Last February, Amy Nicole left Opelousas, La. on cloud nine. She was headed to Boston, Richmond and other cities on the first East Coast tour of her two-year music career. Read more
Nicole had no idea four snowstorms and record cold temperatures were waiting. Three-hour trips between gigs turned into eight-hour nightmares.
Pound for pound is an old term used in boxing. It often refers to a fighter who may not be the biggest, tallest, fastest and strongest.
But judging his overall skills and abilities, he is the best boxer around – regardless of weight class.
In the world of zydeco accordion players, Jeffery Broussard doesn’t have the biggest name. He doesn’t draw the biggest crowds (at least, not at home) or have the most girlfriends.
But pound for pound, Jeffery Broussard is the best accordion player around. Read more
Few artists in southwest Louisiana, ground zero for zydeco, can match the resume of Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural of Carencro. Leader of the Grammy- and Emmy-winning band Buckwheat Zydeco, Dural performed before a worldwide TV audience of 3 billion during the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics. Read more
In 1999, Sports Illustrated crowned Muhammad Ali as Sportsman of the Century. Once vilified as a trash-talking troublemaker, Ali is now universally praised as an all-time great athlete with a principled punch that shook up boxing, religion, international politics, civil rights and more.
Ali retired the same year Leon Chavis was born. But that hasn’t stopped Chavis from being enthralled with “The Greatest.” Read more.
Last summer, the search for Amédé Ardoin seemed to have hit its final dead end. Lawrence Ardoin, a descendant of the legendary Creole accordionist, was working with officials at the state mental institution in Pineville, La. to erect a statue for Amédé, considered by many to be the godfather of zydeco and Cajun music.
But Ardoin is one of 2,469 patients buried in unmarked graves on the hospital grounds. With no way to know which grave holds Amédé, Lawrence Ardoin was giving up. Read more
Zydeco is not Cajun music, despite what you may have heard in the media. OK, repeat after me – black. Now, say this word – Creole. Let’s put the word the words together – black Creole. Good. That didn’t hurt, did it? If we can say the words “black Creole” and the world doesn’t explode, why are my brethren in the media afraid to do the same? Read more.
