Listening to Beausoleil last week got me in that good ol’ Cajun mood. I can’t think of another type of music that elicits so much good nature and positivity. Of course, a lot of it is sung in French, which I don’t understand, so they could be singing about armaggedon and I wouldn’t be the wiser.

My real introduction to the Cajun / Zydeco sound came by way of the soundtrack to ‘The Big Easy’, a 1987 movie starring Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin (what happened to her?). For the 18 years (wow) that I’ve been listening to this CD, it’s never lost its luster. It’s an amazing showcase from start to finish. Tonight I sample 2 songs from the soundtrack, one from boogie woogie piano man Professor Longhair, the other from the film’s star, Dennis Quaid. Don’t make the wrong assumptions on Quaid’s swampy ballad. It’s a great love song. And Fess’ tune? Well, you’ll see… it’s the song that inspired the name for the New Orleans club Tipitina’s, which was pretty much created to provide a place for Fess to lay down his rhumba, R&B, boogie-woogie piano rhythms.

Enjoy.

Professor Longhair: Tipitina

Dennis Quaid: Closer To You

• Buy The Big Easy soundtrack on Amazon.
• Check out Tipitina’s web site.