January 13, 2026 • 23 mins
What does it mean to carry the legacy of a musical icon like Clifton Chenier, the King of Zydeco? Join host Buzz Knighton this heartfelt episode of Takin' a Walk Music History on Foot as he sits down with C. J. Chenier, son of the legendary musician, to explore the profound impact of Clifton’s music and the vibrant world of Zydeco. As we celebrate the release of a special box set commemorating Clifton’s 100th birthday, C. J. shares personal stories that reveal the emotional depth behind the music that has defined his life.
Throughout this engaging conversation, C. J. Chenier reflects on his upbringing in a household steeped in music, where the sounds of Zydeco and blues intertwined to create a rich tapestry of culture and tradition. The episode delves into the importance of preserving these musical legacies, as C. J. emphasizes how Zydeco not only brings joy to audiences but also serves as a vital link to the past. Buzz Knight, known for his insightful music history podcasts, guides the discussion, uncovering the stories behind albums and the creative journeys of legendary musicians.
Listeners will be captivated by C. J. 's anecdotes about his father’s interactions with iconic figures like Mick Jagger, showcasing the far-reaching influence of Clifton Chenier and his work.. The episode highlights the essence of Zydeco, a genre that embodies the spirit of community and resilience, making it a significant part of American music history. C. J. also touches on his own musical journey, illustrating how the legacy of his father continues to inspire his career and the music he creates today.
As you tune in to this episode of Takin' a Walk, prepare to be moved by the emotional healing that music can bring. Buzz Knight’s friendly style and C. J. Chenier’s heartfelt reflections create a powerful narrative that explores the cultural impact of music and the enduring spirit of legendary musicians. Whether you’re a fan of classic rock history, jazz music, or simply love discovering indie artists, this episode is a treasure trove of music history insights and inspiring artist interviews.
Join us on this journey as we walk through the legacy of Clifton Chenier, the stories behind the songs, and the vibrant world of Zydeco that continues to resonate today. Don’t miss this chance to connect with the roots and influences that shape our beloved music landscape. Hit play and let the music take you on a walk down memory lane!
#influential music figures #music history on foot #artistic reinvention #music legacy #Buzz Knight
Support the show: https://takinawalk.com/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Taking a Walk.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
I'm buzznight and this is the Taking a Walk Podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Now.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
However, you are checking us out, we appreciate it, but
we do love if you can follow us on all
the platforms, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, or any of the
other platforms. Also, as you follow us, leave us a rating,
leave us a review, share it with your friends. We
really appreciate it. Now today I have the absolute honor
(00:26):
of talking with a true guardian of Louisiana music heritage,
CIJ Shinier. CJ isn't just carrying on a family tradition,
He's preserving and evolving one of America's most vital musical legacies.
As the son of the legendary Clifton Shinier, the undisputed
King of Zydeco, CJ has spent decades honoring his father's
(00:50):
groundbreaking work carving out his own distinctive voice in the
zydeco tradition. This year marks the one hundredth birthday of
Clifton Sheneer, and Smithsonian folk Ways is celebrating with the
release of Clifton Shaneer, King of Louisiana, Blues and Zydaco,
the first ever box set devoted to the visionary artist
(01:12):
who transform African American blues, R and b Afro Caribbean
rhythms and Louisiana, Cajun and Creole music into the electrifying
genre we know as Zydaco. This historic collection features sixty
seven tracks spanning nineteen fifty four to nineteen eighty three,
a lot of unreleased performances. I can't wait next to
(01:35):
talk to CJ. Shanier. I'm taking a walk, Taking a Walk, Well, Ceejy,
welcome to what we call the Taken a Walk Podcast.
It's an absolute honor to have you on.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
That's an honor to be on, I'll tell you. So.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
We we like this opening question here, maybe you can
play along with it. It's a bit, it's a bit
dream me, it's a bit mysterious, and it's supposed to
be fun and heartfelt. So since we call this podcast
taking a Walk, Cejy, is there somebody that you'd like
to take a walk with, living or dead? And who
(02:14):
would that be and where would you take that little
skidaddle with them?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
I'd like to take another walk from my dad. You know,
it wouldn't matter where it was or where it was.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
I was just hoping I wish it could be again.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Oh man, I had a feeling you were going to
tell me that, and I would love to be a
fly on the wall for that too, you know, Yeah,
that would be that would be amazing. Well, twenty twenty
five marks what would have been your father's one hundredth birthday.
And when you hear people call him the King of Zidaco,
(02:51):
what does that title mean to you personally? You know,
beyond just the music.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
It's like a badge of honor, you know, Knowing people
feel like that about my dad and knowing that they
have that thought about him, it's light. I don't know,
it's like I'm super proud, man. I mean it's I
don't think nobody could be more problems than me about that.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Well, you contributed a personal remembrance to the new beautiful
Smithsonian folk Way's box set. Can you tell our audience
what that writing process was like for you? And I'm
pretty certain I know the answer. But were their memories
or stories that you had never shared publicly before that
(03:40):
were part of that?
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Well, it's pretty much, man, I just gave it to him,
like I remember.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
You know, I'm not the.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
Kind of person to try to advocate things and makeup
stuff just to make it seeing better. You know, I
really got involved in my dad's bann this life in
nineteen seventy eight, all before I was growing up with
my mother, you know, and he was a road dog then,
so it was like a thing man being crypta Shania's son.
(04:13):
So what I did was just told everybody exactly how
I felt about things and growing up with and without him,
and you know the effected air on my life, and
just tried to be as straightforward about as a positive becauld.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
This wonderful collection includes nineteen previously unreleased performances. I'm pretty
certain you had heard those performances in some form before,
But were there any that, you know, frankly surprised you
that gave you new insight into the brilliance of your father.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Man, I'll tell you the truth.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
They were night I was on the stage with him,
gave me an insight on his brilliance. You know, It's
just like a living lesson, And it was so good
to be still watching him and seeing how he did things.
I mean, and then when I listened to his playing,
knowing that it ain't never to the lessons nobody never
(05:10):
taught him Now, he's self taught.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Now I listened to some of the things he playing.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
I'm like this, there was some kind of divine intervention
with his fingers man, because it's like, you know, I
listened to those notes and I'm like, well, how did
he come up with that?
Speaker 1 (05:26):
All natural? Just everything was just natural with him.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Take me back to your childhood. What was the earliest
memory that you recall of music in the Shinier household?
And when did you first realize your father wasn't just
your dad, but he was this musical force of nature.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Well, you know, uh, in my household, you know, he
had one Clipo Sire album, you know, and and he
sang in French and I didn't mean to speak French.
So this album had this one song on it and
that song was called hot Rod. It was instrumental, and
(06:10):
to me, that was the greatest song.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
I ever heard because it was like my dad had song.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
And you know, when I was going to school, people
would my classmates, you know, would tease me sometime or
your dadd depended on chanky chain music. And I had
one friend who used to take a piece of paper
and fold it up and a bunch of folds like
a car get and eat it, open wider and go yeah,
you o your head. But the thing about all that is,
even though they were clouding me and talking about the
(06:41):
music because they didn't understand it, they all knew who
he was. So it's like, okay, y'all, y'all dyed me
by my daddy, but you know him.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
And then when I went on the road with.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Him, gave me the opportunity to really see how people
felt about it.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Man, you know, because I was a kid.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
From living and pulled off the texts, I really never
been anywhere, and all of a sudden, I was on
a stay with the king. But to me, it's just
even my daddy. But I was on a stay in
And then I saw how people reacted to him and
how they migrated to him, how they loved him, how
they dance and fringes when he played, and all that
(07:21):
gave me a whole new insights to for who he
really was, you know.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
So that kind of brought the fact that he was.
It was different seeing him as a band leader than
your dad.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Right right right, you know, you know, come, I'll leave
the slippers on and just chilling and everything, you know,
and he tell me stories about something the songs he
had recorded and how people acted to him. But when
I got out there saw it for myself, it was unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Man.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
I had never seen you know, I was playing the
flunk band and stuff like that, and I liked jazz,
but I never saw nobody act like that to funk
our jazz.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
You know, I've never seen anything like that on audio reactions.
So that all that all wrapped me all up into it.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
You know, your uncle Cleveland is featured prominently in the
in the box set as one of the real foundational
Zydaco collaborators. Can you tell us what the musical relationship
was like between the brothers?
Speaker 3 (08:29):
Like I said, man, it was all natural, you know,
It's just like they all came. They came together like
like one. But it was it wasn't a playing thing.
It wasn't a rehears thing. They got up there, they
just did it and and they just it just fell
in place.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
You know. It was like they felt the same thing.
You know.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
So my daddy playing a chore, Cleveland playing voice bawls
just like one person playing both instruments, because they blended
in so well.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
It's incredible. I mean, the box set description how it
talks about your father blending African American blues, R and
B Afro Caribbean rhythms, Louisiana, Cajun and Creole music. So
it was just something that came naturally. It was not
anything that was a conscious place that he went with
(09:25):
all those genres. That's incredible.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Yeah, I mean he walked around hulling the blues all
the time. You know, he was a blue zotical man.
You know, he always hung the blues and they had
different influences. You know that people he listened to and
he seen their song at French Well, it was all
like I said, it wasn't playing you know, he felt
(09:51):
it as he went along or whatever he felt that
he did.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
He never held back anything.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
There's a previously unreleased recording of a song called Mister
Charlie in the set, written by your your father's cousin, uh,
Lightning Hopkins. What can you tell us about that relationship
and how did blues and zydeco intersect in your father's world.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
You know, I came along later on and uh in
his career with Lightning, but uh, you know they were cousins.
You know, I'm not I'm not gonna tell you exactly
know how they were cousins, but they were because Lighting
had his Cadillac parked into my daddy's house in Houston,
and you know, he promised to talk to Lighting and
(10:42):
try to buy it for me. But things didn't happen
every way. But I just think, like I said, my
daddy had a lot of influence because he felt the blues.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
You know, like I said, he was a farmer man.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
He felt the blues because they had the blues back then.
I tell everybody it's like you got to understand where
he came from it, what he had to go through
to do what he did. You know, the blues was present.
He just created a whole nother genre music within itself.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
How does it make you feel how the Stones and
particularly Mick Jagger have embraced your dad's work and his legacy.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Wayne.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
I remember back in nineteen seventy eight or seventy nine
or something like that, we were performing. I just got
in the band and we were performing at Bourbon Day
School in watts in California, and of course the place
for jam Pack. You know, all on stage of my day,
(11:45):
you know, playing the saxophone and man little promotion going
on on the audience, and it was Mick Jagger showed
up at the show that night on well, of course,
you know the old Louisanna folks, they the other two
step and half and they're like, you know, he could
get out the way so I could see cliffs.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
So you know, it's a great thing.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
So I know, Mick Jaggon didn't just all of a
sudden start paying attention to Clifton.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Shit, He's been doing it for years and it's really
an honor.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
You know, someone like that, you know, will take the
time out his business schedule to come and they attribute
to him.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
I discovered something about Austin City Limits and your father
that he performed on the third ever episode of Austin
City Limits alongside the Great Towns van Zant. What did
it mean for Zydeco to be presented on that platform
back in nineteen seventy six.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
I actually performed with him at also City Limits once.
Also what I got in the Bad, which was a
little later. That's seventy six, and so I know, well,
you know, you had a great relationship with Austin, especially
because of Anton's I don't know why I was so
young and so dumb back then. You know, I didn't
(13:11):
know the magnitude of what Alster City Limits was all about,
you know until in the years passed by and I
played with him on there, and then once I had
they had me on there.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
You know, now I see it and I'm like, wow,
that's a big deal. You know what to do? Sometimes
you know dawn on you in the hindsight of twenty twenty.
You know.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
What lessons did your father teach you musically and personally
that still guide your approach and your career today.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Well, musically, uh, we only sat down one time and
played together in Chicago somewhere.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
Well, we was hanging out and uh we were staying
in his basement apartment and hanging out around the kitchen,
and he had as a car and I had mine,
and we played together.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
But he mostly gave me pointers. You know.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
My whole everything I learned came from standing next to him,
watching him, even in a musical life. I paid attention
how he did business and know what he did and
how he did it. You know, it was he wasn't
like I need you to do this, I need you
to do that, and make sure. He wasn't that kind
of person he was just being him, and by him
(14:27):
being him, I was watching him like a hawk man.
I was paying attention, like eyes on all the time
because I was learning. You know, I, like I said,
I got in there. I was twenty years old, you know,
sixty eight. Now I got there twenty years old as
coming out of a funk band. All of a sudden,
I was, like I said, I was on the stage
with the Kings article and I didn't know anything. But
(14:51):
he had patience with me. He let me learn. The
band had patient with me.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
They let me learn.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
And it was all from doing it, not telling it,
showing it. It's all I'm doing with it. My first
night on the first game I ever played was a Tippatinas,
and I had never been in front of audience before,
but he told her that night I needed to open
the show for me. Well, because he got sick and
you know, things changed a little bit. So he put
(15:20):
me in front of the audience at Tippatinas and New Orleans.
So the first time I already played a card in
front of the audience, that was for me watching paying attention.
Of course, I played hot rock because it's pretty much
what I do. A couple of buget songs because I
heard him playing. But you know, it's all hands on experience.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
When you pick up the accordion today, do you feel
the weight of his of his legacy, you know, his
spirit with you at all times?
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Yes, I do, But uh, I often think about him.
You know, Well, I'm on stage and I'm getting I'm
looking out of the audience and I tell myself, all my.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Daddy would be here.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
Now.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
You be pretty proud of what's.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
Going on in home, and especially when I sing that
song I'm coming home, and.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
They don't bring back things.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
You know, there's a new interest in roots music and
regional traditions, which I think is so fantastic. What do
you think zydeco offers listeners today that they might be missing?
And you know, contemporary music.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
The naturalism, it's a natural music. I mean just the
style my daddy created. It wasn't the kind of stuff
you just go right down on paper and write the
song out and stuff like that. It's pretty much similar
to blues. It's all about the field. If you can't
feel it, I mean writing it down on paper, really
(16:52):
want to do a.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Whole lot so you but show you the notes. It's
a field music, and he felt it better than it
about it. You know, he even when he got sick.
Speaker 3 (17:05):
You know, he might struggle playing some stuff, but when
it came to real zotical, which is drums, the watchboard
and accordion only that's a real zotical song. When it
came to that, I don't care how he felt. He
always played that to a maximum effects all the time.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
You know, we have this other podcasts. It's called Music
Saved Me, and it's really about kind of the therapeutic
aspects of music, the healing powers of music. In my opinion,
music in general has those powers, but in particular, I
feel like zydeco really has those those therapeutic powers. I
(17:49):
dare say, CJ, I think you'd probably agree with you.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
I mean, I can't tell you how many times I've
had people to come up to me and say, you know,
I all having a bad day today, he said, But
when you hear his music, it just can't stay sad
and you can't see it still.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
And it's the truth.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
You know, It's like you could you could come to
that show feeling a certain way, but the music, it's
so infectious that before is old with you're gonna have
a big old smile on your face. No matter what
kind of day you had, if you added nothing, you
to show up at that show, You're not gonna leave
the field in the same way.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
What would your father think about the box setting, about
the you know, the one hundred year celebration. Do you
think he'd be surprised, bashful about the recognition? How would
he feel?
Speaker 3 (18:39):
I think he could feel good about it, because you know,
it's a lot of time my daddy show like he
wasn't you know, people, especially when he got ill, and
you know, it's hell start feeling, you know, kind of
fell slightered a little bit. You know, it's because when
he first started off, when you heard the name Cliff,
Everybody's gonna be there. You know, it don't matter all
(18:59):
you had to do it here that name and they
showing up this they're going through the lilut of He'll
Cliff played his Zartico and they was there.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
But you know, after he start his hell starts feeling,
and you know, he kind of sometimes felt like people
were kind of pushing him aside. No, a lot of
people don't know he felt that way, but I do,
And I think right now he saw attention people who
were giving and right now he probably wish it happened
(19:31):
while you're still living, like I do. But if he
could see it right now, I think he'd be happy
about it.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Yeah, isn't that sad that in the moment the great
ones don't always get the deserved recognition and then they
pass on and then it's it's it's different recognition. It's
it's it shouldn't be that way, you know.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Now, I shouldn't, especially when you have somebody like him.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
I mean, think about it. My daddy, Uh invented an instrument.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
I don't know if anybody else in the United States
ever invented instrument, but Shaneer did. He invented the Fortoi
you know. Uh, he designed it and with the help
of a metal worker. That's the way that Landry they
came up with that instrument, you know. And he never
knew nothing about patenting and all that kind of junk.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
All he knew is he.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Wanted something better for his brother to play than the
old one thing used to tie the string around your neck,
you know, but they washed your clothes with and he
came up with that instrument. So you know, he's a pioneer.
In different aspects anxiety core music and forty I don't
think he ever.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Got no credit for invent that instrument.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
One hundred years from now, when people listen to your
dad's music, what do you hope they hear and understand
about him in the world that he came from.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Well, you know, a lot of a lot of people
when I first started playing with him, you know, didn't
have a school know what xiety code was. As a
matter of fact, some people say, what is our deck
coding right now? It's not the right way, you see,
that is anxiety code. But I think through his hard
work man and finally getting people to recognize our funding.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Because it was different. You know, it wasn't some polished
I will let you go in.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
The studio and redo it. He went in the studio.
There was gonna be one take and that was it.
So all this music is really natural with natural sound,
and I hope one hundred years from now people are
able to hear that say, wow, this guy was natural.
You know, you don't have all the additives, you know,
(21:46):
all the stuff you need to put him there to
make a sound of pitch control and different effects and
all this. He didn't have none of that it was
all natural cryptisheer ads on our Cardion CJ.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
As we wrap up, there is there one thing that
we might not have captured here or that wasn't in
the recording or the box set, that you would want
people to know about your daddy.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
My daddy didn't look at being as King of the
Zieticho as some kind of gimmick or some kind.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
Of fan like that. There was his life for real,
you know.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
And at the times he took that crown and put
it on his head, it's because he felt good about
it that night, he felt good about the show, he
felt good about the.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
People, so you put it on. He didn't wear it
all the time.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
And also I like people to know that Chrishanier lived
at King of Zieti Coode. It wasn't a joke to him.
It wasn't a gimmick. It's his real life.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
It's brilliant Smithsonian folk Ways capturing the King of Louisiana
Blues and Zydeco. Clifton ser c J. Shanier a tremendous
honor speaking to you. I hope you're know that you're
always welcome back anytime.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
Thank you very much. Thanks for listening to this episode
of the Taking a Walk podcast. Share this and other
episodes with your friends and follow us so you never
miss an episode.
Speaker 3 (23:16):
Taking a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
and wherever you get your podcasts.
Taking a Walk.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
I'm buzznight and this is the Taking a Walk Podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Now.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
However, you are checking us out, we appreciate it, but
we do love if you can follow us on all
the platforms, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, or any of the
other platforms. Also, as you follow us, leave us a rating,
leave us a review, share it with your friends. We
really appreciate it. Now today I have the absolute honor
(00:26):
of talking with a true guardian of Louisiana music heritage,
CIJ Shinier. CJ isn't just carrying on a family tradition,
He's preserving and evolving one of America's most vital musical legacies.
As the son of the legendary Clifton Shinier, the undisputed
King of Zydeco, CJ has spent decades honoring his father's
(00:50):
groundbreaking work carving out his own distinctive voice in the
zydeco tradition. This year marks the one hundredth birthday of
Clifton Sheneer, and Smithsonian folk Ways is celebrating with the
release of Clifton Shaneer, King of Louisiana, Blues and Zydaco,
the first ever box set devoted to the visionary artist
(01:12):
who transform African American blues, R and b Afro Caribbean
rhythms and Louisiana, Cajun and Creole music into the electrifying
genre we know as Zydaco. This historic collection features sixty
seven tracks spanning nineteen fifty four to nineteen eighty three,
a lot of unreleased performances. I can't wait next to
(01:35):
talk to CJ. Shanier. I'm taking a walk, Taking a Walk, Well, Ceejy,
welcome to what we call the Taken a Walk Podcast.
It's an absolute honor to have you on.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
That's an honor to be on, I'll tell you. So.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
We we like this opening question here, maybe you can
play along with it. It's a bit, it's a bit
dream me, it's a bit mysterious, and it's supposed to
be fun and heartfelt. So since we call this podcast
taking a Walk, Cejy, is there somebody that you'd like
to take a walk with, living or dead? And who
(02:14):
would that be and where would you take that little
skidaddle with them?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
I'd like to take another walk from my dad. You know,
it wouldn't matter where it was or where it was.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
I was just hoping I wish it could be again.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Oh man, I had a feeling you were going to
tell me that, and I would love to be a
fly on the wall for that too, you know, Yeah,
that would be that would be amazing. Well, twenty twenty
five marks what would have been your father's one hundredth birthday.
And when you hear people call him the King of Zidaco,
(02:51):
what does that title mean to you personally? You know,
beyond just the music.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
It's like a badge of honor, you know, Knowing people
feel like that about my dad and knowing that they
have that thought about him, it's light. I don't know,
it's like I'm super proud, man. I mean it's I
don't think nobody could be more problems than me about that.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Well, you contributed a personal remembrance to the new beautiful
Smithsonian folk Way's box set. Can you tell our audience
what that writing process was like for you? And I'm
pretty certain I know the answer. But were their memories
or stories that you had never shared publicly before that
(03:40):
were part of that?
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Well, it's pretty much, man, I just gave it to him,
like I remember.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
You know, I'm not the.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
Kind of person to try to advocate things and makeup
stuff just to make it seeing better. You know, I
really got involved in my dad's bann this life in
nineteen seventy eight, all before I was growing up with
my mother, you know, and he was a road dog then,
so it was like a thing man being crypta Shania's son.
(04:13):
So what I did was just told everybody exactly how
I felt about things and growing up with and without him,
and you know the effected air on my life, and
just tried to be as straightforward about as a positive becauld.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
This wonderful collection includes nineteen previously unreleased performances. I'm pretty
certain you had heard those performances in some form before,
But were there any that, you know, frankly surprised you
that gave you new insight into the brilliance of your father.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Man, I'll tell you the truth.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
They were night I was on the stage with him,
gave me an insight on his brilliance. You know, It's
just like a living lesson, And it was so good
to be still watching him and seeing how he did things.
I mean, and then when I listened to his playing,
knowing that it ain't never to the lessons nobody never
(05:10):
taught him Now, he's self taught.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Now I listened to some of the things he playing.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
I'm like this, there was some kind of divine intervention
with his fingers man, because it's like, you know, I
listened to those notes and I'm like, well, how did
he come up with that?
Speaker 1 (05:26):
All natural? Just everything was just natural with him.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Take me back to your childhood. What was the earliest
memory that you recall of music in the Shinier household?
And when did you first realize your father wasn't just
your dad, but he was this musical force of nature.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
Well, you know, uh, in my household, you know, he
had one Clipo Sire album, you know, and and he
sang in French and I didn't mean to speak French.
So this album had this one song on it and
that song was called hot Rod. It was instrumental, and
(06:10):
to me, that was the greatest song.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
I ever heard because it was like my dad had song.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
And you know, when I was going to school, people
would my classmates, you know, would tease me sometime or
your dadd depended on chanky chain music. And I had
one friend who used to take a piece of paper
and fold it up and a bunch of folds like
a car get and eat it, open wider and go yeah,
you o your head. But the thing about all that is,
even though they were clouding me and talking about the
(06:41):
music because they didn't understand it, they all knew who
he was. So it's like, okay, y'all, y'all dyed me
by my daddy, but you know him.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
And then when I went on the road with.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Him, gave me the opportunity to really see how people
felt about it.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Man, you know, because I was a kid.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
From living and pulled off the texts, I really never
been anywhere, and all of a sudden, I was on
a stay with the king. But to me, it's just
even my daddy. But I was on a stay in
And then I saw how people reacted to him and
how they migrated to him, how they loved him, how
they dance and fringes when he played, and all that
(07:21):
gave me a whole new insights to for who he
really was, you know.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
So that kind of brought the fact that he was.
It was different seeing him as a band leader than
your dad.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Right right right, you know, you know, come, I'll leave
the slippers on and just chilling and everything, you know,
and he tell me stories about something the songs he
had recorded and how people acted to him. But when
I got out there saw it for myself, it was unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Man.
Speaker 3 (07:51):
I had never seen you know, I was playing the
flunk band and stuff like that, and I liked jazz,
but I never saw nobody act like that to funk
our jazz.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
You know, I've never seen anything like that on audio reactions.
So that all that all wrapped me all up into it.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
You know, your uncle Cleveland is featured prominently in the
in the box set as one of the real foundational
Zydaco collaborators. Can you tell us what the musical relationship
was like between the brothers?
Speaker 3 (08:29):
Like I said, man, it was all natural, you know,
It's just like they all came. They came together like
like one. But it was it wasn't a playing thing.
It wasn't a rehears thing. They got up there, they
just did it and and they just it just fell
in place.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
You know. It was like they felt the same thing.
You know.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
So my daddy playing a chore, Cleveland playing voice bawls
just like one person playing both instruments, because they blended
in so well.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
It's incredible. I mean, the box set description how it
talks about your father blending African American blues, R and
B Afro Caribbean rhythms, Louisiana, Cajun and Creole music. So
it was just something that came naturally. It was not
anything that was a conscious place that he went with
(09:25):
all those genres. That's incredible.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Yeah, I mean he walked around hulling the blues all
the time. You know, he was a blue zotical man.
You know, he always hung the blues and they had
different influences. You know that people he listened to and
he seen their song at French Well, it was all
like I said, it wasn't playing you know, he felt
(09:51):
it as he went along or whatever he felt that
he did.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
He never held back anything.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
There's a previously unreleased recording of a song called Mister
Charlie in the set, written by your your father's cousin, uh,
Lightning Hopkins. What can you tell us about that relationship
and how did blues and zydeco intersect in your father's world.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
You know, I came along later on and uh in
his career with Lightning, but uh, you know they were cousins.
You know, I'm not I'm not gonna tell you exactly
know how they were cousins, but they were because Lighting
had his Cadillac parked into my daddy's house in Houston,
and you know, he promised to talk to Lighting and
(10:42):
try to buy it for me. But things didn't happen
every way. But I just think, like I said, my
daddy had a lot of influence because he felt the blues.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
You know, like I said, he was a farmer man.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
He felt the blues because they had the blues back then.
I tell everybody it's like you got to understand where
he came from it, what he had to go through
to do what he did. You know, the blues was present.
He just created a whole nother genre music within itself.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
How does it make you feel how the Stones and
particularly Mick Jagger have embraced your dad's work and his legacy.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Wayne.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
I remember back in nineteen seventy eight or seventy nine
or something like that, we were performing. I just got
in the band and we were performing at Bourbon Day
School in watts in California, and of course the place
for jam Pack. You know, all on stage of my day,
(11:45):
you know, playing the saxophone and man little promotion going
on on the audience, and it was Mick Jagger showed
up at the show that night on well, of course,
you know the old Louisanna folks, they the other two
step and half and they're like, you know, he could
get out the way so I could see cliffs.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
So you know, it's a great thing.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
So I know, Mick Jaggon didn't just all of a
sudden start paying attention to Clifton.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Shit, He's been doing it for years and it's really
an honor.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
You know, someone like that, you know, will take the
time out his business schedule to come and they attribute
to him.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
I discovered something about Austin City Limits and your father
that he performed on the third ever episode of Austin
City Limits alongside the Great Towns van Zant. What did
it mean for Zydeco to be presented on that platform
back in nineteen seventy six.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
I actually performed with him at also City Limits once.
Also what I got in the Bad, which was a
little later. That's seventy six, and so I know, well,
you know, you had a great relationship with Austin, especially
because of Anton's I don't know why I was so
young and so dumb back then. You know, I didn't
(13:11):
know the magnitude of what Alster City Limits was all about,
you know until in the years passed by and I
played with him on there, and then once I had
they had me on there.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
You know, now I see it and I'm like, wow,
that's a big deal. You know what to do? Sometimes
you know dawn on you in the hindsight of twenty twenty.
You know.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
What lessons did your father teach you musically and personally
that still guide your approach and your career today.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Well, musically, uh, we only sat down one time and
played together in Chicago somewhere.
Speaker 3 (13:50):
Well, we was hanging out and uh we were staying
in his basement apartment and hanging out around the kitchen,
and he had as a car and I had mine,
and we played together.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
But he mostly gave me pointers. You know.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
My whole everything I learned came from standing next to him,
watching him, even in a musical life. I paid attention
how he did business and know what he did and
how he did it. You know, it was he wasn't
like I need you to do this, I need you
to do that, and make sure. He wasn't that kind
of person he was just being him, and by him
(14:27):
being him, I was watching him like a hawk man.
I was paying attention, like eyes on all the time
because I was learning. You know, I, like I said,
I got in there. I was twenty years old, you know,
sixty eight. Now I got there twenty years old as
coming out of a funk band. All of a sudden,
I was, like I said, I was on the stage
with the Kings article and I didn't know anything. But
(14:51):
he had patience with me. He let me learn. The
band had patient with me.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
They let me learn.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
And it was all from doing it, not telling it,
showing it. It's all I'm doing with it. My first
night on the first game I ever played was a Tippatinas,
and I had never been in front of audience before,
but he told her that night I needed to open
the show for me. Well, because he got sick and
you know, things changed a little bit. So he put
(15:20):
me in front of the audience at Tippatinas and New Orleans.
So the first time I already played a card in
front of the audience, that was for me watching paying attention.
Of course, I played hot rock because it's pretty much
what I do. A couple of buget songs because I
heard him playing. But you know, it's all hands on experience.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
When you pick up the accordion today, do you feel
the weight of his of his legacy, you know, his
spirit with you at all times?
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Yes, I do, But uh, I often think about him.
You know, Well, I'm on stage and I'm getting I'm
looking out of the audience and I tell myself, all my.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Daddy would be here.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
Now.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
You be pretty proud of what's.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
Going on in home, and especially when I sing that
song I'm coming home, and.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
They don't bring back things.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
You know, there's a new interest in roots music and
regional traditions, which I think is so fantastic. What do
you think zydeco offers listeners today that they might be missing?
And you know, contemporary music.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
The naturalism, it's a natural music. I mean just the
style my daddy created. It wasn't the kind of stuff
you just go right down on paper and write the
song out and stuff like that. It's pretty much similar
to blues. It's all about the field. If you can't
feel it, I mean writing it down on paper, really
(16:52):
want to do a.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Whole lot so you but show you the notes. It's
a field music, and he felt it better than it
about it. You know, he even when he got sick.
Speaker 3 (17:05):
You know, he might struggle playing some stuff, but when
it came to real zotical, which is drums, the watchboard
and accordion only that's a real zotical song. When it
came to that, I don't care how he felt. He
always played that to a maximum effects all the time.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
You know, we have this other podcasts. It's called Music
Saved Me, and it's really about kind of the therapeutic
aspects of music, the healing powers of music. In my opinion,
music in general has those powers, but in particular, I
feel like zydeco really has those those therapeutic powers. I
(17:49):
dare say, CJ, I think you'd probably agree with you.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
I mean, I can't tell you how many times I've
had people to come up to me and say, you know,
I all having a bad day today, he said, But
when you hear his music, it just can't stay sad
and you can't see it still.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
And it's the truth.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
You know, It's like you could you could come to
that show feeling a certain way, but the music, it's
so infectious that before is old with you're gonna have
a big old smile on your face. No matter what
kind of day you had, if you added nothing, you
to show up at that show, You're not gonna leave
the field in the same way.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
What would your father think about the box setting, about
the you know, the one hundred year celebration. Do you
think he'd be surprised, bashful about the recognition? How would
he feel?
Speaker 3 (18:39):
I think he could feel good about it, because you know,
it's a lot of time my daddy show like he
wasn't you know, people, especially when he got ill, and
you know, it's hell start feeling, you know, kind of
fell slightered a little bit. You know, it's because when
he first started off, when you heard the name Cliff,
Everybody's gonna be there. You know, it don't matter all
(18:59):
you had to do it here that name and they
showing up this they're going through the lilut of He'll
Cliff played his Zartico and they was there.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
But you know, after he start his hell starts feeling,
and you know, he kind of sometimes felt like people
were kind of pushing him aside. No, a lot of
people don't know he felt that way, but I do,
And I think right now he saw attention people who
were giving and right now he probably wish it happened
(19:31):
while you're still living, like I do. But if he
could see it right now, I think he'd be happy
about it.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Yeah, isn't that sad that in the moment the great
ones don't always get the deserved recognition and then they
pass on and then it's it's it's different recognition. It's
it's it shouldn't be that way, you know.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
Now, I shouldn't, especially when you have somebody like him.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
I mean, think about it. My daddy, Uh invented an instrument.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
I don't know if anybody else in the United States
ever invented instrument, but Shaneer did. He invented the Fortoi
you know. Uh, he designed it and with the help
of a metal worker. That's the way that Landry they
came up with that instrument, you know. And he never
knew nothing about patenting and all that kind of junk.
Speaker 1 (20:23):
All he knew is he.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Wanted something better for his brother to play than the
old one thing used to tie the string around your neck,
you know, but they washed your clothes with and he
came up with that instrument. So you know, he's a pioneer.
In different aspects anxiety core music and forty I don't
think he ever.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Got no credit for invent that instrument.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
One hundred years from now, when people listen to your
dad's music, what do you hope they hear and understand
about him in the world that he came from.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Well, you know, a lot of a lot of people
when I first started playing with him, you know, didn't
have a school know what xiety code was. As a
matter of fact, some people say, what is our deck
coding right now? It's not the right way, you see,
that is anxiety code. But I think through his hard
work man and finally getting people to recognize our funding.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Because it was different. You know, it wasn't some polished
I will let you go in.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
The studio and redo it. He went in the studio.
There was gonna be one take and that was it.
So all this music is really natural with natural sound,
and I hope one hundred years from now people are
able to hear that say, wow, this guy was natural.
You know, you don't have all the additives, you know,
(21:46):
all the stuff you need to put him there to
make a sound of pitch control and different effects and
all this. He didn't have none of that it was
all natural cryptisheer ads on our Cardion CJ.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
As we wrap up, there is there one thing that
we might not have captured here or that wasn't in
the recording or the box set, that you would want
people to know about your daddy.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
My daddy didn't look at being as King of the
Zieticho as some kind of gimmick or some kind.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
Of fan like that. There was his life for real,
you know.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
And at the times he took that crown and put
it on his head, it's because he felt good about
it that night, he felt good about the show, he
felt good about the.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
People, so you put it on. He didn't wear it
all the time.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
And also I like people to know that Chrishanier lived
at King of Zieti Coode. It wasn't a joke to him.
It wasn't a gimmick. It's his real life.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
It's brilliant Smithsonian folk Ways capturing the King of Louisiana
Blues and Zydeco. Clifton ser c J. Shanier a tremendous
honor speaking to you. I hope you're know that you're
always welcome back anytime.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
Thank you very much. Thanks for listening to this episode
of the Taking a Walk podcast. Share this and other
episodes with your friends and follow us so you never
miss an episode.
Speaker 3 (23:16):
Taking a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
and wherever you get your podcasts.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Betrayal Season 5
Saskia Inwood woke up one morning, knowing her life would never be the same. The night before, she learned the unimaginable – that the husband she knew in the light of day was a different person after dark. This season unpacks Saskia’s discovery of her husband’s secret life and her fight to bring him to justice. Along the way, we expose a crime that is just coming to light. This is also a story about the myth of the “perfect victim:” who gets believed, who gets doubted, and why. We follow Saskia as she works to reclaim her body, her voice, and her life. If you would like to reach out to the Betrayal Team, email us at betrayalpod@gmail.com. Follow us on Instagram @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.