Play that Zydeco

Many tourists who visit the French Quarter or other parts of Louisiana speak of listening to and enjoying Cajun music. What many may not know or recognize is that the music they hear while visiting may actually be Creole music called Zydeco.

Zydeco is a lively, syncopated dance music genre that blends jazz, blues, spiritual/gospel, and R&B. In the earliest forms, it mainly was musicians playing washboards and accordions. It expanded to include pianos, guitars, basses, drums, fiddles/violins, and vest frottoirs.

There is some debate about the origins of the term Zydeco. Some report that it possibly derives from the French les haricots, which when spoken phonetically sounds similar to Zydeco. Les haricots means “string beans”. During the era that Zydeco music was first played and became popular, times were hard for many Creoles. Their day consisted of long hours of manual labor (e.g., working in cotton or sugar cane fields). “Les Haricots” was the title of a once-popular dance tune and included in a popular song lyric: “les haricots sont pas salés”, which translates to “the string beans aren’t salty”. This phrase refers to financial hardship of many Creoles not being able to afford to purchase salt pork to cook in their string beans. Zydeco was a feel-good dance music that lyrically expressed what people felt at the time while allowing them a temporary mode of escape through dance.

The list of Zydeco musicians is extensive, and the following list is by no means exhaustive. However, for anyone wanting to experience this music, here are a few fantastic zydeco musicians:  Ingrid Marie, Sunpie Barnes, Kelvin Wooten, Boozoo Chavis, Rosie Ledet, Buckwheat Zydeco, Clifton Chenier, D’Jalma Garnier, Canray Fontenot, Lee Benoit, Michael Doucet, Beau Jocque, Andre Thierry, and of course, one of my favorites, Dr. John.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Zydeco.