Skip to main content

King of the Bayous

Clifton Chenier
Album cover for King of the Bayous by Clifton Chenier. Features a black-and-white image of Clifton in a suit playing an accordion against a solid blue background with a thick black border. Bold text reads “Clifton Chenier” and “King of the Bayous,” with Arhoolie Records logo and catalog number 1029. At the dawn of the 1970s, Clifton Chenier was ramping up his tour schedule, playing in Europe more extensively and appearing at numerous folk and blues festivals throughout the United States. Three years passed between the release of King of the Bayous and its predecessor, Black Snake Blues, and in that time Chenier’s profile grew internationally while he concurrently set up shop at the Blue Angel in Lafayette, Louisiana. It was at that local dance hall that he continued to thrill local audiences and evolve the zydeco music he originated (called zodico in the album’s liner notes). King of the Bayous features tunes typical of Chenier’s setlists of the time, including the definitive studio recording of “I Am Coming Home,” an emotional blues waltz featured prominently on the album’s cover, which Chenier wrote for his mother while she was dying.

Track Listing

icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
1
Clifton Chenier
03:41
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
2
Clifton Chenier
03:23
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
3
Clifton Chenier
03:39
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
4
Clifton Chenier
03:16
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
5
Clifton Chenier
03:35
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
6
Clifton Chenier
03:20
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
7
Clifton Chenier
03:57
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
8
Clifton Chenier
03:21
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
9
Clifton Chenier
03:05
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
10
Clifton Chenier
03:14
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
11
Clifton Chenier
03:07
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
12
Clifton Chenier
04:12