Mardi Gras. Letting the Good Times Roll on Fat Tuesday

Fat Tuesday. Yep, the last day of fun before forty of not so much. At least for those observing Lent. So if you are observing Lent and if you will be abstaining and repenting and all some shit like that, today and tonight until midnight marks the last taste you will have to "laissez les bons temps rouler" for quite a while.

While I have no say in just what types of gluttony, lasciviousness, or general debauchery you may engage in over the next 16+ hours, I do have a say in how best to get your feet moving.

Sugar Boy Crawford - "Jock-A-Mo"

Queen Ida - "Jambalya"

Neville Brothers - "Fire On The Bayou"

Buckwheat Zydeco - "Throw Me Something Mister"

Professor Longhair - "Go To The Mardi Gras"

And how could you not finish it off without Satchmo...
Louis Armstrong - "When The Saints Come Marching In"

Grab some beignets, a plate of crawfish and experience a little 'joie de vivre' for the last time, for a long time.

Serving Up A Mardi Gras Special: Queen Ida

It's Mardi Gras. Time for a little Zydeco music. A quick primer if Zydeco is unfamiliar to you.  Born in southwest Louisiana in the 1860s, it is a blend of Cajun, Blues, rural Folk and rhythms which came from the influx of Haitians coming in to work the sugar cane fields.

" Laissez les bons temps rouler "

Heavy on the accordion, it can be positively joyful...with a beat that becomes instantly familiar. Serving up the taste today is Queen Ida. Born in 1929, Ida Lewis Guillory hails from Lake Charles, Louisiana. She plays music to this day.  Most of the videos for the queen are poor in quality, so today's lick will be an audio version.  If you want to take a look at her in action here's a video link. "Queen Ida - Live"

Have a taste of Queen Ida and her Zydeco Band doing "Back Door."

"If your feet ain't tappin'...baby you're dead."


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