C.J. Chenier

Music

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Can't Sit Down

Album: Can't Sit Down

Released: Sep 13, 2011

Label: world village

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Can't Sit Down
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Clap Hands
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Paper In My Shoe
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The Desperate Kingdom of Love
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Learning to Live
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Total Plays: 49,387 / Plays Today: 9See All Featured ►

Music

Can't Sit Down
11 Songs | Sep 13, 2011
My Baby Don't Wear No Shoes
12 Songs | Jan 25, 2011
The Desperate Kingdom of Love
11 Songs | May 9, 2006
Step It Up!
13 Songs | May 3, 2006
Too Much Fun
13 Songs | May 3, 2006
The Big Squeeze
14 Songs | May 3, 2006

NEWS

CAN'T SIT DOWN NOMINATED AT THE 54TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS!

Congratulations to C.J. Chenier for his nomination in the Best Regional Roots Music category at the 54th Annual GRAMMY® Awards for his latest album Can't Sit Down! If C.J. wins, it will be the first case of father and son winners in Zydeco - Clifton Chenier won in 1984 for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording.

The 54th Annual GRAMMY® Awards ceremony will be held on Feb. 12, 2012 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and will be broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Press for Can't Sit Down:

"His vocals and accordion continue to drip with top-line Louisiana hot sauce, keeping the good times rolling with energized adaptations of blues and Creole r&b classics." - Downbeat, January 2012

"He’s back to party-band mode this time [but] dipping back into the unlikely covers well...without sacrificing danceability...Curtis Mayfield’s “We Gotta Have Peace” is…the best example of his band’s flair for arrangements...What it does do is kick butt." - OffBeat Magazine

"This music is about as real as it gets... [the] take of ‘Please Don’t Go’ would make Muddy Waters green with envy. If you wanna get out of your funk, play this a few times. Guaranteed results. " - Jazz Weekly

NEW ALBUM CAN'T SIT DOWN OUT SEPT 13
ON WORLD VILLAGE

C.J. Chenier was literally born into the musical tradition of southwest Louisiana and Texas Zydeco, a chugging, accordion-led blend of French Creole and African-derived influences. Born the son of great Zydeco king Clifton Chenier, the first Grammy Award winning musician of his genre, C.J. was totally immersed in R&B, funk and jazz from childhood. After his father's death in 1987, C.J. assumed leadership of his father's legendary Red Hot Louisiana Band. While he continued to develop his personal accordion style, C.J. also gradually began grafting on influences from his boyhood.

Can't Sit Down is his second recording for World Village. His previous album, The Desperate Kingdom of Love, was named a Best Album of The Year in PopMatters and the Chicago Tribune.

"C.J. Chenier carries on where his father left off, playing muscular blues and steamroller two-steps and singing in French and English, then playing solos that skitter all over the accordion
- New York Times

"C.J. Chenier gives the bayou dance music a modern makover... C.J. expands and carves out his own distinctive brand of zydeco."
- Houston Chronicle

BIO:

C.J. Chenier, son of the 'King of Zydeco' Clifton Chenier, joined his father's Red-Hot Louisiana Band playing saxophone at the age of 21. After Clifton's death in 1987, C.J. picked up the accordion and took charge of his father's ministry - to spread the word of Zydeco music to the world. Since then, Chenier has pushed the genre to new heights with his virtuosity. The Boston Globe has called him "the crown prince of zydeco," and Living Blues magazine hails him as "the best living zydeco singer and accordionist." His musical style ranges from the traditional zydeco of Clifton Chenier right on up to modern funk with healthy doses of blues, R&B, swamp pop and even country. C.J.'s total mastery of the accordion combined with his rich, satisfying voice are the driving forces behind this power-house zydeco band.