Clifton Chenier: King of Louisiana Blues and Zydeco

Arhoolie Records - CD 00600

Format: 4xCD, Album
Country: United States
Released: 2025
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Cajun, & Zydeco
[Tracklist]
01 Louisiana Stomp (02:49)
02 Clifton's Blues (03:10)
03 Boppin' the Rock (02:21)
04 Ay-Tete Fee (02:41)
05 Rockin' Accordion (02:15)
06 Baby What You Want Me to Do (04:15)
07 That's Alright (03:03)
08 Ay, Ai, Ai (02:44)
09 Why Did You Go Last Night (03:15)
10 Zydeco et Pas Sale (03:14)
11 Louisiana Blues (04:58)
12 Lafayette Waltz (04:28)
13 Hot Rod (02:48)
14 Louisiana Shuffle (02:40)
15 French Zydeco (02:55)
16 Bon Ton Roulet (03:07)
17 Jole Blonde (03:12)
18 If I Ever Get Lucky (02:42)
19 Black Gal (02:39)
20 Keep on Scratching (02:16)
21 Black Snake Blues (04:25)
22 Let's Talk It Over (03:01)
23 Walking to Louisiana (03:35)
24 Johnny Can't Dance (02:26)
25 Grand Mamou (03:20)
26 Gone a la Maison (03:22)
27 Live from PHR Studio, Clifton Chenier! (00:32)
28 Mr. Charlie (03:52)
29 Hey Madeleine (03:39)
30 634-5789 (That's My Number) (03:42)
31 Drifting Blues (05:24)
32 Shake, Rattle and Roll (03:38)
33 Rock House (04:35)
34 Breaux Bridge Waltz (04:21)
35 Ma Negresse Est Gone (04:56)
36 Fannie Mae (04:55)
37 Going Home Tomorrow (02:57) 38 J'ai Conet, C'est pas Me Femme (03:42)
39 Since I Met You Baby (05:04)
40 Cher Catin (03:40)
41 You're My Mule (04:52)
42 I'm on the Wonder (04:17)
43 You're Fussin' Too Much (03:04)
44 All Your Love (04:22)
45 Zydeco Cha Cha (03:21)
46 Ti Na Na (Little Na Na) (03:11)
47 Someone Told Me It Was All Over (03:22)
48 You Can't Sit Down (02:21)
49 Oh! My Lucille (03:37)
50 Take Off Your Dress (04:43)
51 M'Appel Fou (They Call Me Crazy) (03:02)
52 Je Suis En Racolteur (I'm a Farmer) (04:54)
53 Je Marche le Plancher (I Walk the Floor) (03:09)
54 Tu Le Ton Son Ton (Every Now and Then) (03:03)
55 Down the Road I Go (05:15)
56 Calinda (04:03)
57 Zydeco (03:54)
58 What'd I Say (04:43)
59 Dust My Broom (03:51)
60 My Mama Told Me (05:08)
61 Night Time is the Right Time (05:57)
62 I'm a Hog for You (04:52)
63 Grand Prix (03:09)
64 You Got Me Crying (05:05)
65 Tit Mam's Zydeco (05:44)
66 Party Down (At the Blue Angel Club) (04:39)
67 I'm Coming Home (To See My Mother) (03:14)
[Credits]
Producer: Adam Machado, Liner Notes: Herman Fuselier, CJ Chenier, Nick Spitzer and James Deutsch, Mastering Engineer: Jessica Thompson
[Notes]
In South Louisiana, Clifton Chenier (1925-1987) grew up hearing his father play a style of music known as La La at house dances held in Black French Creole communities. It had a percussive and syncopated sound, played in spare combinations of an accordion and a washboard used to scrub out a rhythm. After picking up accordion as a curious teenager, Chenier soon brought into this sound the rhythm and blues that dominated radios and jukeboxes, crafting a new style that would be called zydeco. In the 1950s, he recorded for Elko, Specialty, and Chess, and joined national package show tours with stars like Little Richard and Etta James. A decade later, Chenier was quietly settled in Houston, the big stages seemingly behind him. But one rainy Saturday night at a Houston neighborhood bar, Chenier’s cousin Lightning Hopkins introduced him to Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie Records, where zydeco and Clifton Chenier would find a new home and champion. Clifton Chenier: King of Louisiana Blues and Zydeco is a 4 CD/6 LP retrospective box set assembled in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Chenier’s birth. The set features a chronology of Chenier’s landmark work with Arhoolie and other labels, alongside a healthy dose of previously unissued gems. The 160-page book includes photos, posters, and other graphic artifacts from the Strachwitz Collection and deeply researched liner note essays by Grammy award-winning writer Adam Machado, public folklorist and radio host Nick Spitzer and longtime Louisiana journalist Herman Fuselier, along with a moving personal remembrance by Clifton’s son, Zydeco musician C.J. Chenier. The set is the first release on Arhoolie since the label became a part of Smithsonian Folkways. With music and storytelling and abundant visual imagery, this set demonstrates Clifton Chenier's life as a transformative artist -- from his earliest days practicing in the barn back home, to his reign as the undisputed King of Zydeco.To celebrate Clifton Chenier’s 100th birthday, Smithsonian Folkways is releasing a limited edition 7” single featuring Clifton Chenier and the Rolling Stones.

Clifton Chenier: Louisiana Blues and Zydeco

Arhoolie Records – CD 9053

Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 2005
Genre: Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Louisiana Blues, Cajun & Zydeco
[Tracklist]
01 Zydeco et Pas Sale (03:06)
02 Lafayette Waltz (03:04)
03 Louisiana Two-Step (04:47)
04 Clifton's Waltz (03:06)
05 Louisiana Blues (03:26)
06 Hot Rod (03:08)
07 Banana Man (04:14)
08 Ay-Tete-Fee (03:16)
09 It's Hard (04:59)
10 I Can't Stand (03:24)
11 I Can Look Down at Your Woman (02:41)
12 Accordion Boogie (03:21)
13 Banana Man (Take 2) (04:33)
14 Ay, Ai Ai (03:27)
15 Clifton's Blues (Where Can My Baby Be) (03:29)
16 Let's Rock Awhile (03:46)
17 Elmore's Blues (02:40)
18 Clifton's Two Step (03:38)
19 Zydeco et Pas Sale (Take 1) (03:13)
[Credits]
Clifton Chenier (accordion/harmonica/vocals) Elmore Nixon (piano) Cleveland Keyes (guitar) Fulton Antoine (bass) Robert St. Judy (drums)
[Notes]
Zydeco music, which melds French, Native American, and blues traditions, is popular among the many French-speaking Black Creoles living along the Texas-Louisiana Gulf coast. That its appeal reaches well beyond the region is partly because of Clifton Chenier, who is often credited with introducing the music to audiences outside of his native southwestern Louisiana. This collection features some early recordings by Chenier; he plays accordion and sings in French Creole patois and English.

This Ain't No Mouse Music!

Arhoolie Records - ARH00545

Format: 2 x CD, Soundtrack, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 2014
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Folk, Bluegrass, Blues, Cajun & Zydeco, Countr, Jazz & Ragtime, Latin
[Disk One]
01 Bald Headed Woman: Lightnin' Hopkins (3:50)
02 Barbershop Rhythm: Wade Walton & R.C. Smith (2:26)
03 I Want To Live and Love: Maddox Brothers & Rose (2:07)
04 I'm Working On a Building: Rev. Louis Overstreet (6:59)
05 Tom Moore's Farm: Mance Lipscomb (3:29)
06 Lady Luck: Mercy Dee Walton (2:48)
07 Mercury Blues (Mercury Boogie): K.C. Douglas (2:39)
08 Write Me a Few of Your Lines: Fred McDowell (3:37)
09 Wade in the Water: Big Mama Thornton (2:54)
10 Sloppy Drunk Blues: Big Joe Williams (2:49)
11 I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag: Country Joe McDonald (2:58)
12 Mama Don't Allow: George Lewis (3:03)
13 The Shiner Song: Joe Patek's Orchestra (2:42)
14 Calinda (La Reel de Barza): Michael Doucet & Dennis McGee (3:21)
15 Malinda: Canray Fontenot (1:06)
16 Bosco Stomp: Michael Doucet and David Doucet (2:57)
17 Burgundy Street Blues: Sammy Rimington & His Hot Six (4:14)
18 Creole Belles: New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra (3:03)
19 Over the Waves: Sammy Rimington & the Creole All Stars (4:32)
20 Big Fat Woman: Treme Brass Band & Henry Youngblood (2:19)
[Disk Two]
01 Fiddle Two-Step: Wilson & Joel Savoy (3:11)
02 Two-Step de Amede: The Savoy Family Band (4:32)
03 Louisiana Blues: Clifton Chenier (5:03)
04 Bye Bye Mo Neg: Clifton Chenier (5:37)
05 Los Ojos de Pancha: Los Alegres de Terán (2:02)
06 Nuestro Amor: Santiago Jiménez, Jr. (2:05)
07 Un Mojado Sin Licencia (A Wetbaack Without a License): Flaco Jiménez (3:39)
08 Mal Hombre: Lydia Mendoza (3:30)
09 En Cada Vida Hay Un Momento: Leo Garza (4:33)
10 La Tumba Sera El Final: Flaco Jimenez y Tomás Ortíz (2:20)
11 Let's Have a Ball: Ry Cooder & Flaco Jimenez (6:06)
12 Flor de Capomo: Los Cenzontles (2:26)
13 Golden Slippers: Whitetop Mountain Band Jam (2:12)
14 Ruby: No Speed Limit (5:54)
15 Grayson County Blues: No Speed Limit (3:36)
16 Pine Grove Blues: Pine Leaf Boys (4:40)
17 Oh, Franklin!: Cajun Jam (6:20)
18 Just a Little While / When the Saints Go Marching In: The Treme Brass Band (4:28)
[Credits]
Producer and Liner Notes: Chris Strachwitz and Adam Machado. Producer and Editor: Tom Diamant, Recorder: David Silberberg, Engineer: Nino Moschella
[Notes]
"This Ain’t No Mouse Music!" is the companion soundtrack to the documentary film of the same name. Released in 2014, the film followed Arhoolie founder Chris Strachwitz as he revisited many of the singers and musicians whom he had recorded over a 50-year period. Arhoolie, a slang expression for "field holler," focused on American roots music ranging from country blues to Cajun and zydeco, Tex-Mex and norteño, bluegrass, and New Orleans jazz. The music in this 2-CD soundtrack is only a small sample of what Strachwitz recorded or produced.

Classic Delta and Deep South Blues from Smithsonian Folkways

Smithsonian Folkways SFW CD 40222

Format: CD, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 2018
Genre: Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Delta Blues
[Tracklist]
01 C.C. Rider: Big Bill Broonzy (2:34)
02 Woman in Elaine, Arkansas: Roosevelt Sykes (2:23)
03 Death Letter Blues: Son House (2:58)
04 Your Crying Won’t Make Me Stay: K.C. Douglas and Richard Riggins (2:43)
05 Columbus, Mississippi Blues: Bukka White (3:30)
06 I'm Goin' to Walk Your Log: Cat-Iron (1:53)
07 Why Did You Go Last Night: Clifton Chenier (3:17)
08 I Stand and Wonder: Sam Chatmon (3:51)
09 Sleeping with the Devil: Johnny Young and Walter Horton (3:56)
10 Short Stuff’s Corinna: Short Stuff Macon (2:43)
11 Married Woman Blues: Big Joe Williams (1:57)
12 Up the Country Blues: Little Brother Montgomery (2:57)
13 Dream: John Littlejohn (4:44)
14 Good Morning Little Schoolgirl: Doctor Ross (3:36)
15 Catfish Blues: Honeyboy Edwards (3:27)
16 M & O Blues: Memphis Slim (3:37)
17 Forty-Four: Scott Dunbar (4:14)
18 Sun Goin' Down: Son House (4:59)
19 Frisco Line: Fred McDowell (3:58)
20 Diggin' My Potatoes: Big Bill Broonzy (2:58)
[Credits]
Compiler & Liner Notes: Barry Lee Pearson, Designer: Cooley Design Lab, Photographer: Bill Steber, Mastering Engineer: Pete Reiniger
[Notes]
Mississippi, particularly the Delta, lays claim to being the land where the blues began. Forged in the crucible of poverty and racial oppression, blues flourished there as nowhere else, evolving into what most critics consider the deepest or most intense strain of the blues tradition. During the Great Migration, music changed consistently, adapting to its new surroundings like St. Louis and Chicago, while retaining its connection to its down home Delta roots. This collection celebrates the diversity and dissemination of the blues’ most powerful and influential voices. 67 minutes, 40-page booklet with extensive notes and photos.