Here's a little Swamp Blues "Rollin & Tumblin" for you, | Justin Johnson

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

Louisiana Blues (1992) - Documentary | Blues Compartido

“That’s what I’m gonna call my music: zydeco.” Clifton Chenier discusses zydeco music in this 1982 interview filmed at the San Francisco Blues Festival. This January, Chenier was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award during Folk Alliance International’s 38th annual conference in New Orleans, recognizing him as one of Louisiana’s greatest musical innovators and cultural ambassadors. His legacy is celebrated in our retrospective box set, ‘Clifton Chenier: King of Louisiana Blues and Zydeco,’ p