Latest news with #Chenier
Ottawa Citizen
02-08-2025
- General
- Ottawa Citizen
Gull wires at Britannia Beach: Some love them, others really hate them
Article content Her veterinarian father kept pheasants, peacocks, chickens and geese, while her mother loved watching birds and owls from their backyard. Article content Article content Combined with family time spent camping in the Canadian wilderness, it was only natural that Niwa's love for nature would push her to join Safe Wings Ottawa in 2017. Article content 'It's a small thing,' she said, 'but I can make an impact.' Article content Article content Safe Wings Ottawa is a volunteer-led group dedicated to helping birds, which estimates that around 250,000 of them die in the city each year. As a volunteer, Niwa understands how the city can be dangerous to feathered friends — from bird-window collisions to fishing line-like wires hanging above waters at Ottawa beaches. Article content Article content Gull wires are implemented above swimming areas to deter seagulls from congregating and producing feces that pollute the waters. A 'handful' of seagulls get caught in the wires per year, needing rescue from Safe Wings Ottawa volunteers, Niwa says. Article content The nets are 'very clear and for people it's hard to see. That's part of the reason it doesn't deter our view,' she says. 'They say, 'Oh, gulls have great visual acuity. They can see them.' Article content Article content Britannia Beach is the only municipal Ottawa beach with gull wires still installed following a hiatus there in 2022 to test alternative bird-deterring methods, Dan Chenier, the city's general manager of recreation, cultural and facility services, wrote in an emailed statement. Article content Article content 'The system is designed to deter gulls that tend to gather on beach areas and contribute to elevated E. Coli levels in designated swimming zones,' Chenier wrote. Article content Gull wires can cause risks to birds who get caught up and tangled in the wires. However, some Britannia Village residents and Bay Ward Coun. Theresa Kavanagh say the gull wires are effective for deterring seagulls from polluting the waters that Ottawans swim in. Article content 'Water quality at our beaches has significantly improved in recent years as a result of targeted efforts to manage environmental factors that may have an impact, which includes the gull deterrent system,' Chenier wrote. 'We continue to monitor conditions and explore innovative solutions to ensure safe and enjoyable beach experiences for everyone.'
San Francisco Chronicle
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
The Rolling Stones just dropped their best single in decades — on a Bay Area label
The Rolling Stones have released a spirited cover of Clifton Chenier's 'Zydeco Sont Pas Salés' — sung entirely in French by Mick Jagger — on a small Bay Area label with deep roots in American folk and roots music. The track leads 'A Tribute to the King of Zydeco,' a 14-song compilation celebrating what would have been Chenier's 100th birthday. The album features contributions from Lucinda Williams, Taj Mahal, Steve Earle and others. Founded in 1960 by Chris Strachwitz, Arhoolie became a vital archive of regional American music, documenting artists such as Texas bluesman Lightnin' Hopkins, accordionist Flaco Jiménez and Chenier himself, the Louisiana Creole accordionist widely regarded as the father of zydeco. More than half a century after Arhoolie helped elevate zydeco from Louisiana dancehalls to global audiences, it now brings the genre to one of the most iconic rock bands in the world. Produced by Louisiana musician C.C. Adcock, the Stones' version features accordionist Steve Riley and longtime Chenier drummer Robert St. Julien, blending traditional zydeco elements with the band's signature swagger. Stones guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood recorded their parts in New York and London. The recording appears on a limited-edition 7-inch single, paired with Chenier's original 1965 version. Proceeds benefit the Clifton Chenier Memorial Scholarship Fund and support Smithsonian Folkways' preservation work. 'The Stones are truly honored to be on this tribute album amongst a stellar cast of artists and musicians,' the band said in a statement. '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.' The Rolling Stones previously covered 'You've Gotta Move,' a Mississippi Fred McDowell song recorded by Strachwitz, on their 1971 album 'Sticky Fingers.' This November, Smithsonian Folkways will release 'Clifton Chenier: King of Louisiana Blues and Zydeco,' a box set produced by Grammy winner Adam Machado. The collection includes rare live material, a career-spanning retrospective and a 160-page book of essays and photographs. A 1971 live recording of 'Mr. Charlie,' broadcast on KSAN in San Francisco, is available digitally now.
Bangkok Post
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Bangkok Post
Remembering the King of Zydeco
Music fans celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of the King of Zydeco, Clifton Chenier, late last month. Chenier (June 25, 1925 -- December 12, 1987) was a pioneering musician from Opelousas, Southwest Louisiana who helped create zydeco music, a genre sung in French creole (his first language) that came out of the Creole traditions of the region, spliced with blues, R&B and Cajun music. Zydeco, which takes its name from an Anglicisation of the French word haricot (snap beans) -- most famously in Chenier's genre-defining hit, Zydeco Sont Pas Sales -- is the music of black communities in Louisiana and parts of Texas. It is based on the accordion, a rubboard (or frottoir) and drums, while Cajun is the music of French settlers. Last week, The Rolling Stones released a limited edition vinyl 7" single, with their version of Chenier's signature tune, Zydeco Sont Pas Sales on one side, and Chenier's original recording on the flip side. The single is part of Box set, King Of Louisiana Blues And Zydeco, which features his seminal recordings from 1954 to 1983. The box set is available in 4-CD or 6-LP vinyl set (a whopping 67 tracks) with an illustrated 160-page booklet that includes an essay by radio DJ Nick Spitzer and an interview with Chenier's son, and musician CJ Chenier. The tribute compilation released on the Smithsonian Folkways label which acquired Arhoolie, an independent folk and blues based label found by Chris Strachwitz (his 1965 recordings of a live session are included in the album's line-up and the version of Zydeco Sont Pas Sales on the 7" single is from this session), in 2016. For more information on this new release plus events being held to celebrate Chenier's life and career, head on over to The music video of The Rolling Stones cover is already online, so you can check out and hear Mick Jagger sing in French creole (he also adds R&B harmonica) on a track that doesn't attempt to recreate an authentic cover. Instead, it gives Chenier's song the Stones treatment -- a sort of rock and roll version. Reports say that Jagger has been a fan of the genre since he saw Chenier perform in the mid-1960s. Born into a musical family, he accompanied his father playing at 'Saturday night fish fry' dances. His father played the diatonic or button accordion (as did all zydeco players initially before migrating to the full chromatic accordion) and his uncle played fiddle. He absorbed blues from Muddy Waters and Lightin' Hopkins, as well as zydeco (and La-La, the genre before zydeco emerged) creole musicians like Sidney Babineaux. He began playing the accordion around 1947. The period just after WWII brought great musical change -- R&B was being created in New Orleans by pioneers like Professor Longhair and in Chicago (harmonica led), Kansas City and Los Angeles (saxophone led) and this fed into Chenier's music, so that in addition to the zydeco two-step songs he performed (when instruments like the accordion and harmonica arrived with German immigrants, the local Creole population was quick to adapt the instrument and some of the songs, as did Latin musicians as they developed Tex-Mex music (think of Flaco Jimenez). As a result, Chenier became a master of adapting his music to the audience he was performing for -- his R&B and soul-tinged songs maintained his popularity throughout his career. When I DJ an R&B and soul night I always spin a few two-steps and zydeco R&B tracks to perk up the dancefloor (zydeco is highly infectious). My current favourite is a 1976 Chenier track, Ti Na Na. Kudos to the Smithsonian for releasing a tribute to one of the USA's great musical pioneers. Long may it continue. Finally, World Beat salutes the incredible career of Argentine jazz pianist and movie soundtrack maestro Lalo Shifrin, who died last week aged 93. It was the late music collector Alfred Pawlin, of Visual Dhamma Gallery, who alerted me to the amazing career of this master composer. You all know the first few notes of the Mission Impossible TV theme -- and I'll bet you can summon it effortlessly from your musical memory. You might forget where you left your house keys but not the Mission Impossible tune! This is just a partial list of his movie scores: Cool Hand Luke, Bullitt, Enter The Dragon, The Eagle Has Landed, Amityville Horror, the Dirty Harry films (a collaboration with Clint Eastwood) and many more.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Rolling Stones Cover Clifton Chenier, King of Zydeco, to Mark His Centenary
The Rolling Stones are once again waving the flag of their musical forebears with a cover of Clifton Chenier's zydeco tune 'Zydeco Sont Pas Salés.' Chenier, an accordionist and singer who would have turned 100 today, was a pioneer of zydeco, an accordion-reliant, blues-based and rhythm-heavy folk form from Louisiana. He released his first single, 'Cliston Blues,' in 1954. More from Variety Sydney Sweeney Rejects Claim She Was 'Objectified' in Rolling Stones Music Video: 'I Find Empowerment Through Embracing' My Body Blink-182 Leads Albums Chart With Reunion Record, the Rolling Stones Debut at No. 3 Mick Jagger on New Rolling Stones Album, U.S. Politics and Mortality: 'As You Get Older, a Lot of Your Friends Die' The Rolling Stones' cover, featuring accordionist Steve Riley and Mick Jagger singing in French Creole, is the latest teaser from the forthcoming compilation album 'A Tribute to the King of Zydeco' via Valcour Records. The album is set to feature Lucinda Williams, Taj Mahal, Steve Earle and Chenier's son, the accordionist C.J. Chenier, among others. Profits from the record will go towards the Clifton Chenier Memorial Scholarship Fund. 'It's fun to do these things,' Jagger told Rolling Stone. 'Sometimes, they work out, and sometimes they don't and sound like rubbish. But this sounds kind of different and interesting.' Chenier was recognized with multiple Grammy nominations and one win (best ethnic or traditional folk album) for 'I'm Here!' in 1982, as well as a National Heritage Fellowship in 1984, a posthumous induction to the Blues Hall of Fame in 1989 (Chenier died in 1987), and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014. In tandem with Chenier's centenary, the Rolling Stones may be preparing a new record – a follow-up to 2023's Hackney Diamonds, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. 'We've got a lot more [material],' Jagger told Reuters last year, 'so I think we may be set up to make another album quite soon.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
USA Today
21-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Golden State Warriors jersey history - No. 15 - Phil Chenier (1981)
The Golden State Warriors have had over 600 players don the more than 60 jersey numbers used by their players over the more than 75 years of existence the team has enjoyed in its rich and storied history. Founded in 1946 during the Basketball Association of America (BAA -- a precursor league of the NBA) era, the team has called home the cities of Philadelphia, San Francisco, Oakland, and even San Diego. To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Warriors Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. For this article, we begin with the 15th of 27 players who wore the No. 15 jersey for the Warriors. That player would be Golden State guard alum Phil Chenier. After ending his college career at Cal, Chenier was picked up with the fourth overall selection of 1971 Supplemental Hardship draft by the (then) Baltimore Bullets (now, Washington Wizards). The Berkeley, California native would play the first nine seasons of his pro career with the Bullets, and also played for Indiana Pacers before signing with the Golden State Warriors for the last stop of his NBA career in 1981, just nine games. During his time suiting up for the Warriors, Chenier wore only jersey No. 15 and put up 3.2 points per game. All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
