Stanley ‘Buckwheat’ Dural Jr., accordionist and leader of Buckwheat Zydeco, dies at 68
Accordionist, bandleader and New Orleans music icon Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural Jr. of Buckwheat Zydeco has died. He was 68.
His death was confirmed by the band’s manager and frequent collaborator, Ted Fox, who wrote on the Buckwheat Zydeco’s Facebook page that Dural had died early Saturday morning. In August, Fox also announced via the band’s website that Dural had been diagnosed with lung cancer, and daughter Tomorrow Dural had launched a campaign on the fundraising site GoFundMe in an attempt to cover medical expenses.
“Buck made everything and everyone he touched better and happier,” Fox wrote. “RIP my dear friend, my brother.”
Born in Lafayette, La., in 1947, Dural earned the nickname “Buckwheat” in his youth based on his resemblance to the “Little Rascals” character. The son of an accordionist, Dural grew up steeped in the signature musical footprint of the region, which blends Afro-Caribbean rhythms with blues, country and French-influenced Creole music for a raucous, uniquely American sound dubbed zydeco.
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Dural began his professional career as a musician as a sideman for R&B and blues artists such as Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown before joining a band fronted by Louisiana’s “king of zydeco,” Clifton Chenier.
“Before I got with Clifton Chenier, I’d never played accordion before in my life,” recalled Dural in a 1988 interview with The Times. “My father wanted me to play the accordion when I was coming up and I didn’t think it was hip enough for me: ‘Hey, no way. That’s old-style, for my dad’s generation.’”
In 1979, he left the group after three years to front his own ensemble, Buckwheat Zydeco and the Ils Sont Partis Band.
Throughout his career, Dural and Buckwheat Zydeco continued to incorporate elements from contemporary black music into zydeco for a mix that took him to stages around the world. After years of independent recordings, Buckwheat Zydeco signed with Island Records in 1987 and collaborated with Robert Plant, Eric Clapton and U2, who used the band as an opening act for two shows in Florida that same year.
Buckwheat Zydeco continued to maintain a rigorous touring schedule for more than 30 years, performing at the opening ceremonies for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta as well as both presidential inaugurations for Bill Clinton.
Buckwheat Zydeco won its first Grammy Award in 2009 for its final album, “Lay Your Burden Down.” In 2014, the band performed with the Roots to open the final episode of “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” before the host took over “The Tonight Show.”
“You get out there, play good music and make people happy,” Dural told The Times. “That’s what I’m about.”
Dural is survived by his wife, Burnite Dural, and five children: daughters Tomorrow Lynn Dural, April Germain Dural and Stacie Durham and sons Sir Reginald M. Dural and Stanley Paul Dural III.
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