C. J. Chenier

C. J. Chenier (born Clayton Joseph Thompson, September 28, 1957) is an American zydeco musician. He is the son of zydeco musician Clifton Chenier. In 1987, Chenier followed in his father's footsteps and led his father's band as an accordion performer and singer of zydeco, a blend of cajun and creole music. With five previous albums to his credit, by 1994, Chenier began to record for Chicago-based Alligator Records.

Career Chenier grew up in the 1960s, in the housing projects of his birthplace of Port Arthur, Texas. He is the son of the Grammy Award-winning "King of Zydeco", Clifton Chenier. There, Chenier was aware of, but not exposed to, his father's music as a young child, and had not heard the word zydeco until later in his youth. Instead, Chenier developed tastes in the 1970s soul, funk and jazz music of James Brown, Funkadelic, John Coltrane and Miles Davis.

Upon first listening to his father's music, Chenier thought all the songs sounded the same. But he eventually began to appreciate and master the zydeco style, as he later joined and then took over his father's band and career. The first instrument Chenier learned to play was the saxophone. By 1985, as his father was growing ill from diabetes, he invited Chenier to start playing the accordion in a larger role with the band, and to open the shows.

By October 1994, Chenier was signed by Alligator. His debut release there was Too Much Fun, named the next year as best zydeco album of 1995 by Living Blues magazine. In 1995, Chenier gained his widest audience to date with television appearances on the Jon Stewart Show and CNN. His 1996 appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival was featured in a segment by the VH1 cable music television network, as well as by Entertainment Weekly.

Chenier and the band also appeared that year at the Austin, Texas, 1996 SxSW Music Conference, a special event for Alligator Records' 25th anniversary. Chenier won the 1997 Living Blues' Critics' Poll Award and also an AFIM Indie Award for best zydeco album, for his next release, The Big Squeeze. In 2001, Chenier played in front of 60,000 fans at the Chicago Blues Festival. In 2001, his recording Step It Up! was released, recorded at Dockside Studios in Maurice, Louisiana.

Chenier paternity dispute Chenier's attempt to gain a portion of Clifton Chenier's estate failed in Louisiana courts in 2006, due to lack of proof that he is his biological son. In 2014, Chenier appeared on stage at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards to accept a Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of Clifton, accompanied by Clifton's nephew, Mike Vital. Later that year, members of Clifton's family filed a lawsuit claiming that C.J., born Clayton Joseph Thompson, is not the biological son of Clifton and was illegally profiting from the Chenier name. They claim the late zydeco legend was physically unable to have children. C.J. claims that when he was in his twenties, he was claimed by Clifton as his son, after which they began to collaborate musically.

Discography C. J. Chenier & The Red Hot Louisiana Band Hot Rod (Slash Records), 1990 My Baby Don't Wear No Shoes (Arhoolie Records), 1992 Too Much Fun (Alligator Records), 1995 The Big Squeeze (Alligator Records), 1996 Step It Up! (Alligator Records), 2001

C. J. Chenier I Ain't No Playboy (Slash Records), 1992 The Desperate Kingdom Of Love (World Village Records), 2006 Can't Sit Down (World Village Records), 2011

Limited editions Live at 2012 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Munck Music), 2012 Live at 2013 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Munck Music), 2013 Live at 2014 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Munck Music), 2014 Live at 2015 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Munck Music), 2015 Live at 2016 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Munck Music), 2016 Live at 2017 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Munck Music), 2017 Live at 2018 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Munck Music), 2018 Live at 2019 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Munck Music), 2019