Being a weeklie podcaste from Madison, Wisconsin featuring several remarkable curiosities therein occurring being a compendium of live music from divers artistes
Show #55: Buckwheat Zydeco
February 27th, 2006
Despite being ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, the Mardi Gras tradition will continue this year in New Orleans. And since tomorrow is Fat Tuesday, I’m posting a little sumpin’ for the occasion. If anyone is not familiar with MG, a little history.
Mardi Gras literally means “Fat Tuesday” in French. The name comes from the tradition of slaughtering and feasting upon a fattened calf on the last day of Carnival.
Carnival comes from the Latin words carne vale, meaning “farewell to the flesh.” Like many Catholic holidays and seasonal celebrations, it likely has its roots in pre-Christian traditions based on the seasons. Some believe the festival represented the few days added to the lunar calendar to make it coincide with the solar calendar; since these days were outside the calendar, rules and customs were not obeyed. Others see it as a late-winter celebration designed to welcome the coming spring. As early as the middle of the second century, the Romans observed a Fast of 40 Days, which was preceded by a brief season of feasting, costumes and merrymaking.
The Carnival season kicks off with the Epiphany, also known as Twelfth Night, Three Kings’ Day and, in the Eastern churches, Theophany. Epiphany, which falls on January 6, 12 days after Christmas, celebrates the visit of the Wise Men bearing gifts for the infant Jesus. In cultures that celebrate Carnival, Epiphany kicks off a series of parties leading up to Mardi Gras.
Epiphany is also traditionally when celebrants serve King’s Cake, a custom that began in France in the 12th century. Legend has it that the cakes were made in a circle to represent the circular routes that the Wise Men took to find Jesus, in order to confuse King Herod and foil his plans of killing the Christ Child. In the early days, a coin or bean was hidden inside the cake, and whoever found the item was said to have good luck in the coming year. In Louisiana, bakers now put a small baby, representing the Christ Child, in the cake; the recipient is then expected to host the next King Cake party.
The best-known celebration in the U.S. is in New Orleans and the French-Catholic communities of the Gulf Coast. Mardi Gras came to the New World in 1699, when a French explorer arrived at the Mississippi River, about 60 miles south of present day New Orleans. He named the spot Point du Mardi Gras because he knew the holiday was being celebrated in his native country that day.
Eventually the French in New Orleans celebrated Mardi Gras with masked balls and parties, until the Spanish government took over in the mid-1700s and banned the celebrations. The ban continued even after the U.S. government acquired the land but the celebrations resumed in 1827. The official colors of Mardi Gras, with their roots in Catholicism, were chosen 10 years later: purple, a symbol of justice; green, representing faith; and gold, to signify power.
And there ya have it.
If you can’t make it to New Orleans or any other massive Mardi Gras celebration, let me give you some music for your very own party.
This week I feature Stanley Dural, Jr., a.k.a. – Buckwheat Zydeco. (The name comes the braided hair he had as a kid which resembled the Little Rascals character.) Zydeco music is essentially the accordian-led dance music of black Creoles that is derived from the French music of Louisiana but with more of an emphasis on rhythm. Buckwheat’s professional career started in 1971 when he formed Buckwheat and the Hitch-hikers playing R&B and funk. In 1976 he joined Clifton Chenier’s band on Hammond organ. Chenier is widely credited with inventing zydeco and, oddly enough, Buckwheat didn’t even like zydeco at the time. However, he quickly changed his tune.
Three years later he was out on his own with The Ils Sont Partis Band. Their first two albums, Turning Point and Waitin’ for My Ya Ya, were nominated for Grammy awards. Buckwheat became the first zydeco act to be signed to a major label in the mid-1980s when he joined the Island Records roster. The first album for the new label, On a Night Like This, was also nominated for a Grammy. Although critical acclaim continued in the 1990s, Buckwheat’s popularity with the masses didn’t and he moved from Island. His most recent album, Jackpot!, was released last year and was his first album of new material in eight years.
This week’s show was recorded on 4 September 1994 at Bimbo’s 365 Club in San Francisco. I want to warn listeners that the ghost of Peter Frampton is to be found in this performance. For some reason, it was thought that it would be neat to use a talk box on some of the songs. While annoying, its use is limited here so don’t be put off. But I do apologize. I have another BZ show without it but the accordian is way too low in the mix. Life is about compromises, right?
Setlist:
Ma ‘Tit Fille
Hey Baby
Hot Tamale Baby
Walkin’ To New Orleans
What You Gonna Do?
Hey Good Lookin’
(Photo by Josef A. Rosen)
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This is a great show! I listened to it last night when I was looking for much needed inspiration and it gave me the boost I needed. Thanks! I just realized that the RSS feed for UtD is only showing me when a show is posted, not when a regular post is put up. Any ideas?
The D