›

Clifton Chenier

HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
edited January 2008 in Strut Central


  Comments

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Big fan here. I saw him when I was a teen in the early 70s and again about 80. 2 of the best rockinest shows I've ever seen. These clips don't give ya any idea. Cleveland was wild on the ruboard.

    After he died I checked out all the new zydeco cats, and I'd seen a bunch of contemporaries, but Clifton is head and shoulders above them all. Boozo Chavez is cool though.

    I've got a feeling its just you and me, most people don't get it.
  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    Big fan here. I saw him when I was a teen in the early 70s and again about 80. 2 of the best rockinest shows I've ever seen. These clips don't give ya any idea. Cleveland was wild on the ruboard.

    After he died I checked out all the new zydeco cats, and I'd seen a bunch of contemporaries, but Clifton is head and shoulders above them all. Boozo Chavez is cool though.

    I've got a feeling its just you and me, most people don't get it.

    Can't say that it was bad at all to grow up with Clifton Chenier as a musical staple.

    At a gumbo festival without Clifton Chenier, I might eat 2 or 3 bowls. But at a gumbo festival with Clifton Chenier, I'm eating like 8 or 9 bowls easy.
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    I've got a feeling its just you and me and Pickwick33[/b], most people don't get it.

    I'm still wondering if there's any truth to the rumor that when Clifton Chenier first played the Bay Area in the late sixties, Blue Cheer (the S.F. metal band) was mistakenly booked as his backup band???
  • CosmoCosmo 9,768 Posts
    I grew up with Clifton Chenier as a musical staple in my house - thanks to my mom and her love for zydeco.

    It really pretty much made me hate it as an adult...
  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    I grew up with Clifton Chenier as a musical staple in my house - thanks to my mom and her love for zydeco.

    It really pretty much made me hate it as an adult...

    I do know what you mean. For a long time I was anti-zydeco, as well as anti-country music in general. But eventually I got back into the rootsier shades of zydeco...backwoods stuff...and I like it more now as an active listener than I ever did when it was the garage wallpaper to my childhood.
  • hogginthefogghogginthefogg 6,098 Posts
    For a long time I was anti-zydeco

    Don't mess with my toot-toot! j/k Rockin' Dopsie got enough airplay in Port Arthur to turn me off to it for a minute, too.

    And every time we'd go to Louisiana, we'd turn on the AM dial after crossing the Sabine River and invariably hear someone's version of "Jolie Blonde." It's like the Cajun "Freebird."

    Now, who wants to post the Clifton joint sampled in "Swishas and Dosha"? And no, I will not .
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    For a long time I was anti-zydeco

    Don't mess with my toot-toot! j/k

    ...and the funny part is, I don't think "My Toot-Toot" is a bad song! Electronic drums (IIRC) and all.

    I've actually heard worse examples since then, since zydeco went through the same homogenization process that fucked up the blues. I'd drop names, but the examples I can think of are too obscure to name-drop.

    Let's just say that if a zydeco band incorporates rap or 1970's album rock, and promotes itself with snarky comments like "this is not yo' daddy's zydeco," then nine times out of ten they're gonna suck.
  • deLYSdeLYS 388 Posts
    "this is not yo' daddy's zydeco"
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    Not your daddy, yo' daddy.
  • SebastianFSebastianF 20 Posts
    One of my fave tunes by him, "Be My Chauffer":
Sign In or Register to comment.