Keith Frank

 

 Still Zydeco For Me

By Lady Drama ..( Shannon Boutte )

“If you take away the Zydeco, it’s our culture that pays the cost.”  These are wise words from Mr. Keith Frank, who is also known as The Boss of Zydeco music.  Every generation has that one Zydeco artist whose music they grow up listening and dancing to. Mine has been Keith. I am 26 years old, and as long as I can remember, I’ve been jamming to Keith Frank. Now do not get me wrong, one can never forget about great artists such as beau jocque, Rockin’ Sidney, Boozoo, Buckwheat, Nathan Williams, Sr.—the list of Zydeco icons goes on and on.

 Zydeco has always been a genre of music that is ever-changing, growing, and adapting to new times. To me, Mr. Frank’s music captures the expectations of both the traditional and the modern. He has been able to hold onto the roots of Zydeco, while keeping it fresh and exciting. For the most recent example of this singular talent, listen to his latest double CD “Follow the Leader/Boot Up” for the perfect mix of old and new sounds.

There are certain songs on the album through which he speaks directly to Zydeco fans. The song,  “People We Need Your Help” doesn’t have many lyrics, but the words of its hook—“people we need your help; we  can’t do it by our self” and “we gotta keep it together, because we are brothers and sisters”—are a message to the Creole community. His meaning is clear: we as a people need to support all of our Zydeco artists, because each of them plays a vital role in keeping our culture alive.

I commend Keith for mixing the conventional sound of Zydeco with modern twists, but we still need songs in traditional Louisiana French and Louisiana Creole. Our languages may be fading away, but our music is the lifeline helping to keep them from completely dying.  I appreciate and am pleased by the fact that Zydeco is becoming popular with all types of people—many of whom do not come from French speaking homes or families. Nevertheless, we do a disservice to all of Zydeco’s fans if we neglect our roots. Zydeco, like our dying language, is native to Louisiana. One cannot survive without the other.

 

 

Another song off of the new album titled “That’s Why They Call Him the Boss” is worth noting. In this song, Keith explains why people started calling him The Boss. It’s a name that the people gave him that he later embraced.  “See I’m the boss because I paid the cost/ Im’ a stick to my roots before I get lost.”

The first time I heard this line, I got chills.  He is basically saying that if we forget where we came from, we will be lost. Traditional Zydeco is no different than researching your family genealogy, something that I do often. Knowing who and where you came from is an important part of your identity. Let’s not allow Zydeco music to lose its identity.  This is just a sample of some of the many truths that Keith sings on this track.

 

 

Now, how many of us have sat back and said “Man, if I could do that over again I would”? Keith’s track, “ Do You Ever Wonder” addresses just that self-defeating thought process. He lists a variety of mistakes that we can make over the course of a lifetime.  His point—we cannot go back and change things but we can prevent these things from happening again—is therapeutic.

 

The final song I would like to touch on is “ Uplifting.” On each of Keith’s last few albums,  there has been a track that serves to inspire, such as “Dream Come Alive,” “Overcome,” and now, “Uplifting”. This latest installment of motivational tracks has a special place in my heart. [Forgive me for continuing to make Keith’s music personal, but that is the very nature of his music to his fans.] In January, my family and I suffered a great lost.

My cousin Barry P. Olivier suddenly passed away at the young age of 20 around the same time that Keith released “Uplifting.” This track brought me and my family so much comfort.  With lyrics like “Lord I’m worried but still I trust you/ I feel that I am drowning but I know that you’ll come through,” I felt like Keith was singing directly to me. Such is the power of great music.  

The Verdict: Keith Frank’s “Follow the Leader/Boot Up” album is a traditional yet fresh sounding Zydeco treat. With some songs that make you tap your toes and others that touch your soul, healing scars both old and new, each track stands out as outstanding.

To gain more insight on my thoughts on Zydeco music please tune into Ki ça di? With Lady Drama every Thursday night on www.chronicleradio.com or stream for Tunein radio app just search Chronicle Radio.  

 

 

The Verdict: Keith Frank’s “Follow the Leader/Boot Up” album is a traditional yet fresh sounding Zydeco treat. With some songs that make you tap your toes and others that touch your soul, healing scars both old and new, each track stands out as outstanding.

To gain more insight on my thoughts on Zydeco music please tune into Ki ça di? With Lady Drama every Thursday night on www.chronicleradio.com or stream for Tunein radio app just search Chronicle Radio.