Nathan Williams

Nathan Williams Sr. (born March 24, 1963) is an American zydeco accordionist, singer and songwriter. He established his band Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas in 1985.

Early life Williams grew up Catholic in a French Creole-speaking home in St. Martinville, Louisiana, the youngest of seven children. Williams lost his father when he was seven years old.

He developed his musical sensibility in his hometown, a place rich in folk tradition, following in the footsteps of his uncle, the Creole guitarist Harry Hypolite, who was a band member with both Clifton Chenier and later with his son C. J. Chenier. The young Williams eagerly sought out the music of zydeco originators such as Chenier. When he was too young to attend a Chenier dance at a St. Martinville club, he hovered by the window-sized fan at the back of the building to hear his idol, only to have the bill of his baseball cap clipped off by the fan when he leaned too close.

When he was 13, Sid Williams purchased his brother's first accordion from Buckwheat Zydeco.

Career

Williams began playing professionally around the age of 21. Williams named the band after a Chenier instrumental song. In 1988, Williams and the band performed for the first time at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

The Cha Chas played at the New Orleans Rock n' Bowl for the first time in November 1992. After their successful performances as well as those by John Delafose and Beau Jocques, the venue began to host zydeco bands every Thursday night beginning in spring 1993. In 1997, Williams released a live album recorded at the club, titled I'm a Zydeco Hog: Live at the Rock 'N' Bowl, New Orleans. Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas performed at the 30th anniversary celebration of the venue in November 2018. A few months later, the newspaper described him as "rightly considered one of the best young zydeco musicians in Louisiana".

His musical style combines elements of zydeco, jazz, blues and R&B. Williams writes most of the band's original tunes.

For more than three decades, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas have toured widely, performing at venues as diverse as his brother's convenience store in Lafayette, Louisiana to the Lincoln Center in New York and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. The Cha Chas performed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Internationally, he has performed in Austria, Spain, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Turkey and Germany, among others. They were the first zydeco band to perform in Poland.

In 2008, Williams played accordion on Buddy Guy's album Skin Deep.

In 2013, he founded his own record label, Cha Cha Records, which releases albums by both Williams Sr. and Williams Jr.

In 2022, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas toured with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, playing 30 dates across the United States, promoted as the Mardi Gras Mambo Tour.

Nathan & the Zydeco Cha-Chas were nominated for a 2023 Grammy Award in the Best Regional Roots Music Album category, for Lucky Man.

Personal life When he is not touring, Williams runs a trucking company named Cha Cha Hot Shot Service that hauls equipment for the Louisiana oil and gas industry. The couple have three children. He released his debut album Zydeco Ballin' in 2002, at age 14. Since then, he has led his own band, Lil' Nathan and the Zydeco Big Timers, playing accordion and keyboards.

Williams' youngest son Naylan is also a musician and record producer. He played most of the instruments on his father's 2022 album Lucky Man.

His older brother Dennis Paul Williams, in addition to being a jazz and zydeco guitarist, is a well-known visual artist, whose mixed media works have been exhibited in multiple U.S. cities and in Europe. His paintings were featured in a 2013 book titled Soul Exchange and appear on the covers of two books by poet John Warner Smith.

Discography Studio and live albums

Singles Song title(s) Album title Record label Stock number Release year Note(s)"If You Got A Problem" / "Tonight's The Night" (performed by Sara Dow)Steady Rock / Maison de Soul45-10541989?7", 45 RPM"I Got The Zydeco Blues (Down in My Shoes)" / "Everybody Calls Me Crazy (But My Name Is Nathan Williams)"El Sid O's RecordsES-10019877", 45 RPM"Bye Bye My Little Moma" / "Louisiana Waltz"El Sid O's RecordsES-10119877", 45 RPM

Various artist compilation albums

Filmography 1994: The Kingdom of Zydeco (documentary, directed by Robert Mugge), includes commentary and a performance by Williams 2009: In the Electric Mist (feature film directed by Bertrand Tavernier), cameo appearance 2010: Rounder Records 40th Anniversary Concert, aired on PBS, includes a performance by Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas

Awards and honors 2002: Best of the Beat Award for Best Zydeco Band or Performer 2005: inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame 2006: Best of the Beat Award for Best Zydeco Band or Performer 2012: Big Easy Music Award for Best Zydeco Band 2012: Zydeco Music Association Lifetime Achievement Award 2015: Zydeco, Blues and Trailride (ZBT) Clifton Chenier Lifetime Achievement Award 2017: Landry Vineyards in West Monroe, Louisiana unveiled their "Nathan Williams Zydeco Wine" label in honor of the musician who performed at the venue for many years 2023: Grammy Award nomination in the Best Regional Roots Music Album category, for Lucky Man unknown year: voted top festival band in the country