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UPDATE:
Zydeco/Cajun Category Added 6-7-07
The six-year campaign by Terrance
and Cynthia Simien to get the Grammy Awards to include a
Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album Category has succeeded. The
Recording Academy announced the establishment of the new
category June 7, 2007.
Here is a link to the
page posted by Terrance and
Cynthia Simien describing events and activities leading to
the establishment of a separate category..
The effort is part of
broader artist advocacy and education activities described
on their Music Matters page. The National Recording
Academy is already helping Louisiana musicians in need
through its
MusiCares program.
The photos on this page were taken at
a benefit held at Whiskey River Landing in Henderson on
February 14, 2004, to raise funds to promote Cajun and
Zydeco music as a separate category in the Grammy Awards.
The event was co-sponsored by Music Matters, the Cajun
French Music Association, and Louisiana Folk Roots.
Since 2001, Zydeco musician Terrance
Simien and his wife, Cynthia, have been working hard to
achieve this goal. Currently Cajun and Zydeco musicians are
categorized either in the traditional or contemporary folk
designations.
Given the number of musicians
performing the unique music of Southwest Louisiana, the
number of CDs released each year, and, most of all, the
continuing excellence of their music and musicianship over
many decades, adding a separate category for Cajun and
Zydeco music seems long overdue. In 2004, the Grammies added
a "Best Hawaiian Music Album" category after a 15-year
effort by musicians from the islands to gain recognition, so
the hard work and commitment can pay off.
One key is to gain enough voting
members in the National Academy of Recording Arts and
Sciences.
Click here for more information on the membership criteria.
Fundraising activities help to sponsor memberships for
musicians.
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