Clifton Chenier - Live at Montreux 1975 (1995)

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The pivotal King of Zydeco

This excellent live recording of the “King of Zydeco” in Montreux almost 50 years ago doesn't sound its age one bit. But something needs to be rectified first : this performance was not recorded in 1977 as mentioned on its different releases and on almost all so-called “specialized” webzines, but in 1975, on the 12th of July to be exact. Bravo to Blue Dragon follower, our friend Johntagle who first spotted the error! He also pointed out the messy transcription of some of the songs titles on the releases by different labels, on LP and later on CD.

First release on CD
in 1989 by Tomato Records

The story of the different versions of the 1975 Montreux recordings is a bit complicated. Attention please! The album was first published by Tomato Records in 1978 as an 18-track double LP titled “Cajun Swamp Music Live”. In 1981, Arhoolie put out “The King Of Zydeco”, a LP of only 10 titles from the Montreux concert. In 1984, an 18-track double LP re-titled “Live at Montreux” was re-issued on Charly. Tomato kept the same “Cajun Swamp Music Live” title when it released it for the first time on CD in 1989.

In 1990, Arhoolie followed by publishing a 16-track version of the concert on the CD “The King Of Zydeco Live At Montreux”. In 1995, Editions Atlas included it in its Jazz & Blues Collection as an 18-track CD simply baptized “Clifton Chenier”. In 1996, the British equivalent to Atlas, Orbis, issued a 14-track CD titled “Frenchin' The Blues” in its Blues Collection. In 1997, Charly released the 18 titles on the CD “Cajun Swamp Music” (the “Live” had disappeared probably to distinguish from the Tomato 1989 version). Hard to follow, isn't it !

Second remark, the titles of some songs have also been messed with. Most likely the labels' ignorance of the mysteries of French Creole led them to adapt some in English.

The iconic “Joli Blonde” (or “Jole Blon”) and “Zydeco Et Pas Sale” have been ridiculously transformed respectively into “Tu Es Si Jolie” (You're so pretty) and “No Salt In Your Snapbeans”. “Ay Tete Fee” became “Here Little Girl”, and even less understandable, the English title “I'm On The Wonder” has strangely changed to... another English title, “When You Going To Sing For Me?”! I've “revisited” the tracklist with more proper titles (that I'm using here). See below.

Such a lack of professionalism is all the less excusable that the very name Clifton Chenier symbolizes Zydeco and the unique Creole French culture surviving in Louisiana. Not surprisingly, he had been crowned “King of Zydeco”.

So in 1975 he and his band were invited to the renowned Montreux Festival, on the Swiss bank of the Lac Léman. It was an international acknowledgment of a musical genre specific to Louisiana and of one of its major artists.

On tour with The Red Hot Louisiana Band

When you listen to this live performance you're hearing the man who has laid the foundations of modern Zydeco. Let's point out that Chenier is not playing Cajun music though there are common elements to both styles, the first of them being the French lyrics. Though originally very blues-oriented, Chenier has incorporated elements of country, R'n'B and rock'n'roll to his basic accordion-driven musical gumbo.

Cleveland Chenier

In Montreux, his band (was it still The Zydeco Ramblers or already The Red Hot Louisiana Band? Honestly I don't know) was featuring good players : besides Joe Brouchet on bass and the excellent Robert Peter on drums, two particularly stand out, guitarist Paul “Lil' Buck” Sinegal (1) and Chenier's brother Cleveland Chenier on rubboard. Nevertheless, on some tracks the band doesn't sound as tight as it should, maybe due to insufficient repetitions of the new songs...

Paul "Lil' Buck" Sinegal

About the “vest frottoir”, note that it is Chenier who designed this new type of rubboard, currently used today : he removed the wooden frame and equipped the metal sheet with two curved pieces to hang it from the shoulders. Cleveland was probably the first to try it and became famous for the sound produced by his rubbing technique using several bottle openers in each hand.

Blues soaks titles like “You're Fussing Too Much”, “Pinetops Boogie Woogie”, “Black Gal”, “Hush-Hush” or “Calinda”, while R'n'B and/or Soul flavor “Marcher Plancher”, “Release Me” (on which an attentive ear will notice a little slip-slidding off tempo by the drummer at about 2 :35), the melancholic soul blues “I'm On The Wonder” introduced by Chenier as “a little blues on accordion”, “Tu M'As Promis L'Amour”, or the much applauded up-beat “Money” which has a serious “What'd I Say” twist, with Sinegal taking the piano part on guitar jointly with Chenier's accordion, over the exciting tempo delivered by the rhythmic drums-rubboard pair.

Country music influences can also be heard in the famous “Joli Blonde” and the iconic Louisiana dance standard “Jambalaya” (the name of an emblematic local dish), on which I love the way Chenier pronounce the word “bayou” as “bayo”.

Rock'n'roll infuse titles like his renowned “Ay Tete Fee”, a cover of Professor Longhair and Chenier's first hit back in 1955, or the dancing “Wooee Wooee”.

King of Zydeco

The emblematic Louisiana drums-rubboard beat is leading the iconic “Zydeco Et Pas Sale” and the rejoicing instrumental  “Louisiana Two-Step” featuring a stirring duo between Robert Peter and Cleveland Chenier, both songs loudly acclaimed by the Montreux Casino audience.

Chenier sings with a very personal style, punctuating the songs with multiple exclamatory words and phrases, freely adapting the lyrics according to his mood. Actually the free interpretation of lyrics has become a trademark of modern Zydeco.

Indeed this appealing live album shows perfectly how Chenier was the essential link between pre-war “la la” musicians like Amédé Ardoin for example, the first to be recorded, and modern Zydeco artists on whom he had a tremendous influence. Zydeco musicians as Boozoo Chavis, Beau Jocque, Buckwheat Zydeco, Rocking Dopsie, Nathan Williams and a myriad of younger talented Zydecoers, starting with his own son CJ Chenier who took over his band when the King of Zydeco passed in December 1987. ■

(1) About Paul Sinegal : https://onurblues.blogspot.com/2022/09/lil-buck-sinegal-bad-situation-2002.html

(click to enlarge)

■ Tracklist : the right titles

01 - Tu Es Si Jolie → Joli Blonde (or Jole Blond)

02 - No Salt In Your Snapbeans → Zydeco Et Pas Sale

05 - Marcher Plancher → alternate title: Je Marche Le Planche (I Walk The Floor)

06 - Here Little Girl → Ay Tete Fee (alt. : Ay/Hey 'Tite Fille)

11 - When You Going To Sing For Me? → I'm On The Wonder

12 - Who Who Who → Wooee Wooee

13 - You Promised Me Love → Tu M'As Promis L'Amour

14 - Black Girl → Black Gal

Some of the confusion in the titles maybe came from the setlist originally published by the Montreux Festival (above picture). Even the name of Paul Sinegal is misspelled!

Videos

Believe it or not, there aren't so many videos of Clifton Chenier on YT! And most of them are medium to low quality, and lack date and location info. On top of all, the're often imbricated in docs about Zydeco music. I tried my best to feature a few interesting ones...

 

■ Clifton Chenier through documentaries

► Les Blank's 1973 film “Hot Pepper” is one of the best documentaries about Clifton Chenier. Unfortunately, it's not available on YT, except short excerpts like this one of Clifton Chenier and friends chatting in Creole French on the porch : https://youtu.be/s51zJ4K9D2U

Interested persons can purchase the DVD or buy the streaming at : https://lesblank.com/films/hot-pepper-1973/

► Some of these scenes can be watched also on this mix from two different films, the same Les Blank's "Hot Pepper", and “From La La to Zydeco” (http://willshare.com/zydeco/), showing Chenier on the first 12 minutes. The last song, “It's All Right”, adapted from Ray Charles' “What'd I Say” (at 5 :00 time), supposedly was his last recorded performance, in 1987 : https://youtu.be/yc--rZQedjo or https://youtu.be/XxTJ77E0fVc

►

Clifton & his elder brother Cleveland

"Zydeco Gumbo", a 1988 doc from Dan Hildenbrandt about The King of Zydeco : https://youtu.be/lvQxfKZQOxw

► “Clifton Chenier: The Undisputed King of Zydeco”, a short doc by a music student : https://youtu.be/Tece2N0tB0s

► From Folk Alliance International : https://youtu.be/AqFVNofYhGk

► “Zydeco Creole Music and culture in rural Louisiana”, a doc by Nick Spitzer, 1983 : https://youtu.be/SsI96fvM8Ps

► Lil' Buck Sinegal about playing with Clifton Chenier :  https://youtu.be/u5yCfT2e7Ks

■ Clifton Chenier's live performances

► Two docs shots during the 1969 American Folk Blues Festival, featuring Clifton and Cleveland Chenier :

→ https://youtu.be/NrB4jsZKJzw (from time 11 :25 to 16 :25) 

→ https://youtu.be/3YMdxEPyEIE

► From an old VHS tape, featuring CJ Chenier on sax, Cleveland Chenier on rubboard and the late Harry Hypolite on guitar, other details unknown : https://youtu.be/BgN4Zyg6GHo

► San Francisco Blues Festival 1982 (Chenier appears at the beginning) : https://youtu.be/RCq7TrSgfUc

► “Tu Peux Cogner Mais Tu Peux Pas Rentrer” : https://youtu.be/UAp3fbrJ_KM

► “Zydeco et pas sale'', 1969 : https://youtu.be/NSRcxdTqNiM

► “Josephine Se Pa Ma Femme”, clip : https://youtu.be/wjZMd5ymO4o

► “I'm A Hog For You” : https://youtu.be/OYkehxwpel4

► “Choo Choo Ch' Boogie” : https://youtu.be/TuwtvyVkBhc

► "Rockhouse", Austin City Limits, 1979 : https://youtu.be/SnizWROYLZg

► “Bon Ton Roulet”, with CJ Chenier on sax, Cleveland Chenier on rubboard, and the late Harry Hypolite on guitar : https://youtu.be/jcsK36zVfE8

■ Clifton's legacy is carried by his son CJ Chenier

► Washington D.C., 2013 : https://youtu.be/ZO9qmk4WnDk

► Maynard's Memorial Park, MA, 2013 : https://youtu.be/Crrvi9mdX9A

► Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Music Festival, CA, 2014 : https://youtu.be/Ngi5KESuoWU

► Williamson County Fair, Franklin, TN, 2016 : https://youtu.be/__8R9UTwXJ0?t=123

► New Orleans, 2022 : https://youtu.be/kUKT46LYtXs

Clifton Chenier, 1925-1987