A & E -> A&E MON, FEB 14 11:10AM by Dege Legg

Chubby Carrier takes Zydeco/Cajun Grammy

Last night’s Grammy Awards were, as usual, a big throw down with many industry surprises. The most note worthy of which was Canadian alt-rock band Arcade Fire, winning Album of the Year for their record The Suburbs. Other highlights included Neil Young finally winning his first Grammy Award and the shut-out of teen idol Justin Bieber, who went home with no awards.

chubby300

Obviously, the biggest news for Louisiana was the Zydeco/Cajun Grammy, which went to longtime zydeco musician Chubby Carrier. Carrier and band won for their album Zydeco Junkie. The album, released on his own label (Swampadelic Records) is a 10-song showcase of Carrier’s trademark zydeco party songs. The album also includes his accordion-driven version of "Movin' On Up," the theme from The Jeffersons television show.

Other musicians in the 2011 Zydeco/Cajun Grammy category included Cedric Watson, D. L. Menard, Feufollet and the Pine Leaf Boys for the albums listed below.

En Couleurs, Feufollet
Happy Go Lucky, D.L. Menard
Back Home, The Pine Leaf Boys
Creole Moon: Live At The Blue Moon Saloon, Cedric Watson et Bijou Créole

Carrier began his music career in Louisiana dancehalls playing in his father’s zydeco band in the 1970s and kept on keeping on, forming his own band and releasing a total of 11 records since 1989. Carrier is the fourth winner in the four-year-old zydeco/Cajun Grammy category. His win follows the previous winners Terrance Simien, BeauSoleil and Buckwheat Zydeco.

Not that the Zydeco/Cajun Grammy Award is a game to be exploited, but in the unspoken battle of sectarian politics and Louisiana culture, Carrier’s win brings the number of zydeco wins in the category to three, while Cajun musicians are lumbering in at just one with BeauSoleil’s win in 2009 for Live At The 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

Articles by this Author:

View all articles by this author

Comments (6)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

...
written by Dan Willging , February 14, 2011 - 01:14 pm

Congrats to Chubby. He has worked hard over the decades to deliver a rollicking, fun show as well as exhiliarting zydeco dance music. He's a helluva fun guy and it comes across that way from the stage. He is a spokesperson zydeco needs.

...
written by Mike Baldwin , February 14, 2011 - 02:16 pm

No disrespect to Mr. Carrier or Zydeco music, but I agree wholeheartedly with the last paragraph. Perhaps it's time to divide the two genres into separate categories, they are completely different styles and deserve to be honored in their own right.

...
written by Lee Sepulvado, Shreveport , February 15, 2011 - 05:38 am

I emphatically agree with Mike Baldwin's message. I have seen Chubby Carrier and his band. They are good. But they are not Beau Jocque and the Zydeco Hi-Rollers(the Best ever)or Keith Frank and the Soileau Zydeco Band(a close 2d).
Leave it to the press to try to polarize Cajun and Zydeco music with his bush league comment. Cajun and Zydeco are two
completely different styles and each should have its separate
category.
Mr. Dege Legg: You report, we decide. And before you try it, leave the race card in your pocket.

...
written by Dege Legg , February 15, 2011 - 11:09 am

No race baiting or ill will or polarization intended, Mr. Sepulvado. I like'em all, praise'em both, and think they both deserve their own categories. But I see how it's fairly easy to misinterpret the last paragraph.

...
written by Rod Sias , February 18, 2011 - 08:58 am

It is interesting to watch the bickering over an award that has historically ignored and snubbed both Creole and Cajun cultures. It was only after a few people lobbied the Grammy Association for many years did category become a reality. The Grammy Award is a great thing, but it is more important that we keep control of the culture supporting our musicians, encouraging them to participate in the Grammys, but also giving major support to events and organizations like the Cajun French Music Association and the Zydeco Music Awards. Anything less is a distraction we don't need.

...
written by Zydeco Fan , June 14, 2011 - 02:47 pm

Congrats to Chubby! I'm a Zydeco Junkie!

You must be logged in to post a comment. Log in using your Facebook account or register if you do not have an account yet.

Most Read

Glenn Stewart convicted

In rendering his ruling, District Judge John Trahan all but called the real estate developer a liar for inconsistencies in his accounts of what prompted him to punch a school teacher unconscious.
Dana Baker resigns from Festival International
Frank’s Casing Crew going public

Frank’s Casing Crew, now doing business as Frank’s International, will make its final appearance on ABiz’s list of the Top 50 Privately Held Companies in Acadiana this year, and once again, it will likely be at the top with more than $1 billion in annual revenues. The 75-year-old company specializing in tubular fabrication and installation services to the oil and gas industry plans to go public this year.
Landry, Pierre playing the blame game

The defeat, or rather highjacking of House Bill 420 in the final days of this year's Legislative Session, say Reps. Vincent Pierre and Terry Landry, is the result of the propaganda spread by one unidentified local media outlet and an unnamed former state Representative, but nothing to do with the original legislation's lack of checks, balances or details.
Shelvin loses cool, fails to disclose conflict

City-Parish Council Chairman Brandon Shelvin heaped steady doses of condescending ire on a Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Louisiana executive while failing to reveal his financial ties to a BC/BS rival.

in case you missed it

The One Who Got Away

Abbeville native David Primeaux was a popular professor until his death late last year, and while he was successful at camouflaging a dark past, he couldn’t outlive it.
Fore!

Before District Attorney Mike Harson tees off for a fifth term in office, he should seriously consider what might be coming at him.
The Day Primeaux Died

Now we know why the former pedophile priest committed suicide late last year, and the story behind it is more riveting than his death.
Risky Business

Tehmi Chassion’s failure to recuse himself in the school board’s selection of a group health benefits provider raises ‘serious questions’ on whether he violated state ethics law.
Posthaste VS. DAVID EGAN

He’s a singer. A songwriter. A piano man. A family man. He’s even got his own Wikipedia entry. He’s David Egan. And he knows ancient secrets about the monolithic stones of Stonehenge that he’s not willing to share.