Buckwheat Zydeco

 
 
Buckwheat is a zydeco legend, there are no doubts about that. He has been on the music landscape for decades and has more than played his part in keeping the genre in the limelight. Even after everything that he has achieved he is still going as strong as ever. He has hit the road once again with his group the Buckwheat Zydeco. So if you are a zydeco fan then grab your Buckwheat Zydeco tickets and catch them live.
 
Buckwheat’s real name is Stanley Dural Jr. He got his moniker as a kid due to his uncanny resemblance with the famous Buckwheat character from Our Gang/The Little Rascals films. Dural’s father although a farmer by profession was also a very good accordion player. His son however was more interested in R&B.
 
Dural began to learn piano when he was only four years old. It didn’t take him too long to become proficient when it came to hitting the right notes on the piano and keyboards. His reputation began to spread and by the time the 1950’s drew to a close he was playing backup to people like Clarence Brown and Joe Tex.
 
Those stints and his own performances started to generate headlines. 1971 saw Dural lay the foundations of his own funk band named the “Buckwheat & the Hitchhikers.” They performed as a funk group for five years and then made the switch to zydeco. The move paid immediate dividends. They released a track titled “It’s Hard to Get” which became a huge hit locally. That success gave Buckwheat and his group the impetus to carry on with zydeco music.
 
Buckwheat met the zydeco icon “Clifton Chenier” and began to back him. That relationship was to go and change Dural’s life forever. Chenier was impressed with Buckwheat’s skills so much so that he made Dural an offer to take over as an organist for his group “Red Hot Louisiana Band.” It was an opportunity too good to turn down so Buckwheat accepted it immediately.
 
His time as a member of Chenier’s group opened Dural’s eyes to the power of zydeco music. He joined the band in 1976 and two years later took up accordion on Chenier’s insistence. He spent the next year or so honing his accordion skills and that is when he decided he was now good enough to form his own group, the Buckwheat Zydeco. The group made their debut in the year 1979 with “One for the Road.”  That was followed by “100% Fortified Zydeco” in 1983. “Turning Point” came later that year and thrust Buckwheat Zydeco into the spotlight. The album was a big hit that went on to earn a Grammy nomination.
 
Their next album was titled “Waitin For My Ya Ya” which was released in 1985 and it turned out to be an instant success and won a Grammy nomination too. The success brought them to the notice of Island Records who signed the band up. That agreement was a watershed moment not only for the group but the genre too. Buckwheat Zydeco had created history by becoming the first zydeco group to land a recording contract from a major label.
 
They made their Island Records debut with the Grammy nominated “On a Night Like This” in 1987. The group were now big sensations and Buckwheat Zydeco tickets for their concerts began to sell-out without too many problems. They were then invited by the legend Eric Clapton to accompany him on a road trip across North America in 1988.
 
More collaborations with artists like Robert Plant, Keith Richards, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, David Hidalgo, Ry Cooder and Paul Simon among many others came their way to make Buckwheat Zydeco one of the most sought after groups in the business. Their performances at major festivals further solidified their stature.
 
The level of excellence has carried on and their last release “Lay Your Burden” is a testament to that. The album has been a big hit and has won a Grammy nomination of its efforts. Buckwheat Zydeco have made sure that their beloved genre isn’t confined to history books. They have kept it under the spotlight and have done that in some style. They are unique and it shows in the kind of music they come out with.  The band is now on tour and so grab your cheap Buckwheat Zydeco tickets and be a part of an unforgettable musical journey.