Bio : Rockin’ Dopsie Jr.
For seven decades now the high-energy stage name Rockin’ Dopsie (pronounced Doopsie) has stood tall in the deep-groove world of zydeco. This exuberant alias was first used by accordionist Alton Rubin (1932-1993), a towering figure on the zydeco scene who passed both the torch and his moniker to his son, David. Now David Rubin and his red-hot band - who have played with Paul Simon, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, Beyonce and John Fogerty among others - have recorded the aptly entitled new album More Fun With Rockin’ Dopsie Jr. and the Zydeco Twisters, released on the prestigious ATO label.
Zydeco (pronounced ZY-duh-coe) is the vivacious dance music of southwest Louisiana’s Black Creoles, many of whom speak French or have ancestors who did. It is a rich hybrid of Afro-Caribbean rhythms and African-American styles such as blues, R&B, soul and, more recently, rap and hip-hop. Country music, swamp-pop, reggae, rock and even medieval songs from France also factor into this multi-cultural blend. Zydeco’s purpose is to make people MOVE! As zydeco legend Clifton Chenier once put it, “If you can’t dance to zydeco, you can’t dance -- period!” Chenier was absolutely right -- just try sitting still after hitting play on More Fun With Rockin’ Dopsie Jr. and the Zydeco Twisters.
More Fun With was co-produced by Grammy-award winners Randall Poster and Stewart Lerman, both of whose resumés also encompass extensive film and television credentials in such acclaimed works as Vinyl and Boardwalk Empire. Poster - who has worked closely with directors including Wes Anderson and Martin Scorsese - first encountered zydeco when producing a collaborative song by Buckwheat Zydeco and Yo La Tengo, for the 2007 film I’m Not There. Last year Poster curated the music for the soundtrack of a remake of Roadhouse. In the original movie from 1989, starring Patrick Swayze, the late blues guitarist Jeff Healey provided all of the music. This time around, director Doug Liman wanted a variety of musicians, with one common denominator being a distinctive look. Poster’s research led him to Rockin’ Dopsie Jr., a live- wire performer whose dynamic stage moves, executed in seemingly perpetual motion, include agile splits in the best James Brown tradition. Recording several songs with Dopsie and the band went so well that Poster and Lyman had them perform in the film -- which, in turn, led to this album.
In addition to his famous footwork, Dopsie’s performance presence is further fueled by his fleet-fingered playing of the rub-board, also known in Louisiana French as the frottoir. This rhythmic instrument, unique to zydeco, takes the form of a corrugated metal vest that hangs from the shoulders and is played with spoons or bottle openers. The frottoir is based on a common household item, the washboard, which provided the beat for such African-American folk genres as jug-band music. A washboard must be played sitting down, though, which can detract from a dance-band’s visual appeal. The Chenier brothers, Clifton and Cleveland, solved this problem by inventing the frottoir in the 1950s, and having the first one made to order at a sheet-metal shop in the music-rich town of Lafayette, Louisiana. Cleveland Chenier’s deft playing of this new creation added a rich texture to his brother’s accordion work -- and it also established a legacy that Rockin’ Dopsie Jr. has taken and run with, to scale new heights of zydeco audiences’ excitement.
Dopsie’s percussive prowess both pushes and is propelled by the ferocious grooves fired up by the Zydeco Twisters. The band features two of Dopsie’s brothers -- Anthony, on accordion, and Alton Jr., a.k.a. Tiger, on drums. Their brother, Dwayne, who leads his own zydeco band, played accordion on “Dopsie’s Boogie” and “My Little Girl.” (Dwayne also sat in with the Rolling Stones at the ‘24 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival).
An old adage declares that drums and bass function as one instrument played by two people. That’s certainly the case here, as Tiger totally locks in with the beloved and respected veteran Lee Allen Zeno, one of South Louisiana’s most in-demand bass players. Guitarists include Shelton Sonnier and Ken August, and special guest guitarist David Mansfield (known for his work with Dylan, Johnny Cash, Lucinda Williams and many others). Harmonica blower Patrick Williams, and saxophonist Julius Handy all unleash inspired solos and hot licks throughout this album, fanning the flames and reveling, at times, in the great Black musical tradition of call-and-response. Williams’ harp-blowing recalls the classic Chicago blues sound made famous by such greats as Little Walter, Big Walter Horton, and Junior Wells.
Amidst all this fine, spirited, expert playing, Rockin’ Dopsie Jr.’s masterful singing is also deservedly spotlighted. The band’s live shows are often quite frenetic, focusing on Dopsie’s nimble stage moves and choreography, which tend to divert attention from his considerable vocal skills. Randall Poster and Stewart Lerman made sure to also emphasize this facet of Dopsie’s ample multi-talents. “David is a great singer,” Poster comments, “and we wanted to recognize that here. He has a wonderful vibrato that reminds me of Wilson Pickett.”
Much like such classic zydeco albums as Clifton Chenier’s Bogalusa Boogie, More Fun With captures the rollicking good-time feel of a zydeco dance for a packed house at a rural roadhouse in South Louisiana. “Watch me work!” Dopsie Jr. announces on the first song, “Dopsie Zydeco” -- and then work it he does indeed, with appropriately funky assistance from David Mansfield, Patrick Williams, Julius Handy, and keyboardist Keith Vinet on Hammond B-3. “Ooh Woo Woo” pays homage to Fats Domino, whose timeless tunes still cast a long shadow on zydeco and swamp-pop alike; check out, if you will, Julius Handy’s full-tilt solo.
Patrick Williams keeps the party going on “No Good Woman,” and then it’s time for slow dancing on “You’ll Lose A Good Thing,” as made famous by Barbara Lynn and then again by Freddy Fender. “That Was Your Mother” reprises a classic song from Paul Simon’s 1986 album Graceland, that Simon recorded with accompaniment by Dopsie Sr. and his sons. “Ma ‘Tite Fille,” popularized under that title by Buckwheat Zydeco, dates back to the 1948 recording of “Pine Grove Blues” by the Cajun accordionist Nathan Abshire, which has been covered by many Cajun and zydeco bands ever since. Clifton Chenier’s poignant “I’m Coming Home” and Rockin’ Dopsie Sr’s “My Little Girl” venture into the realm of serious blues introspection, with intense workouts on accordion and B-3. And then More Fun With ends on an upbeat note with another Chenier favorite, “Ay Ai Ai.”
“I loved working with Dopsie and his band,” Poster says with enthusiasm. “They’re a great bunch of guys, and we all hit it off so well. Recording this album, at Esplanade Studio in New Orleans, was really fun, a pleasure. And you know what? I think everyone should listen to some zydeco every single day!” Rockin’ Dopsie is equally enthusiastic. “This came together when Randy hired us to record a couple of songs for the Roadhouse soundtrack. He’s a big fan of our music. Then he said he wanted to do a whole album on us and we were thrilled -- you can’t beat working with Randy, he’s such a nice, first-class guy, he makes it easy. So does his engineer, Stewart. All the communication worked out so well and everything just fell into place. I’m very happy with this album.”
“We pay tribute to my father here,” Dopsie continues. “We recorded songs that he wrote, like “My Little Girl,” or songs he’s associated with like “That Was Your Mother” -- Randy and Stewart did an especially great job on the mix on that one. My dad would be so proud that all four of his sons are on this album. It makes me think back to when I was a kid. I remember when B.B. King, Bobby Bland, and other R&B and blues artists would play in Lafayette, they’d come to our house and visit my dad, he’d make a gumbo, or we’d barbecue in the back yard. I loved listening to my dad and those guys talk,” he reflects. “I learned a lot from them. “My dad would love how we put our own new twist on his music,” Dopsie concludes.
“You know, sometimes people ask me ‘What is zydeco?’ And I tell them “Zydeco is something that you may not have heard before, that you should have heard a long time ago! Because it’s good time music dance, it’s fun!” (Or this case. More Fun). “Turn this album up, and come out and see us play!”