Zydeco Music and its Cultural Importance

Paper Summary:

Zydeco is an important musical genre and the writer defines it as fun, upbeat dance music from southern Louisiana; characterized by scrub board and thimbles, spoons (metal or wooden), fiddle, triangles, accordion and occasionally a horn or two. This paper discusses its unique origins, the impact it has had on other music forms and the what the future holds for Zydeco followers. The paper looks at the types of people who follow Zydeco music and some of its major artists.

From the Paper:

"The reason this genre of music is not wide spread is very simple: the French Creole dialect. Most people cannot understand the lyrics because they are generally written and performed in French Creole (Kein, 41). This dialect was very prominent in seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Louisiana and surrounding areas by African-American descendants and a few white settlers in rural areas (Kein, 133). After the Louisiana Purchase, English became more prevalent and French Creole died out except in rural areas and was passed down from parent to child and so on(Kein 56). Today, English is more often than not is the primary language used in Zydeco with hints of the Creole heritage."

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