Wayne Toups (born October 2, 1958, in

Crowley, Louisiana Crowley (Local pronunciation: ) is a city in, and the parish seat of, Acadia Parish, Louisiana, Acadia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 United States census, Crowley had a population of 11,710. Crowley is the principal city of th ...

) is one of the most commercially successful American

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 ...

singers. He is also a songwriter. Wayne Toups has been granted numerous awards and honors throughout his career including 2010 Festivals Acadiens et Créoles dedicated in his name, Offbeat Magazine Album of the Year recipient. Member of The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, Gulf Coast Hall of Fame, and Cajun French Music Hall of Fame, 55th Annual Grammy Award winner.

Biography

Wayne Toups was born into a family of rice farmers in

. He first picked up an accordion when he was 13 and quickly began winning local

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

contests. He has combined

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 ...

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 ...

, R&B, and rock into a genre he calls Zydecajun. He sings in both English and French. Toups released his first album, ''Wayne Toups and the Crowley Aces'' in Europe in the late 1970s. He began gaining popularity in the United States around 1984 when he began performing at local festivals such as the Festivals Acadiens 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- ...

. In 1986 he released his first album, ''Zydecajun''. The Cajun French Music Association's awarded him their "Song of the Year" Award in 1991 for his song "Late in Life." Three of his songs, including wedding favorite "Take My Hand", were featured in the movie ''Dirty Rice'', and some of his work is also featured on the soundtracks for the movie ''Steel Magnolias'' and the television show "Broken Badges". He has recorded for the major record labels Mercury/Polygram and Mercury. His 1995 release, ''Back to the Bayou'' became the fastest-selling record ever for the independent Louisiana label Swallow Records. Toups has been featured playing the accordion on singles for many country music stars. He appears on the

Mark Chesnutt Mark Nelson Chesnutt (born September 6, 1963) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Between 1990 and 1999, he had his greatest chart success recording for Universal Music Group Nashville's MCA and Decca branches, with a total of ei ...

No. 1 hit, "

It Sure Is Monday "It Sure Is Monday" is a song written by Dennis Linde and recorded by American country music artist Mark Chesnutt. It was released in May 1993 as the first single from his 1993 album '' Almost Goodbye''. The song reached number-one on the U.S. '' ...

"; on

Clay Walker Ernest Clayton Walker Jr. (born August 19, 1969) is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1993 with the single " What's It to You", which reached Number One on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Son ...

's "Live Laugh Love"; and on

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many o ...

's "

Little Bitty "Little Bitty" is a song recorded by American country music artist Alan Jackson. It was released in October 1996 as the lead-off single to Jackson's fifth studio album ''Everything I Love (Alan Jackson album), Everything I Love''. The song reached ...

". He played with

Sammy Kershaw Samuel Paul Kershaw (born February 24, 1958) is an American country music artist. He has released 16 studio albums, with three RIAA platinum certifications and two gold certifications among them. More than 25 singles have entered the Top 40 on the ...

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

Mark Wills Mark Wills (born Daryl Mark Williams; August 8, 1973) is an American country music artist. Signed to Mercury Records between 1996 and 2003, he released five studio albums for the label – ''Mark Wills'', ''Wish You Were Here'', '' Permanently'' ...

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

, and

Ty England Gary Tyrone England (born December 5, 1963) is an American country music singer and guitarist. Initially a member of Garth Brooks' band, England began his solo career in 1995, recording a self-titled debut album on RCA Records Nashville, RCA Na ...

. Toups is often known for wearing bright outfits during his performances. He has toured in over twenty-six countries, including in South America, Canada, Europe and the Far East. He has appeared on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

and on the Super Bowl XXIV telecast.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links