Why Is Clifton Chenier The King of Zydeco?
Clifton Chenier is sometimes called “the King of Zydeco”. Chenier, whose musical recording career spanned from 1954 until his death in 1987, is credited with first spreading the popularity of zydeco music. Clifton Chenier became famous for playing the rub-board with a variety of bottle openers. His zydeco songs from the 1950’s are thought to have been the first zydeco recordings, and were certainly the first songs popularized to the American people. In 1983, Clifton Chenier was given a Grammy Award for his zydeco album, “I’m Here”. Chenier’s music has been invoked by Paul Simon, Rory Gallagher and John Mellencamp, and he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1989.
