Zydeco (ZYE-deck-o) is a relatively new (post-WWII) kind of
dance music created by southern Louisiana’s Creoles
of Color and based on African-American blues, jazz, Cajun
French country music, and just a dash of rockabilly and Caribbean
influence.
Its
signature instrument is the frottoir, which resembles a metal
washboard with curved shoulder straps that hangs over the
chest and is played with spoons, bottle openers, or even thimbles.
It also features heavy up-front use of the accordion, with
the additional instrumentation of the guitar, bass, drums,
and often the fiddle and various keyboards.
The
term derived from a Creole expression “les haricots
sont pas sale,” which literally means “the snap
beans aren’t salty,” but figuratively means “hard
times.” The expression was used in several old Creole
songs and eventually was shortened to just “les haricots”
(pronounced “lay zarico”), which came to mean
a Creole dance. The term and spelling further evolved into
“le zydeco,” and, from there, a new genre in American
music and a new term in American musical lexicon, were coined.
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