The Rolling Stones are once again waving the flag of their musical forebears with a cover of Clifton Chenier’s zydeco tune “Zydeco Sont Pas Salés.”
Chenier, an accordionist and singer who would have turned 100 today, was a pioneer of zydeco, an accordion-reliant, blues-based and rhythm-heavy folk form from Louisiana. He released his first single, “Cliston Blues,” in 1954.
The Rolling Stones’ cover, featuring accordionist Steve Riley and Mick Jagger singing in French Creole, is the latest teaser from the forthcoming compilation album “A Tribute to the King of Zydeco” via Valcour Records. The album is set to feature Lucinda Williams, Taj Mahal, Steve Earle and Chenier’s son, the accordionist C.J. Chenier, among others. Profits from the record will go towards the Clifton Chenier Memorial Scholarship Fund.
“It’s fun to do these things,” Jagger told Rolling Stone. “Sometimes, they work out, and sometimes they don’t and sound like rubbish. But this sounds kind of different and interesting.”
Chenier was recognized with multiple Grammy nominations and one win (best ethnic or traditional folk album) for “I’m Here!” in 1982, as well as a National Heritage Fellowship in 1984, a posthumous induction to the Blues Hall of Fame in 1989 (Chenier died in 1987), and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.
In tandem with Chenier’s centenary, the Rolling Stones may be preparing a new record – a follow-up to 2023’s Hackney Diamonds, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. “We’ve got a lot more,” Jagger told Reuters last year, “so I think we may be set up to make another album quite soon.”
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