the.com/zydeco
Louisiana Creole music that turned a washboard into a percussion section worn like armor.
means A lively, accordion-and-washboard-driven dance music from the Creole communities of southwest Louisiana, blending blues, R&B, and Cajun sounds.
from The word almost certainly comes from the Louisiana Creole French phrase in the song title "Les haricots sont pas salés" — "the snap beans aren't salty" (a way of saying times are too hard to afford salt meat). "Les haricots" (the beans), pronounced something like "lay-zaricot," got worn down in speech to "zydeco." From a phrase about lean times to the name of a whole joyful genre.
- name origin
- From Creole for snap beans, les haricots
- signature instrument
- Frottoir, a corrugated metal vest scraped with spoons
- accordion driven
- Built on the piano accordion's relentless pulse
- dance floor
- Made for two-stepping, not for sitting still
- living roots
- Fuses Creole, blues, R&B, and Caribbean rhythm
clifton chenier — louisiana accordion player who became the 'king of zydeco' and won a grammy in 1984
festival des haricots — annual zydeco festival in melanson, louisiana celebrating creole culture since the 1970s
beausoleil — grammy-winning zydeco and cajun music band from louisiana formed in 1975