Wayne Toups

Born: Crowley, Louisiana, October 2, 1958

Wayne Toups picked up the accordion at 13 and never put it down. The Crowley native — “The Cajun Springsteen” — invented zydecajun, a high-voltage fusion of Cajun, zydeco, R&B and southern rock, and in 2013 he won a Grammy with the Band Courtbouillon alongside Steve Riley and Wilson Savoy.

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🏆 Grammy

2013, Best Regional Roots Music Album

🪗 Invention

Zydecajun: Cajun + zydeco + rock

📀 Breakthrough

Blast from the Bayou (1988)

It becomes in me. It’s almost like my heart becomes the metronome, the time keeper.

— Wayne Toups, on playing the accordion

Why We Love Wayne Toups

They call him “Le Boss,” and nobody argues. Wayne Toups took the accordion — the soul of Cajun music — plugged it into rock & roll, R&B, and a showman’s swagger, and called the result zydecajun. The major labels came calling, Nashville’s biggest stars hired him for sessions, and he still came home to Louisiana and kept the dancehalls jumping. Then, with two fellow accordion masters, he cut an all-acoustic trio record and won a Grammy for it — proof that underneath the electricity, Toups is a traditionalist to the bone. Four decades in, he remains one of the most electrifying live performers Louisiana has ever produced: part Springsteen, part Balfa, all heart.

Biography

Le Boss of Zydecajun

Wayne Toups was born October 2, 1958, in Crowley, Louisiana, immersed in Cajun heritage from childhood. He started playing the accordion at 13, performing the music of accordion masters like Iry LeJeune and Belton Richard, and cut his teeth with the Crowley Aces and Camey Doucet. Determined to reach a new generation, he fused roots rock and traditional Louisiana sounds with dashes of soul and classic rock — music sung mostly in English, built for a big stage — and called it zydecajun. His first album, Wayne Toups and the Crowley Aces, was released in Europe in 1979; Mercury Records signed him in the mid-1980s and released Zydecajun (1985), Blast from the Bayou (1988), Johnnie Can’t Dance (1990), and Fish Out of Water (1991).

"It becomes in me. It’s almost like my heart becomes the metronome, the time keeper."

— Wayne Toups

Toups became one of the most visible musicians of his culture, touring more than 20 countries and becoming a first-call session accordionist for Nashville’s biggest names — Mark Chesnutt’s “It Sure Is Monday” (1993), Alan Jackson, George Jones, Clay Walker, Sammy Kershaw, and Thomas Dolby among them — with his music heard on film soundtracks including Steel Magnolias. He returned to his roots on his own terms with Back to the Bayou (1995) for Louisiana’s Swallow Records, which became the label’s fastest seller, and Little Wooden Box (2000) for Shanachie.

"My feet still haven’t touched the ground. It was my first nomination and my first win. I’m batting 1,000."

— Wayne Toups

In 2011, Toups joined fellow accordion masters Steve Riley and Wilson Savoy for an informal jam that became The Band Courtbouillon (Valcour Records), an acoustic trio record of traditional songs and new compositions. It won Best Regional Roots Music Album at the 55th Grammy Awards on February 10, 2013 — Toups’ first nomination and first win, confirmed by the Recording Academy. The honor capped a run of career highs: OffBeat’s 2009 Album of the Year, induction into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2010, and the Gulf Coast and Cajun French Music Halls of Fame in 2011. He followed it with Wayne Toups (2016) for Malaco Records, and remains a top draw at festivals, casinos, and dancehalls everywhere.