It was reported yesterday that Stanley Dural Jr., better known by his stage name Buckwheat Zydeco, passed at the age of 68 after a battle with lung cancer. The Lafayette, LA-born accordion, bandleader, and torch bearer of Zydeco music, earned his “Buckwheat” nickname due to his braided hair and resemblance to that of the Our Gang/The Little Rascals character.
After earning his stripes playing organ with legends such as Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown and Joe Tex, Dural went on to meet and back Clifton Chenier’s Red Hot Louisiana Band. That influential relationship with Chenier led him to take up the accordion and began his love affair with zydeco music. He went on to form his own bands, eventually settling on Buckwheat Zydeco and Ils Sont Partis Band.
The long list of accolades includes playing with international superstars such as Eric Clapton, Bono, Paul Simon, Robert Plant, Mavis Staples, Little Richard and countless others. The group also performed on essentially every major network and talk show over the years, while the largest audience came during their performance at the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
“I’m not performing for one group of people, I perform for all generations,” said Dural. “You give 50% to the older generation, 50% to the younger generation. I have no limit to what I can do, so I can take it to different levels.”
In memory of Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural Jr., take a listen to a few memorable performances from over the years.
Performing Jimi Hendrix’s “Hey Joe” on Late Night w/ David Letterman 6/15/92:
Buckwheat Zydeco – Hey Ma Petit Fille I’m Going Now – from the Montreux Jazz Festival 1989:
Emotional version of George Perkin’s “Cryin’ In The Streets” for the Hurricane Katrina compilation album Our New Orleans: A Benefit Album for the Gulf Coast (2005):
Performing at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 2016 with his band, despite battling lung cancer:
Buckwheat Zydeco with Paul Simon at Hurrican Katrina Benefit “That Was Your Mother”:
[via NOLA’s Times-Picayune]