Musician Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural Jr., who rose from a cotton-picking family in southwest Louisiana to introduce zydeco music to the world through his band and stage name Buckwheat Zydeco, has died. He was 68.
His longtime manager Ted Fox told The Associated Press that Dural died early Saturday morning. He had suffered from lung cancer.
Fox said the musician and accordionist died at 1:32 a.m. CT (2:32 a.m. ET) at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Lafayette, Louisiana. He gained fame by introducing zydeco music of southwest Louisiana to the world.
'A completely natural musician'
"This is one of the world's true genius musicians. A completely natural musician who could just fit in in any scenario," Fox said.
Zydeco music was well known across southwest Louisiana where people would often drive for miles to small dancehalls where zydeco bands featuring an accordion and a washboard would rock the crowds for hours.
The genre blends a number of sounds, including blues, R&B, and soul.
Took zydeco mainstream
But Dural took zydeco music mainstream, launching a major-label album — the Grammy-nominated On a Night Like This — with Island Records in 1987. He went on to jam with musical greats like Eric Clapton and Paul Simon, play at former President Bill Clinton's inauguration and perform at the 1996 Olympics closing ceremony in Atlanta.
Paul Simon, left, performs with Buckwheat Zydeco in New Orleans in 2006. The late accordionist took the stage with many musical greats during his career. (Alex Brandon/Associated Press)
He jammed with Jimmy Fallon on the final episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Fallon played the guitar backed up by the Roots while Buckwheat Zydeco rocked the accordion.
Dural is survived by his wife, Bernite Dural, and his five children.
Louisiana musician Buckwheat Zydeco dead at 68
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