The Rolling Stones’ contribution to an upcoming tribute album celebrating the late King of Zydeco, Clifton Chenier, has just been released.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers have covered the track “Zydeco Sont Pas Salés,” which features accordion player Steve Riley and includes Chenier’s original 1965 recording of the song.
“The Stones are truly honored to be on this tribute album amongst a stellar cast of artists and musicians,” the band shares. “Clifton Chenier was one of the most influential musicians to come out of Louisiana. He turned so many people onto the wonderful free spirited dance music of zydeco, including ourselves back in the day.”
They add, “Although the development of any music style can seldom be attributed to one artist, there is not a zydeco band who has not followed the template Chenier created.”
The track is now available via digital outlets, with a limited-edition 7-inch vinyl dropping on Friday.
The complete album, A Tribute to the King of Zydeco, will also be released on Friday. In addition to The Stones, the 14-track album features covers from Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Taj Mahal, John Hiatt and Jimmie Vaughan.
Chenier, who would have turned 100 on Wednesday, helped pioneer zydeco, a music genre created in Louisiana that blends blues, R&B and Afro-Cuban rhythms with music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles. He won a Grammy Award in 1983 for his album I’m Here. In 2014 he was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Chenier passed away in 1987 at the age of 62.
Proceeds from the album benefit the all-new Clifton Chenier Memorial Scholarship at the University of Louisiana Lafayette. The album is available for preorder now.
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