Paul Alton "Lil' Buck" Sinegal (January 14, 1944 – June 10, 2019) was an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and zydeco guitarist and singer.

Early years

Paul Alton Senegal was born in

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- ...

. According to researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc, the spelling "Sinegal" rather than "Senegal" was the result of a passport error, which he never corrected. Senegal was nicknamed "Little Buck" (for

buckwheat Buckwheat (''Fagopyrum esculentum''), or common buckwheat, is a flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae cultivated for its grain-like seeds and as a cover crop. The name "buckwheat" is used for several other species, such as '' Fago ...

) or "Lil' Buck" because of his short stature. Senegal’s mother, Odette Broussard, played guitar. In the late 1950s Senegal began performing with other musicians, such as Carol Fran,

James "Thunderbird" Davis James Louis Huston, better known as James "Thunderbird" Davis (November 10, 1938 – January 24, 1992), was an American Texas blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He recorded several singles for Duke Records in the early 19 ...

, Lee Dorsey, and Joe Tex.

Career

Senegal entered the music industry as a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

Excello Records Excello Records was an American blues independent record label, started by Ernie Young in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, in 1953 as a subsidiary of Nashboro, a gospel label. History It recorded such artists as Lonnie Brooks, Lightnin' Slim, ...

, working with musicians such as Slim Harpo, Lazy Lester. Senegal recorded with

Rockin' Dopsie Alton Jay Rubin (February 10, 1932 – August 26, 1993), who performed as Rockin' Dopsie (sometimes Rockin' Dupsee), was an American zydeco singer and accordion player who enjoyed popular success first in Europe and later in the United States. B ...

, as well as

Katie Webster Katie Webster (January 11, 1936 – September 5, 1999), born Kathryn Jewel Thorne, was an American boogie-woogie pianist. Career Webster was initially best known as a session musician behind Louisiana musicians on the Excello and Goldband reco ...

and

Lil' Bob Camille Bob (November 7, 1937 – July 6, 2015), also known as Lil' Bob or Little Bob, was an American rhythm and blues singer and musician who led the dance band Lil' Bob and the Lollipops. Biography He was born in Arnaudville, Louisiana, an ...

. Biography by Richie Unterberger
''AllMusic''. Retrieved 28 November 2016 In the late 1960s Senegal recorded his own instrumentals, including "Cat Scream" and "Monkey in a Sack", for the La Louisiane

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 ...

."Lil Buck Sinegal"
''The Ponderosa Stomp''. Retrieved 27 November 2016 Senegal joined

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 rhythm and blues, R&B, blues, and Cajun music, Cajun influences. He sang a ...

's band in 1969, and toured regularly with him in Europe and elsewhere over the next decade. Later, in the 1980s and 1990s, Senegal also toured internationally with

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 Rockin' Dopsie. Senegal founded the Cowboy Stew Blues Revue with C. C. Adcock. In 1999, Senegal released the album ''The Buck Starts Here'', featuring songs predominantly written and produced by

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 ...

. Critic

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

described the record as "a fairly straight blues album with faint or nonexistent traces of zydeco", Sinegal commented: "I am probably more known as a zydeco guitarist... utI've always been a bluesman...Zydeco is the blues. It's basically blues played with accordion. Clifton Chenier's music was blues throughout." Paul_Senegal_dec14-1977_2

Senegal appeared in the 2015 documentary film '' I Am the Blues''.

Death

Senegal died at 75 in 2019 and was funeralized at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Lafayette.

Awards

Sinegal was inducted into the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame in 1999. Lil Buck Senegal was Inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame on his Birthday January 14, 2013 at the Blue Moon Cafe, Lafayette, LA. in concert.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinegal, Paul Lil Buck 1944 births 2019 deaths Blues musicians from Louisiana American blues guitarists Zydeco musicians Louisiana Creole people People from Lafayette, Louisiana Musicians from Lafayette, Louisiana Guitarists from Louisiana 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American male musicians African-American Catholics