Buckwheat Zydeco | |
|---|---|
 Buckwheat Zydeco playing on the main stage at the 2006Festival International de Louisiane | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Buckwheat Zydeco |
| Born | Stanley Dural Jr. (1947-11-14)November 14, 1947 Lafayette, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | September 24, 2016(2016-09-24) (aged 68) Lafayette, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Instruments | Vocals,accordion |
| Years active | 1971–2016 |
| Labels | Alligator Tomorrow Recordings Rounder Island/PolyGram Charisma/Virgin/EMI |
| Website | www.buckwheatzydeco.com |
Stanley Dural Jr. (November 14, 1947 – September 24, 2016),[1][2] better known by his stage nameBuckwheat Zydeco, was an Americanaccordionist andzydeco musician. He was one of the few zydeco artists to achieve mainstream success. His music group was formally billed as Buckwheat Zydeco and Ils Sont Partis Band[3] ("Ils Sont Partis" being French for "They have left," or a race announcer's "And they're off!"[4]), but they often performed as merelyBuckwheat Zydeco.
The New York Times said: "Stanley 'Buckwheat' Dural leads one of the best bands in America. A down-home and high-powered celebration, meaty and muscular with a fine-tuned sense of dynamics…propulsive rhythms, incendiary performances."[5]USA Today called him "a zydeco trailblazer."[6]Buckwheat Zydeco performed with famous musicians such asEric Clapton (with whom he also recorded),U2 and theBoston Pops. The band performed at the closing ceremonies of the1996 Summer Olympics to a worldwide audience of three billion people. Buckwheat performed forPresident Clinton twice, celebrating both of his inaugurations.[4] The band appeared on theLate Show with David Letterman,CNN,The Today Show,MTV,NBC News,CBS Morning News,National Public Radio'sMountain Stage, andLate Night with Jimmy Fallon.
Dural was born inLafayette,Louisiana. He was one of 13 children; he had six brothers and six sisters. As a five-year-old boy, he worked on a farm picking cotton.[1][7] He also worked as a delivery boy and cared for chickens.[4] He acquired his nickname as a youth, because, with his braided hair, he looked like the characterBuckwheat fromOur Gang/The Little Rascals movies. His father, a farmer, was an accomplished amateur traditionalCreole accordion player, but young Dural preferred listening to and playingrhythm and blues.[7]
Dural became proficient at theorgan, and by the late 1950s he was backingJoe Tex,Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and many others.[8] As a teenager, he played piano forLittle Richard,Fats Domino, andRay Charles.[4] Two Lafayette-based bands that he played in during his teens and twenties were Sammy and the Untouchables and Lil' Buck and the Top Cats.[9]
In 1971, he founded Buckwheat & the Hitchhikers, afunk band that he led for five years before switching to zydeco. They were a local sensation and found success with the single, "It's Hard To Get", recorded for a local Louisiana-based label.[8]
He began backingClifton Chenier, one of the most legendary zydeco performers. Though not a traditional zydeco fan when growing up, Buckwheat accepted an invitation in 1976 to joinClifton Chenier's Red Hot Louisiana Band as organist. He quickly discovered the popularity of zydeco music, and noted the effect the music had on the audience. "Everywhere, people young and old just loved zydeco music," Dural says. "I had so much fun playing that first night with Clifton. We played for four hours and I wasn't ready to quit."[7]
Dural's relationship with Chenier led him to take up theaccordion in 1978. After practicing for a year, he felt ready to start his own band under the name Buckwheat Zydeco. They debuted withOne for the Road in 1979 on the Blues Unlimited label and then recorded forNew Orleans'Black Top label. In 1983, they were nominated for aGrammy Award forTurning Point and in 1985 forWaitin' For My Ya Ya after switching to theRounder Records label.[4]Scott Billington of Rounder wrote that Buckwheat "played the largepiano accordion, like Clifton, but delivered his music with the flair of arhythm and blues star likeJoe Tex, and with the precision ofJames Brown. He performedCreole dance music, but it was also Southernsoul music and Louisiana funk, with a Caribbean edge, all in one package."[9]
The band then signed toIsland Records, becoming the first zydeco act on a major label, and releasedOn a Night Like This, a critically acclaimed album that was nominated for a Grammy as well.
In 1988,Eric Clapton invited the band to open his North American tour as well as his 12-night stand at London’sRoyal Albert Hall. Buckwheat subsequently shared stages and/or recording withKeith Richards,Robert Plant,Willie Nelson,Mavis Staples,David Hidalgo,Dwight Yoakam,Paul Simon,Ry Cooder, theCherry Poppin' Daddies and many others, including indie music bandYo La Tengo on the soundtrack of theBob Dylan bio-pic,I'm Not There. His music has been featured in films includingThe Waterboy,The Big Easy,Fletch Lives andHard Target.BET's showComic View used his live version of “What You Gonna Do?” as theme music for the program's 10th anniversary "Pardi Gras" season. He also wrote and performed the theme music for thePBS television seriesPierre Franey's Cooking In America. Buckwheat won anEmmy for his music in theCBS TV movie,Pistol Pete: The Life and Times of Pete Maravich.[7]
Buckwheat Zydeco played many major music festivals, including theNew Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (numerous times),Chicago Blues Festival,Newport Folk Festival,Summerfest,San Diego Street Scene,Bumbershoot,Montreux Jazz Festival, theVoodoo Experience, and countless others.[7]
During the 1990s and early 2000s Buckwheat recorded for his own Tomorrow Recordings label and maintained an extensive touring schedule. Buckwheat Zydeco's last album,Lay Your Burden Down, was released on May 5, 2009 on theAlligator Records label. It was produced bySteve Berlin ofLos Lobos and included guest appearances by guitaristsWarren Haynes andSonny Landreth,Trombone Shorty,JJ Grey and Berlin himself. The album was nominated for aGrammy Award.Sonicboomers.com says, "The CD is a vastly entertaining and appealingly diverse package. Bandleader Dural remains an ever-engaging vocalist and a whiz on any keyboard he touches. So, for Buckwheat Zydeco fans,Lay Your Burden Down finds the maestro and his group near the top of their form. For listeners with less interest in the ol' accordion get-down, the collection supplies enough interesting wrinkles to get the good times rolling."[10]
Buckwheat Zydeco's version of the classic "Cryin' in the Streets" appears on the benefit album forHurricane Katrina recovery,Our New Orleans: A Benefit Album for the Gulf Coast.[11] His version ofMemphis Minnie andKansas Joe McCoy's "When the Levee Breaks" appeared on 2011's Alligator Records 40th Anniversary Collection. It originally appeared on the 2009 Buckwheat Zydeco albumLay Your Burden Down.
Dural died oflung cancer at age 68 on September 24, 2016, atOur Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center.[12] He was funeralized at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Lafayette.
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | "Hey Good Lookin'"(withDwight Yoakam andDavid Hidalgo) | |
| 2002 | "New Orleans Is a Mighty Good Town"(withEddy Raven) | Peter Lippman |
| Year | Category | Work nominated | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording | 100% Fortified Zydeco | Nominated | [14] |
| 1986 | Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording | Turning Point | Nominated | [14] |
| 1987 | Best Traditional Folk Album | Waitin' for my Ya Ya | Nominated | [14] |
| 1988 | Best Contemporary Blues Album | On a Night Like This | Nominated | [14] |
| 2010 | Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album | Lay Your Burden Down | Won | [14] |
| Year | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Best Zydeco Band or Performer | Won | [15] |
| Best Accordionist | Won | [15] | |
| 2002 | Best Accordionist | Won | [15] |
| 2004 | Best Accordionist | Won | [15] |
| 2010 | Best Zydeco Band or Performer | Won | [15] |
{{cite web}}:|archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)| International | |
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