Biography Rockin' Sidney

1 biography

1.1 zydeco
1.2 toot toot
1.3 later years

biography

rockin sidney long-time zydeco musician played every style of music, caribbean beats blues. credits included no woman , ain t nothing fine , tell me , , biggest hit, toot toot , became worldwide hit.

simien born long historical creole french speaking family , descendant of antoine of marseille, france , marie simien (who free woman of color , plantation owner). sidney himself born in tiny farming community of lebeau, st. landry parish, louisiana. sidney took guitar @ age. started musical career @ age 14 or 15 playing harmonica , guitar. first gig backup uncle frank simien. sidney s late teens, leading own band sidney simien , stars, included several members of family. in 1957, @ age of 18, recorded first side, make me understand, on short-lived carl label. no woman became small hit in louisiana in 1962, while flip side, ain t nothing fine brought him first national attention songwriter. fabulous thunderbirds recorded song on debut album. after that, sidney recorded s morning coffee / calling on jin label.

although real success came zydeco, sidney did not start out playing accordion or cajun music. heavily influenced local musicians such slim harpo , cookie & cupcakes, sidney made r&b-styled recordings briefly on louisiana record label, fame, during late 1950s. backed george lewis on harmonica , katie webster on piano. floyd soileau s jin records label released 9 rockin sidney singles between 1957–1964. sidney recorded on rod records. in 1963 single no woman on ville platte label sold in south louisiana , east texas , received music critics, missed national top 100.

in 1965, , band dukes signed eddie shuler s louisiana-based goldband records. took wearing turban , known count rockin sidney . during period cut on dozen r&b, soul, , blues singles such working baby , soul christmas , without success. between mid-1960s , late 1970s, sidney cut on 50 singles louisiana-based goldband label, working in variety of contemporary blues, soul , r&b modes; none proved successful.

zydeco

in late 1970s sidney performing solo organ gigs @ lake charles hotels , lounges when recognized zydeco s growing popularity. floyd soileau takes partial credit, saying suppose mid- 70s when suggested pick accordion , start doing zydeco making comeback. sidney added instrument repertoire , made traditional folk music of louisiana focus. zydeco long familiar him, creole heritage. clifton chenier , buckwheat zydeco parodies became 1 of performance highlights. chenier, sidney dressed zydeco monarch, complete crown, cape , gold tooth. buckwheat bit done ventriloquist dummy. first zydeco album, give me time woman released in 1982 on maison de soul label.

knew keyboards , half battle, said soileau. in late 1970s, sidney recording new label, bally hoo, , started own publishing company, sid sim publishing. zydeco talents recognized , had hit louisiana creole man. signed lease agreement floyd soileau distribute recordings on soileau s maison de soul records label, giving soileau s flat town music company share of profits. 1980s, sidney had recorded 2 successful albums maison de soul, give me time woman , boogie, blues n zydeco.

toot toot

his big moment came in 1984 when toot toot made him internationally known. sidney wrote song, , released on maison de soul records label in ville platte, louisiana. in october 1984, included tune on third album, zydeco shoes got zydeco blues. recorded entire album @ home studio in lake charles, , played instruments himself. in january 1985, toot toot released single in louisiana , texas, , became first true regional hit. cleon floyd, manager of r&b singer (and uncle to) king floyd, became huge new orleans hit. floyd first heard crowd s reaction song @ bill headlined solomon burke. cleon president of orleans street jocks association , took twenty copies of record city; had order more. mardi gras, jukebox , record hop smash.

huey meaux got original leased epic records (a division of columbia records), released nationally, , brief moment rockin sidney made musical history. epic managed rockin sidney country top 40 stayed 18 weeks. later year, toot toot certified platinum , won grammy award. toot toot became national , international million-selling phenomenon.

sidney featured in people magazine, rolling stone, billboard , music city news , appeared on numerous national tv shows, including nashville now, church street station, hee haw, austin city limits, john fogerty s showtime special, new country , charlie daniels jam. guest celebrity on can star. toot toot played in motion pictures hard luck, 1 cop, , big easy.

toot toot has been covered many artists including fats domino, rosie ledet, jean knight, terrance simien, doug kershaw, denise lasalle, jimmy c. newman , john fogerty. spanish version la sonora dinamita titled mi cucu sold on million copies in mexico, central america, , south america. german beer company licensed use in radio , television commercials. german cover version mein tuut tuut leinemann reached no. 15 on german charts in 1985. on 20 years after toot toot debuted, continued draw royalties commercial use in europe, , cover versions in several languages dozens of musicians.

later years

sidney used royalties toot toot purchase radio station kaok in lake charles. bought festival city, 6-acre (2.4 ha) entertainment complex in lake charles, , started record label, zbc records. after success of toot toot, sidney toured united states , europe , continued record, characteristically playing parts. although nothing before or after ever matched career-defining success of toot toot, several of songs such if s gander, zydeco shoes, jalapeño lena , , ann cayenne have become zydeco staples , played regularly other bands.

after long bout throat cancer, rockin sidney simien succumbed disease in 1998, leaving legacy wife, 3 sons, , 4 grandchildren.