• Singer, songwriter, accordionist, and flamboyant personality, the legendary Clifton Chenier was the undisputed “King of Zydeco”. He created the modern, hip-shaking, sounds of this eclectic and joyful idiom. Blending the French and Cajun two-steps and waltzes of Southwest Louisiana with New Orleans R&B, Texas blues, afro-Caribbean beats, a touch of big-band jazz, and the exciting new sound of rock & roll, Chenier set the standard for all the zydeco players who have followed in his footsteps.

This collector’s edition contains 29 tracks, including a wide selection of those fabulous tunes and hard-to-find sides Clifton Chenier recorded with his band for labels such as Elko, Specialty, Imperial, Argo, Zynn, and Chess subsidiary Checker, between 1954 and 1960. Some of the material here isn’t available on other collections, nor have these recordings ever been previously compiled on one CD.