.edu/artists/clifton-chenier 

Video from the 1987 Arhoolie Records DVD ‘Clifton Chenier: The King of Zydeco,’ available via Smithsonian Folkways"

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings