Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural, Jr. is one of the premier performers and representatives of the black Creole dance music of southwest Louisiana known as zydeco. In 1979, after playing for nearly three years in Clifton Chenier's band, he added Zydeco to his nickname and formed the Ils Sont Partis Band, which takes its title from the announcer's call at the start of each horse race at Lafayette's Evangeline Downs, in the heart of French-speaking Louisiana. An accomplished accordionist, Buckwheat has perhaps done more than anyone else to popularize zydeco and increase its appeal within a wider popular culture. He played for President Clinton's inaugural parties and for the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. His tunes now find their way on to television commercials and movie soundtracks, but even multiple Grammy Award nominations have not diminished his allegiance to what he calls his "roots music."

Further Reading:

Nyhan, Patricia, Brian Rollins, David Babb, and Michael Doucet. Let the Good Times Roll! A Guide to Cajun & Zydeco Music. Portland, Maine, Upbeat Books, 1997.

Tisserand, Michael. The Kingdom of Zydeco. New York, ArcadePublishing, 1998.