From Gary Daigle - Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame Director

Very nice site. I too, am a HUGE Clifton fan. I will never forget taking my mom and dads car in the early seventies and haulin' ass down to Holly Beach in Cameron Parish to see Clifton play at the Bon Ton Roulet. Keep up the good work!

Clifton Fan on the East Coast

I'm a middle aged, hard core zydeco fan. Got started on Buckwheat in about '81, and then heard musicians like Queen Ida, C.J., Terrance Simien and then, later the funky, gritty stuff like The Creole Zydeco Farmers, Willis Prudhomme, and anyone named Carrier or Ardoin. I'm having a blast here in Pennsylvania, going out to hear zydeco, 40 times a year or so. As rich a vein as I am mining, listening to this fun, beautiful, deep trad stuff, I so regret that I never got to see Cliff when he was alive. By the way, what a great tribute/appreciation you put out about him! To someone who doesn't know the genre, I tell them it's both the corniest AND the coolest stuff on the planet at the same time. Go out, bark at the band when the appropriate time comes 'round, scream when yer asked, and swoon when the music is so sweet and rich, you just want to weep. I've been replacing my vinyl and cassettes with cd's, cause they're so convenient. Also, some of the Arhoolie label stuff puts 2 albums on one cd (Like "Sings the Blues"). I've met many of the guys who played with him, and I feel like I'm the luckiest dog on the planet. Found my niche, and life is good...

So, what did you say about ethnic music? "Yeah, your'e right" He toi! By the way, a new cd of a live performance just came outs. It's a 1981 gig at Grant Street, "home" in Lafayette. Financed by Clifton hisself, and then not released till recently. A real treat. Arhoolie CD 487. A genuine original. There's only one Sinatra, one Jerry Garcia, one Miles Davis, and one Clifton Chenier.

It's an ACCORDION, and a rub board for God's sake! And what should be horribly dorky, is, when the moment is right, the tastiest, most beautiful sound on earth.

Peter Mullowney, East Coast Zydecological Observatory

Clifton Fan

I really enjoyed your website on Clifton Chenier! This has been long overdue to give proper respect to such a musical pioneer.

Keep up the good work!

This one is very special

From: TDaven4897@censored.com
Subject: booking a gig

> I work for a marketing firm in Rhode Island and a client of mine is wanting
> to open a cajun cafe and blues bar and I am curious as to how we would go
> about booking a gig with you and how much that costs. Any info you have
> would be great. sincerely tyson

But this one takes the cake or let's them eat cake or something like that...

From: Stéphane MONTADAT
Date: Tuesday, August 08, 2000 7:17 PM
To: coldbacon@totmail.com
Subject: SONG- BOOK

Hello there,
My elder brother is a big fan of your father since his trip to Louisiane. He is also a good singer and guitarist, and he would like to find a song-book of your father's work. Is there a song book with the lyrics and chords for sale ?
If not how can I find some tabs on the net ?

Then I send back an email saying I am very sorry but I am just a fan like him/her, and did not know Clifton Chenier myself, that I don’t know where to find the lyrics and chords in any books, and that I wish I could help, but maybe he/she could find someone who knows something at another web site. I thought my response was quite polite and adequate. But get this reply…

So as a fan, you have never heard of a song-book for Clifton Chenier ?
Do you know a site where I could have a chance to get something ?
The main problem is to get the english lyrics for my brother, because it's quite difficult to understand his louisiane-cajun english for us poor french !!!
Thanks if you can help
Stéphane

So as a French person, you never heard of a song entitled Alouette-Chantez Alouette?

Clifton Testimonial

Enjoyed the page dedicated to Clifton...one correction though...the town that he played in near Lafayette is spelled Crakatow in your piece...this should be spelled "Grand Coteau".

Growing up in Lafayette, Louisiana during the early late 60's and early 70's was a real treat, musically speaking. Legends playing the local "Chanky-Chank" clubs ranged from "The Little Band from Texas" (now known as Zee Zee Top), "Asleep At The Wheel", "The Meters", "Percy Sledge", etc. Highlights that I'll always remember was seeing Clifton Chenier and his Red Hot Chilli Peppers play, usually we'd go two steppin' to Clifton at "Jay's" in Cankton, just north of Scott, outside of Lafayette. That dance floor would always be filled to the hilt and I remember the ceiling was so low you could reach up and touch it. I always remember that back room at Jay's with the bleecher's and the dirt floor where the cockfights would take place. What an experience!

The last time I saw Clifton play was for a festival in Lafayette, the year that he died. He was in the hospital at that time, recovering from a leg amputation, complications from diabetes. The ambulance had picked him up from the hospital (which was across the street from the fairgrounds) and brought him to his performance. The medics literally carried him onstage. It was sad to see him in that condition, but when Clifton was handed his accordion, he played like he always did, with all that emotion, feeling and vigor that Clifton was known for. That was to be Clifton's last performance that I recall. I'll never forget that day and the experience of seeing Clifton play firsthand.

I recently purchased "The Clifton Chenier Anthology"(Rhino Records). What a great collection of his work! A great investment!

King o' Zydeco lives on! Ricardo Johnson Lafayette, LA

Clifton Chenier