It has been a while since we had anything to report in Cajun Corner, but we’re back with something really exciting. June 25th 2025 would’ve been the 100th birthday of the King of Zydeco, Clifton Chenier, and to mark the occasion those champions of Cajun and Zydeco recordings, Valcour Records, are releasing “A Tribute To The King Of Zydeco“. This new album is a collection of some of Clifton Chenier’s best known songs performed by a great selection of artists that includes Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Molly Tuttle, Charley Crockett and The Rolling Stones!
Demonstrating just how exciting Zydeco music can be, the Stones’ version of ‘Zydeco Sont Pas Salés‘ is the opening track of the album and positively fizzes with energy. The track was produced by the great CC Adcock, who has said of the recording, “They seem to effortlessly turn everything they touch into their own iconic brand of rock’n’roll. Both Mick singing in impeccable Creole French and Keith and Ronnie completely carving up the traditional approach with those signature licks and their iconic ‘weaving’ style sounds easy and playful. Man, this one sounds like they’re just running wild through the swamps with it!”
It’s a great version of a great song and, in addition to Mick, Keith and Ronnie, Mamou Playboy’s master accordionist, Steve Riley, is on hand to keep everything infused with that authentic Zydeco sound.
The Rolling Stones themselves have stated that “Clifton Chenier was one of the most influential musicians to come out of Louisiana. He turned so many people onto the wonderful free spirited dance music of Zydeco, including ourselves back in the day. Although the development of any music style can seldom be attributed to one artist, there is not a zydeco band who has not followed the template Chenier created”
This track has been released as the third single from the album and is, significantly, the first time the band can be heard on a Zydeco influenced track as a single. Two other singles have already been released from the album, ‘Release Me’ by Lucinda Williams with Tommy McClain and Keith Franck (also produced by CC Adcock), and ‘Hey ‘Tite Fille’ by Taj Mahal and Keith Franck. The full album track listing is as follows –
A Tribute to the King of Zydeco Tracklist:
Zydeco Sont Pas Salés – The Rolling Stones and Steve Riley
Easy Easy Baby – Charley Crockett and Nathan Williams, Sr.
Hey ‘Tite Fille – Taj Mahal and Keith Frank
Release Me – Lucinda Williams, Tommy McClain, and Keith Frank
Just Like A Woman – Steve Earle and Anthony Dopsie
I’m On The Wonder – Jon Cleary and Curley Taylor
My Soul – Jimmie Vaughan, Johnny Nicholas, and Steve Riley
Hot Rod – David Hidalgo and CJ Chenier
Tout Le Temps En Temps – Shannon McNally, Keith Frank, and Molly Tuttle
Ay Ai Ai – Ruben Ramos with Los Texmaniacs and Augie Meyers
I May Be Wrong – Marcia Ball and Geno Delafose
I’m Coming Home – CJ Chenier and Sonny Landreth
You Used To Call Me – John Hiatt and Roddie Romero
Why Did You Go Last Night – Kam Franklin, A. J. Haynes, and Roddie Romero
Clifton Chenier did so much to bring the excitement of Zydeco to a wider audience and it seems fitting that a record like this should mark what would have been his 100th birthday. Also marking this event, Smithsonian Folkways are releasing an expansive box set featuring music from throughout his career, and Valcour Records have joined the Chenier family estate and the University of Louisiana Lafayette to form the Clifton Chenier Memorial Scholarship to honor Clifton Chenier’s legacy at the College of the Arts at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The scholarship fund will offer annual financial assistance to students studying Traditional Music, specifically Zydeco accordion, at UL Lafayette. All proceeds from A Tribute to the King of Zydeco will go directly toward funding this new scholarship.
You can order a copy of “A Tribute To The King Of Zydeco” at Valcour Records website.
Excellent article!
And while the issue is confusing, for clarity’s sake I’d like to point out that Clifton Chenier and the zydeco music he played were not Cajun, but Creole.
I say it’s confusing because Cajuns can be considered a type of Creole, of which there are many kinds, such as black Creoles, Creoles of Color (multi-racial), French Creoles, Spanish Creoles, German Creoles, Italian Creoles, and so on. And that’s just in south Louisiana!
Creole here means essentially a person born in south Louisiana of French-speaking, or less commonly Spanish-speaking, Roman Catholic heritage, and so you can be Black, White, or multiracial and be Creole.
And because Cajuns (usually considered White), are French-speaking south Louisianians of Roman Catholic heritage, they can be considered Creole, too.
I know, it’s confusing! But issues of race and ethnicity are like that.
I mention this primarily because Creoles increasingly are pushing back against the Cajun label, which is the most common label only because it’s the better known of the two, and not because it’s necessarily accurate. (That being said, there are indeed Cajuns in Louisiana — over 100,000 of them, or us I should say — according to recent census data.)
Hi Shane – glad you liked the article and thanks for an absolutely perfect explanation of the differences, and connections, between Creoles and Cajuns. We do use the title ‘Cajun Corner’ as a catch all for the music of south Louisiana, and I know that’s a bit lazy and ignores the subtleties of the differences – but it does serve a purpose of attracting those that are interested in the wonderful music that comes out of the region. Maybe I could go for ‘Cajun & Creole Corner’ in the future.
Thanks for sharing this Rick. Been playing it a lot and wishing for Summer to arrive here in Inverness. What makes the Stones so great was/is when they tap into such musical influences and add it into their mix.