Biography
Lynn August ranks among zydeco’s most adaptable talents, blending his southwestern Louisiana roots with infusions of pop, gospel, and R&B. Born August 7, 1948, in Lafayette, the sightless musician received strong encouragement from his mother to enter the music profession and grew up immersed in zydeco, New Orleans rhythm and blues, and swamp-pop. He first mastered percussion on a discarded wash basin; at twelve he joined the legendary Esquerita’s ensemble on those instruments, prompting Esquerita to urge him toward piano as well. Several years afterward August added the Hammond B-3 organ to his arsenal. Throughout the mid-1960s he performed alongside a youthful Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural, later launching solo work and guesting with assorted local swamp-pop groups; he also fronted a large ensemble and conducted a church choir. In 1988 he embraced the accordion, committing fully to zydeco by assembling the Hot August Knights alongside tenor saxophonist John Hart and by internalizing the 1934 field recordings of archivist Alan Lomax so that the traditional Creole “jure” vocal approach could inform his modern approach. Following his signing with Maison de Soul, August introduced his debut album It’s Party Time, then issued Zydeco Groove in 1989; his subsequent shift to Black Top brought forth Creole Cruiser in 1992, succeeded the next year by the widely praised Sauce Piquante.
Albums
