Nick Spitzer of American Routes joined Queen Ida at her home near San Francisco for this interview segment from 2001. Born Ida Lewis, the Louisiana/West Texas native became the jubilent face of breaking down gender barriers in zydeco when she began playing accordian in public. In this conversation, Ida talks about why it wasn’t “proper” for girls to play accordian, how she eventually began learning the instrument and how the California community responded to zydeco music.
