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Clifton Chenier remembered as the king of Zydeco

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom

Published February 6, 2026 at 12:09 PM EST

Clifton Chenier. (Photo by Reed and Susan Erskine. Courtesy Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution)

Clifton Chenier is known as the King of Zydeco. He was a pioneering accordion player who melded Black Creole dance music from southwest Louisiana and east Texas with rhythm and blues.

Here & Now’s Scott Tong speaks with CJ Chenier, Clifton Chenier’s son who’s also a musician, and Maureen Loughran, director and curator of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, about the new box set “Clifton Chenier, King of Louisiana Blues and Zydeco.”

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Here & Now Newsroom