The New York Times said,: “Stanley ‘Buckwheat’ Dural leads one of the best bands in America. A down-home and high-powered celebration, meaty and muscular with a fine-tuned sense of dynamics…propulsive rhythms, incendiary performances.” USA Today called him “a zydeco trailblazer.” Buckwheat Zydeco performed with a large number of famous musicians from Eric Clapton (with whom he also recorded) and U2 to the Boston Pops. The band performed at the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics to a worldwide audience of three billion people. Buckwheat performed for President Clinton twice, celebrating both of his inaugurations. The band appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman, CNN, The Today Show, MTV, NBC News, CBS Morning News, National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition.
Dural was born in Lafayette, Louisiana. He acquired his nickname as a youth, because, with his braided hair, he looked like the character Buckwheat from Our Gang/The Little Rascals movies. His father, a farmer, was an accomplished amateur traditional Creole accordion player, but young Dural preferred listening to and playing rhythm and blues.
Dural became proficient at the organ, and by the late 1950s he was backing Joe Tex, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown and many others.
In 1971, he founded Buckwheat & the Hitchhikers, a funk band that he led for five years before switching to zydeco. They were a local sensation and found success with the single, “It’s Hard To Get,” recorded for a local Louisiana-based label.
He began backing Clifton Chenier, one of the most legendary zydeco performers. Though not a traditional zydeco fan when growing up, Buckwheat accepted an invitation in 1976 to join Clifton Chenier’s Red Hot Louisiana Band as organist. He quickly discovered the popularity of zydeco music, and marveled at the effect the music had on the audience. “Everywhere, people young and old just loved zydeco music,” Dural says. “I had so much fun playing that first night with Clifton. We played for four hours and I wasn’t ready to quit.”
Dural's relationship with the legendary Chenier led him to take up the accordion in 1978. After practicing for a year, he felt ready to start his own band under the name Buckwheat Zydeco. They debuted with One for the Road in 1979 on the Blues Unlimited label and then recorded for New Orleans’ Black Top label. In 1983, they were nominated for a Grammy Award for Turning Point and in 1985 for Waitin’ For My Ya Ya after switching to the Rounder Records label. The band then signed to Island Records, becoming the first zydeco act on a major label, and released On a Night Like This, a critically acclaimed album that was nominated for a Grammy as well. The band appeared in the movie The Big Easy in 1987.
In 1988, Eric Clapton invited the band to open his North American tour as well as his 12-night stand at London’s Royal Albert Hall. As even more doors opened, Buckwheat found himself sharing stages and/or recording with Keith Richards, Robert Plant, Willie Nelson, Mavis Staples, David Hidalgo, Dwight Yoakam, Paul Simon, Ry Cooder, the Cherry Poppin' Daddies and many others, including indie music stalwarts Yo La Tengo on the soundtrack to the Bob Dylan bio-pic, I'm Not There. His music has been featured in films including The Waterboy, The Big Easy, Fletch Lives and Hard Target. BET’s show Comic View, used his live version of “What You Gonna Do?” as theme music for the program’s 10th anniversary “Pardi Gras” season. He also wrote and performed the theme music for the PBS television series Pierre Franey’s Cooking In America. Buckwheat won an Emmy for his music in the CBS TV movie, Pistol Pete: The Life And Times Of Pete Maravich.
Buckwheat Zydeco has played many major music festivals, including the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (numerous times), Newport Folk Festival, Summerfest, San Diego Street Scene, Bumbershoot, Montreux Jazz Festival, the Voodoo Experience, and countless others.
During the 1990s and early 2000s Buckwheat recorded for his own Tomorrow Recordings label and maintained an extensive touring schedule. Buckwheat Zydeco's latest album, Lay Your Burden Down, was released on May 5, 2009 on the Alligator Records label. It was produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos and included guest appearances by guitarists Warren Haynes and Sonny Landreth, Trombone Shorty, JJ Grey and Berlin himself. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award. Sonicboomers.com says, “The CD is a vastly entertaining and appealingly diverse package. Bandleader Dural remains an ever-engaging vocalist and a whiz on any keyboard he touches. So, for Buckwheat Zydeco fans, Lay Your Burden Down finds the maestro and his group near the top of their form. For listeners with less interest in the ol' accordion get-down, the collection supplies enough interesting wrinkles to get the good times rolling."
Buckwheat’s especially powerful and haunting version of the classic "Cryin' in the Streets" appears on the benefit album for Hurricane Katrina recovery, Our New Orleans: A Benefit Album for the Gulf Coast.
Buckwheat's version of Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy's "When the Levee Breaks" appeared on 2011's Alligator Records 40th Anniversary Collection. It originally appeared on the 2009 Buckwheat Zydeco album Lay Your Burden Down.
Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural Jr. died on September 24, 2016, at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center. Dural, who had lung cancer, was 68.
When the Levee Breaks
Buckwheat Zydeco Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break
When The Levee Breaks I'll have no place to stay
Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan
Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan
Got what it takes to make a mountain man leave his home
Oh, well, oh, well, oh, well
Don't it make you feel bad
When you're tryin' to find your way home
You don't know which way to go?
If you're goin' down South
They go no work to do
If you don't know about Chicago
Cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good
Now, cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good
When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move
All last night sat on the levee and moaned
All last night sat on the levee and moaned
Thinkin' about me baby and my happy home
Going, going to Chicago... Going to Chicago...
Sorry but I can't take you...
Going down... going down now... going down....
Buckwheat Zydeco's song "When the Levee Breaks" is a cover of the classic blues song originally recorded by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie in 1929. The song was later popularized by Led Zeppelin in 1971. The song's lyrics are about the devastating impact of a flood caused by a levee that has broken due to heavy rainfall. The singer sings about the fear of losing their home and having nowhere to go if the levee breaks due to rain that keeps on pouring.
The lyrics also delve into the emotional impact of the flood, as the singer is taught to "weep and moan" by the "mean old levee." The song expresses the frustration of being lost and unsure of where to go, with no work to do if going down South, and the singer considering going to Chicago. The song concludes with the singer feeling helpless and moaning on the levee, thinking about their lost love and happy home, and ultimately heads to Chicago, leaving their past behind.
Line by Line Meaning
If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break
With the continuous heavy rain, the levee is going to break soon.
When The Levee Breaks I'll have no place to stay
If the levee breaks, I'll be homeless and without a place to stay.
Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan
The terrible levee caused me to constantly cry and complain.
Got what it takes to make a mountain man leave his home Oh, well, oh, well, oh, well
The destructive nature of the levee could even make the toughest of people abandon their home.
Don't it make you feel bad When you're tryin' to find your way home You don't know which way to go?
It's disheartening when you're lost and have no idea which direction to take to get back home.
If you're goin' down South They go no work to do If you don't know about Chicago
There are no job opportunities in the South so people often migrate to Chicago for better prospects.
Now, cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do you no good When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move
If the levee breaks, crying and praying won't be of any help and you'll have to evacuate.
All last night sat on the levee and moaned Thinkin' about me baby and my happy home Going, going to Chicago... Going to Chicago... Sorry but I can't take you... Going down... going down now... going down....
Thinking about my family and home, but realizing that I have to leave through Chicago due to an impending disaster and not being able to take anyone with me.
Contributed by Aria O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Zenobia Chaney
on Mon Papa
I've always loved the Music in this Cajun Waltz-I Loved my grandpapas. I spent a lot of time with my grandparents and their generation.