From Publishers Weekly
The zesty dance music created by black, French-speaking inhabitants of southwestern Louisiana originated early in the 20th century as "house music" for Saturday-night parties at which sharecroppers danced away their troubles. Tisserand, a New Orleans-based music journalist, here uses oral histories, contemporary documents and photos (interspersed throughout), and firsthand research, to chart the prime movers of the genre, from its earliest stirrings to the present. There is Amede Ardoin, whose recordings in the late 1920s and '30s set the standard with their accordion-driven rhythms and vocals that delivered traditional French songs with blues-inflected passion. Clifton Chenier, in the 1950s and '60s, reflected the blend of down-home roots and new cosmopolitanism as black Louisianans took jobs in Houston during the oil boom. Chenier incorporated R&B and rock & roll into the swinging zydeco sound, just as the contemporary musicians Tisserand profiles include hip-hop and rap riffs in their songs. The author certainly does justice to the complexity of the zydeco tradition, and he includes everyone from crossover successes like Buckwheat Zydeco to resolute traditionalists like Boozoo Chavis, yet his narrative is too dense for all but the most devoted aficionado. Colorful though his subjects are, the lengthy quotes from interviews could profitably have been halved. And his claims for zydeco's popularity today are out of date: his prime examples of mainstream assimilation, Paul Simon's album Graceland and the movie The Big Easy, were both released in the 1980s. Nonetheless, this comprehensive assessment is a must for fans. Agent, Richard McDonough; editor, Tim Bent.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
For the uninitiated, zydeco is a form of music originating in Louisiana and East Texas that combines African American rhythms and French-English lyrics to create an infectious musical gumbo guaranteed to send the most self-conscious wallflower looking for dancing shoes. The unlikely lead instrument in zydeco bands is the accordion, played with feeling and soul more commonly associated with the blues. While it was recorded back in the 1930s by John and Alan Lomax for the Archive of Folk Song in the Library of Congress, the music did not receive much popular attention until the 1970s, when Clifton Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band began to develop a young white following. By the 1980s, artists such as Chenier, Queen Ida, and Rockin' Sidney had all won Grammies, and zydeco was on the cultural map. Written in a style as lively as the music itself, journalist Tisserand's book is recommended for all music libraries and is essential in Louisiana, East Texas, and everywhere else that zydeco is king.ADan Bogey, Clearfield Cty. P.L. Federation, Curwensville, PA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
