C. J. Chenier (born Clayton Joseph Thompson, September 28, 1957 in Port Arthur,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

) is the Creole son of the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

-winning "King of Zydeco", Louisiana musician,

Clifton Chenier Clifton Chenier (June 25, 1925 – December 12, 1987), was an American Creole musician known as a pioneer of zydeco, a style of music which arose from Creole music, with R&B, blues, and Cajun influences. He sang and played the accordion and w ...

. In 1987, Chenier followed in his father's footsteps and led his father's band as an accordion performer and singer of

zydeco Zydeco ( or , french: Zarico) is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana. Al ...

, a blend of

cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...

and

creole music The term Creole music (french: musique créole) is used to describe both the early folk or roots music traditions of rural Creoles of Louisiana. Examples One possible definition of Creole folk music is this: melodies, sometimes including dance-re ...

. With five previous albums to his credit, by 1994, Chenier began to record for Chicago-based

Alligator Records Alligator Records is an American, Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the '' Living Blues'' magazine in Chicago in 1970. History Iglauer started the label using ...

Career

Chenier grew up in the 1960s, in the housing projects of his native Port Arthur, Texas. There, Chenier was aware of, but not exposed to his father's music as a young child, and had not heard the word Zydeco until later in his youth. Instead, Chenier developed tastes in the 1970s

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

, funk and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

music of James Brown,

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkade ...

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and raise ...

and

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

. Upon first listening to his father's music, Chenier thought all the songs sounded the same. But he eventually began to appreciate and master the zydeco style, as he later joined and then took over his father's band and career. The first instrument Chenier learned to play was the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

. As a teenager in the early 1970s he played in black Top 40 bands in Port Arthur. By the mid 1970s Chenier went to college to study music. In 1978 his father invited Chenier to play his saxophone with the Red Hot Louisiana Band, whose members also included his Uncle, Cleveland Chenier, on washboard. By 1985, as his father was growing ill from diabetes, he invited Chenier to start playing the accordion in a larger role with the band, and to open the shows. In 1987, the year his father died, Chenier continued his own musical career where his father left off. He has since played such venues as the

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of visitors to New ...

, San Diego's Street Scene and Milwaukee's

Summerfest Summerfest is an annual music festival held in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. First held in 1968, Summerfest is located at Henry Maier Festival Park, adjacent to Lake Michigan and Milwaukee's central business district. Summerfest attracts app ...

. Paul Simon first heard Chenier in 1990, and featured him on the album ''

The Rhythm of the Saints ''The Rhythm of the Saints'' is the eighth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon, released on October 16, 1990 on Warner Bros. In much the same way that Simon's 1986 album ''Graceland'' drew upon South African music, this alb ...

'', and that year's 'Born At The Right Time' tour. In 1992 Chenier played accordion on "Cajun Song", a track on the

Gin Blossoms Gin Blossoms is an American alternative rock band formed in 1987 in Tempe, Arizona. They rose to prominence following the 1992 release of their first major label album, ''New Miserable Experience'', and the first single released from that albu ...

' album, ''

New Miserable Experience ''New Miserable Experience'' is the second studio album by alternative rock band Gin Blossoms, released on August 4, 1992. The album was released to little fanfare and relatively lackluster reviews. However, nearly a year after its release the l ...

''. 1992 saw Chenier featured with the Red Hot Louisiana Band on the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

music television program ''

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American live music television program recorded and produced by Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", and is the only television show to ...

''. By October 1994, Chenier was signed by Alligator. His debut release there was ''Too Much Fun'', named the next year as best zydeco album of 1995 by ''

Living Blues ''Living Blues: The Magazine of the African American Blues Tradition'' is a bi-monthly magazine focused on blues music, and America's oldest blues periodical. The magazine was founded as a quarterly in Chicago in 1970 by Jim O'Neal and Amy van ...

'' magazine. In 1995, Chenier gained his widest audience to date with television appearances on the Jon Stewart Show and

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

. His 1996 appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival was featured in a segment by the VH1 cable music television network, as well as by ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

''. Chenier and the band also appeared that year at the

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, 1996 SxSW Music Conference, a special event for Alligator Records' 25th anniversary. Chenier won the 1997 Living Blues' Critics' Poll Award and also an AFIM Indie Award for best zydeco album, for his next release, ''The Big Squeeze''. In 2001, Chenier played in front of 60,000 fans at the Chicago Blues Festival. In 2001 his recording ''Step It Up!'' was released, recorded at Dockside Studios in

Maurice, Louisiana Maurice is a town in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 964 at the 2010 census and 2,118 for the 2020 Census. It is part of the Abbeville micropolitan statistical area. History The village, originally called ''"M ...

Discography

C. J. Chenier & The Red Hot Louisiana Band

* '' Hot Rod'' (Slash Records), 1990 * ''My Baby Don't Wear No Shoes'' (Arhoolie Records), 1992 * ''Too Much Fun'' (Alligator Records), 1995 * ''The Big Squeeze'' (Alligator Records), 1996 * ''Step It Up!'' (Alligator Records), 2001

C. J. Chenier

* ''I Ain't No Playboy'' (Slash Records), 1992 * ''The Desperate Kingdom Of Love'' (World Village Records), 2006 * ''Can't Sit Down'' (World Village Records), 2011

Limited editions

* ''Live at 2012 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival'' (Munck Music), 2012 * ''Live at 2013 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival'' (Munck Music), 2013 * ''Live at 2014 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival'' (Munck Music), 2014 * ''Live at 2015 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival'' (Munck Music), 2015 * ''Live at 2016 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival'' (Munck Music), 2016 * ''Live at 2017 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival'' (Munck Music), 2017 * ''Live at 2018 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival'' (Munck Music), 2018 * ''Live at 2019 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival'' (Munck Music), 2019 / ''Munck Music Live Recordings''
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References

External links

Official C.J. Chenier Website
*
C.J. Chenier YouTube ChannelC.J. Chenier MySpaceOld C.J. Chenier WebsiteC.J. Chenier Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2019) {{DEFAULTSORT:Chenier, C. J. 1957 births Living people Zydeco musicians People from Port Arthur, Texas American accordionists Louisiana Creole people Zydeco accordionists 21st-century accordionists