Showing 1 - 5 of 5
Remembering the King of Zydeco
Life, John Clewley, Published on 01/07/2025
» Music fans celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of the King of Zydeco, Clifton Chenier, late last month. Chenier (June 25, 1925 -- December 12, 1987) was a pioneering musician from Opelousas, Southwest Louisiana who helped create zydeco music, a genre sung in French creole (his first language) that came out of the Creole traditions of the region, spliced with blues, R&B and Cajun music.
Let the good times roll
Life, John Clewley, Published on 06/06/2023
» Last month, one of the great explorers and producers of American vernacular music, Chris Strachwitz, passed away. He was 91 years old. He was the founder and co-owner (with Tom Diamant) of Arhoolie Records which since its first release in 1960, Texas Sharecropper And Songster by Texan bluesman Mance Lipscomb, has put out an astonishing 44,000 records.
South to Louisiana – R&B on the Bayou
Life, John Clewley, Published on 15/09/2015
» Several fun-packed R'n'B compilations have sashayed their way onto the World Beat desk recently, led by a wonderful set of forgotten gems, Rhythm 'n' Bluesin' By The Bayou -- Mad Dogs, Sweet Daddies & Pretty Babies, and a superb collection of early hits by Memphis-born pianist and singer Roscoe Gordon. Both albums are on the Ace label.
Bangkok Sh-Boom!
Life, John Clewley, Published on 18/11/2014
» The year 1954 was a busy one for R&B. Seminal and influential songs such as blues shouter Big Joe Turner’s Shake, Rattle And Roll; It Should Have Been Me by Ray Charles; Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite by the Spaniels; Sh-Boom by The Chords; and Just Make Love To Me by Muddy Waters dominated the R&B charts.
Southeast Asia's kaleidoscope of sounds
Life, John Clewley, Published on 23/04/2013
» The Asean Economic Community (AEC) is due to open the markets of 10 countries in Southeast Asia in 2015 and much has been written about how best to prepare to take advantage of the opportunities the economic union will bring.