The Grammy Award for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album was an honor presented to recording artists at the 50th, 51st, 52nd and

53rd Annual Grammy Awards The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2011, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They were broadcast on CBS with a rating of 26.6 million viewers. Barbra Streisand was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year two nights prio ...

(2008–2011) for quality

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 ...

cajun music Cajun music (french: Musique cadienne), an emblematic music of Louisiana played by the Cajuns, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Although they are two separate genres, Cajun music is often mentioned in tandem w ...

albums. 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 pres ...

s, an annual ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, are presented by the

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous f ...

of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position". Beginning in 2001, advocates began lobbying for a Grammy category specifically for cajun and zydeco music. Award recipients, in chronological order, included

Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience is a Zydeco band from Louisiana led by Terrance Simien. Awards Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience won a Grammy award for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album for their album '' Live! Worldwide''. Di ...

BeauSoleil BeauSoleil (French, ''beautiful sun'') is a Cajun band from Louisiana, United States. Band history Founded in 1975, BeauSoleil (often billed as "BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet") released its first album in 1977 and became one of the most well ...

avec

Michael Doucet Michael Louis Doucet (born February 14, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and musician best known as the founder of the Cajun band BeauSoleil. Early life Doucet was born in Scott, Louisiana, to a Cajun family. Family parties in the 1950s ...

Buckwheat Zydeco Stanley Dural Jr. (November 14, 1947 – September 24, 2016), better known by his stage name Buckwheat Zydeco, was an American accordionist and zydeco musician. He was one of the few zydeco artists to achieve mainstream success. His music gro ...

, and

Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band Chubby Carrier And The Bayou Swamp Band is a Zydeco band from Louisiana founded by Chubby Carrier in 1989. Awards Chubby Carrier And The Bayou Swamp Band have a Grammy award for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album for their album Zydeco Junkie. A ...

; no artist received the award more than once. Awards were presented to the

engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

, mixers, and/or

producers Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

in addition to the performing artists. The group

Pine Leaf Boys The Pine Leaf Boys is an American Cajun and Creole band from South Louisiana, United States. Members include Wilson Savoy ( accordion, fiddle, vocals), Courtney Granger (fiddle, accordion, vocals), Drew Simon (drums and vocals), Jean Bertrand (g ...

holds the record for the most nominations, with four. Though nominated each year the honor was presented, the group failed to receive an award. Doucet and

Cedric Watson Cedric Watson (born 1983) is an American musician. He has been nominated four times for Grammy Awards. Career Born in 1983, Cedric grew up in San Felipe, Texas surrounded by the blues, old soul, country, and zydeco music. Though hip-hop wa ...

each received three nominations. 2009 marked the only year in which a musician received more than one nomination as well as the only time two artists were nominated for works appearing on the same album—Doucet was nominated as a member of BeauSoleil for '' Live at the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival'' as well as for his solo album ''From Now On'', and

Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys are an American Cajun band from southern Louisiana. The band formed in 1988 and has since recorded 10 albums, nine of which are on Rounder Records. The band includes Steve Riley (accordion, b. 1969), David Gre ...

were also nominated for their contribution to the ''New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival''

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

. Many nominated artists were from

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, specifically

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

. In 2011, the Academy announced the retirement of the award category. Beginning in 2012, zydeco or cajun recordings were eligible for the

Best Regional Roots Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Regional Roots Music Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 as the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the regionally based traditional Americ ...

category.

Background

According to Cody Daigle of '' The Daily Advertiser'', advocates lobbied for nearly seven years in an attempt to create a Grammy category specifically for

and

. The effort was led by musician

Terrance Simien Terrance Simien (born September 3, 1965) is an American zydeco musician, vocalist and songwriter. He and his group The Zydeco Experience won the Grammy Award for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album in 2008 and for Best Regional Roots Music Album in 2 ...

, along with his wife and manager Cynthia.

Mitch Landrieu Mitchell Joseph Landrieu ( ; born August 16, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician who served as Mayor of New Orleans from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana from 2004 to ...

Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana The lieutenant governor of Louisiana (french: Lieutenant-Gouverneur de la Louisiane) is the second highest state office in Louisiana. The current lieutenant governor is Billy Nungesser, a Republican Party (United States), Republican. The lieuten ...

at the time, also supported the effort. Cynthia, a trustee of the Memphis chapter of the Recording Academy, claimed hundreds of dollars and hours were invested in the lobbying effort she described as an "uphill battle". Prior to the Best Zydeco or Cajun Music category, works in the genre competed in the

Best Contemporary Folk Album The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album was awarded from 1987 to 2011. Until 1991 the award was known as the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Recording. In 2007, this category was renamed Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album. As ...

or Best Traditional Folk Album categories.

Recipients

For the

50th Annual Grammy Awards The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2008. It honored musical achievement of 2007 in which albums were released between October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007. The primary ceremonies ...

(2008), Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album nominees included

Geno Delafose Geno Delafose (born February 6, 1971) is an American zydeco accordionist and singer. He is one of the younger generations of the genre who has created the sound known as the nouveau zydeco. His sound is deeply rooted in traditional Creole music ...

& French Rockin' Boogie for ''Le Cowboy Creole'',

Lisa Haley Lisa Haley (, previously MacDonald; born 28 June 1973) is a Canadian ice hockey coach, currently serving as head coach of the Ryerson Rams women's ice hockey team and the Hungarian women's national team. She is an assistant coach for the Toro ...

for ''King Cake'', The Lost Bayou Ramblers for ''Live: Á La Blue Moon'', the French language cajun band

for their second album ''Blues de Musicien'', Racines for ''Racines'', Roddie Romero and the Hub City All-Stars for ''The La Louisianne Sessions'', and

for '' Live! Worldwide''. Of the seven nominees, only one was based outside

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234th- ...

. ''Le Cowboy Creole'', Delafose's fifth album, contained

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s of

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

's "

Promised Land The Promised Land ( he, הארץ המובטחת, translit.: ''ha'aretz hamuvtakhat''; ar, أرض الميعاد, translit.: ''ard al-mi'ad; also known as "The Land of Milk and Honey"'') is the land which, according to the Tanakh (the Hebrew ...

", the

Commodores Commodores are an American funk and soul band, which were at their peak in the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in ...

' " Easy",

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

' " When Will I Be Loved",

Ronnie Milsap Ronnie Lee Milsap (born Ronald Lee Millsaps; January 16, 1943) is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country music's most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s. Nearly completely blind from birth, ...

's "

(There's) No Gettin' Over Me "(There's) No Gettin' Over Me" is a song written by Walt Aldridge and Tom Brasfield, and recorded by American country music singer Ronnie Milsap. It was released in June 1981 as the first single from the album '' There's No Gettin' Over Me''. Kn ...

", and

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

's "

Domino Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces, commonly known as dominoes. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also ca ...

". ''Blues de Musician'' included a French adaptation of the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

song "

The Wild Side of Life "The Wild Side of Life" is a song made famous by country music singer Hank Thompson. Originally released in 1952, the song became one of the most popular recordings in the genre's history, spending 15 weeks at number one on the ''Billboard'' co ...

". ''Live! Worldwide'' contained recordings of live performances from around the world during Simien's 25-year career, including "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...

" and traditional songs such as "Zydeco Boogaloo" and

Boozoo Chavis Wilson Anthony "Boozoo" Chavis (pronounced CHAY-viss) (October 23, 1930 – May 5, 2001) was an American accordion player, singer, songwriter and bandleader. He was one of the pioneers of zydeco, the fusion of Cajun and blues music developed ...

' "Uncle Bud". Simien and the Zydeco Experience performed as the opening act to the pre-telecast for the 50th Grammy Awards ceremony. The award was presented to Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience, members of which included Jose Alvarez, Ralph Fontenot, Keith Sonnier, William Terry, and Danny Williams. Joshua Murrell was also recognized as the engineer and producer of the album. Simien was described as "exuberant" during his acceptance speech in which he acknowledged the five other nominees. Simien and his band were also honored by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'', which ranked their live performance in support of the album as one of the top ten acts of the year.

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

nominees included

avec

for '' Live at the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival'', Michael Doucet for ''From Now On'',

for ''Homage Au Passé'',

for ''Live at the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival'', and

for ''Cedric Watson''. Doucet, the founder, lead singer and fiddler of BeauSoleil, is the only artist to receive more than one nomination for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album within the same year. According to Doucet, ''From Now On'' was recorded "live in three sessions with no rehearsals, overdubs, or song lists." The album contains original tracks, covers by

Hoagy Carmichael Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the first ...

and

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descri ...

, and standards such as "

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...

" and " You Gotta Move". The award was presented to BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet. Recipients included Doucet, band members Tommy Alesi, Jimmy Breaux, David Doucet, Mitchell Reed, Billy Ware, and Ben Williams, along with Eli Kelly and Woods Drinkwater as engineers. BeauSoleil's set was recorded in April 2008 and released with the group's approval without further involvement. According to Michael Doucet, the album "was on iTunes, and then all of a sudden it was nominated for a Grammy." Nominees for the

52nd Annual Grammy Awards The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares Pe ...

in 2010 included BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet for ''Alligator Purse'',

(stage name for Stanley Dural, Jr.) for ''

Lay Your Burden Down ''Lay Your Burden Down'' is a studio album by Buckwheat Zydeco, released in 2009 through Alligator Records. The album ranked number five on Billboards Top Blues Albums. In 2010, the album earned Buckwheat Zydeco the Grammy Award for Best Zyde ...

'', The Magnolia Sisters for ''Stripped Down'',

for ''Live at 2009 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival'', and Cedric Watson et Bijou Créole for ''L'Ésprit Créole''. ''Alligator Purse'' included guest appearances by

Garth Hudson Eric "Garth" Hudson (born August 2, 1937) is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist and occasional saxophonist for rock group the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He was a ...

of The Band,

Natalie Merchant Natalie Anne Merchant (born October 26, 1963) is an American alternative rock singer-songwriter. She joined the band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and was lead vocalist and primary lyricist for the group. She remained with the group for their first se ...

10,000 Maniacs 10,000 Maniacs is an American alternative rock band that was founded in 1981. They have released nine studio albums, six EPs, and five live albums. They achieved their most significant success between 1987 and 1993, when they released four album ...

Roswell Rudd Roswell Hopkins Rudd Jr. (November 17, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American jazz trombonist and composer. Although skilled in a variety of genres of jazz (including Dixieland, which he performed while in college), and other genres of musi ...

, and

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969The Lovin' Spoonful The Lovin' Spoonful is an American rock band popular during the mid- to late-1960s. Founded in New York City in 1965 by lead singer/songwriter John Sebastian and guitarist Zal Yanovsky, the band is widely known for a number of hits, including " ...

. ''Lay Your Burden Down'' reunited Dural with producer

Steve Berlin Steven M. Berlin (born September 14, 1955, Philadelphia) is an American saxophonist, keyboardist and record producer, best known as a member of the rock group Los Lobos and, before that, Top Jimmy & the Rhythm Pigs, the Blasters, and the Flesh ...

and contained versions of

Captain Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born Don Glen Vliet; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as Th ...

's "Too Much Time",

Jimmy Cliff James Chambers OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, t ...

's "Let Your Yeah Be Yeah",

Gov't Mule Gov't Mule (pronounced "Government Mule") is an American Southern rock jam band, formed in 1994 as a side project of the Allman Brothers Band by guitarist Warren Haynes and bassist Allen Woody. Fans often refer to Gov't Mule simply as ''Mule''. ...

's "Lay Your Burden Down",

Memphis Minnie Lizzie Douglas (June 3, 1897 – August 6, 1973), better known as Memphis Minnie, was a blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter whose recording career lasted for over three decades. She recorded around 200 songs, some of the best known being "Wh ...

's "

When the Levee Breaks "When the Levee Breaks" is a country blues song written and first recorded by Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy in 1929. The lyrics reflect experiences during the upheaval caused by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. "When the Levee Breaks ...

", and

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

's "Back in Your Arms". Members of The Magnolia Sisters, an all-female cajun group of multi-instrumentalists, included Anya Burgess, Ann Savoy, Lisa Trahan and Jane Vidrine. The award was presented to Buckwheat Zydeco, members of which included Reginald Dural, Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural, Michael Melchione, Kevin Menard, Olivier Scoazec, Curtis Watson, and Lee Allen Zeno. David Farrell and Steven Maxwell Berlin were also honored as the engineer/mixer and producer of the album, respectively. For the

(2011), the nominees were

for '' Zydeco Junkie'', Feufollet for ''En Couleurs'', D. L. Menard for ''Happy Go Lucky'', the

for ''Back Home'', and Cedric Watson et Bijou Créole for ''Creole Moon: Live at the Blue Moon Saloon''. 2011 marked the fourth consecutive nomination for the Pine Leaf Boys. Group member Wilson Savoy was unable to attend the award ceremony, but admitted the nominations have "acted as vindication" of their "new-traditionalist sound". ''Zydeco Junkie'', released through Carrier's own

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

Swampadelic Records, featured his "trademark party songs" and an "accordion-flavored" cover of "Movin' On Up", the theme song for the television series ''

The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of List of The Jeffersons episodes, 253 episodes. ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longe ...

''. Geno Delafose and Jamie Bergeron made guest appearances on the album. The award was presented to Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band.

Category retirement

In 2011, the category Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album was eliminated along with thirty others due to a major overhaul by the Recording Academy. Four additional categories in the American Roots Music field were eliminated (Best Contemporary Folk Album, Best Hawaiian Music Album, Best Native American Music Album, Best Traditional Folk Album). Zydeco and cajun works became eligible for the

category. Chubby Carrier was reportedly "broken-hearted" by the news, and concerned that the category's elimination would not give the music genre the attention deserved. Carrier stated: "This category inspired musicians to fight for the music. It strengthened us. I'd say to all the young zydeco musicians out there; don't give up this fight." Simien also expressed sadness and called the elimination "a disappointment for local music". Showing signs of optimism, Terrance Simien said: "The category might be gone today, but we'll get it back."

References

General

Specific

External links

ZydecoAndCajunMusic.org
– the official site for the Grammy category * {{Good article 2008 establishments in the United States 2011 disestablishments in the United States Album awards Awards disestablished in 2011 Awards established in 2008

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 ...

Background

Recipients

Category retirement

See also

References

General

Specific

External links