Rockin' Sidney
b. Sidney Semien, 9 April 1938, Lebeau, Louisiana, USA, 25 February 1998, Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA. The full range of black south Louisiana music - blues, R&B, swamp pop and zydeco - can be found in the work of Rockin' Sidney, who was born and grew up in the French-speaking part of that state. Many of his records are characterized by a light approach - even his blues tracks frequently opt for melody rather than emotional expression. Nevertheless, he recorded regularly for over 30 years, from early singles on the local Jin and Goldband labels to albums self-produced in his own studio. In the early 80s, he achieved a wider profile through the success of his song "Toot Toot". He was unable to ever recapture its novelty appeal, despite evident hard work: later recordings featured Semien playing all of the instruments. His infectious and accessible songs did much to broaden the appeal of zydeco music in Europe.
Listen to Rockin' Sidney
at Finetune.
Albums
- (1993) Mais Yeah Chere!
Top Tracks
- My Toot-Toot
- Mais Yeah Chere!
- Corrine
- Go Chere Go
- Color Me Zydeco
Related Artists
- Buckwheat Zydeco
- Queen Ida
- Boozoo Chavis
- Clifton Chenier
- Beausoleil
- Nathan & The Zydeco Cha-Chas
- Bo Dollis & The Wild Magnolias
- Zachary Richard
- Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys
- Geno Delafose
- The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
- John Delafose
- Allen Toussaint
- Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
- C.J. Chenier & The Red Hot Louisiana Band
- Beau Jocque/Zydeco Hi-Rollers
- New Orleans Nightcrawlers
- Chubby Carrier & The Bayou Swamp Band
- Doug Kershaw
- Jo-El Sonnier