NathanWilliams

Biography

Nathan Williams was born March 24, 1963 in St. Martinville, Louisiana, the youngest of seven children in a French Creole-speaking Catholic home. He lost his father at seven and grew up admiring his uncle, Creole guitarist Harry Hypolite, who played with Clifton Chenier. At 13 he moved to Lafayette to live with his older brother Sid, worked in Sid's grocery store, and — while recovering from a serious illness — decided to learn the accordion, practicing in the bathroom so nobody could hear. His mentor was Buckwheat Zydeco, who sold Sid Nathan's first accordion.

Five years out of high school he was cutting 45s on Sid's El Sid label. When Buckwheat left Rounder Records for Island, he suggested Nathan as his replacement; Nathan auditioned and got the recording contract. In 1985 he founded Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas, a family band with brother Dennis Paul Williams on guitar, and carried the Chenier tradition to Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Grand Ole Opry, and festivals across Europe. He's a Louisiana Music Hall of Fame inductee (2005) and a Zydeco Music Association Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. At NOLA Funk Fest 2026 he appears in the Cajun and Creole Cultural Village and plays the Thursday, October 15 “Rock the Rafters” kickoff at Tipitina's with special guest Lil' Nathan.