Fernest Arceneaux

Fernest Arceneaux carried forward the classic zydeco traditions embodied by Clifton Chenier and received the designation "The New Prince of Accordion" in recognition of his exceptional skill on the instrument. He entered the world on August 27, 1940, into an expansive sharecropping household rooted in Lafayette, Louisiana. As a boy laboring in the fields he first handled his brother-in-law’s accordion and acquired his technique by emulating his father, a local rural musician whom the youngster regularly supported at house parties in the area. By the 1960s, however, Arceneaux had set aside his zydeco origins to perform on guitar inside a rock & roll ensemble; the unit originally included two drummers and generated such volume that it acquired the name Fernest and the Thunders. Not until the late 1970s, and only after his idol Chenier urged him, did Arceneaux resume playing the accordion, prompting the Thunders to shift their focus from rock back to zydeco. Belgian blues devotee Robert Sacre discovered the band in 1978; its lineup also comprised singer and bassist Victor Walker, guitarist Chester Chevalier, and drummer Clarence "Jockey" Etienne. The musicians launched their initial European tours soon afterward, and within months they cut their first album, Fernest and the Thunders. Subsequent releases included Rockin' Pneumonia in 1979 and Zydeco Stomp! in 1981, yet shortly after the latter was tracked Walker died during a barroom brawl. Arceneaux thereafter took over lead vocals, though asthma limited the force of his delivery. Even so, the Thunders sustained strong popularity as a live act, above all on the Gulf Coast crawfish circuit, and kept releasing records such as Zydeco Thunder in 1985, Gumbo Special in 1987, and Zydeco Blues Party in 1994. Gumbo Special reached stores in fall 2000.