The Rolling Stones will return with a new song that might surprise casual fans: “Zydeco Sont Pas Sales,” a song with Creole French lyrics popularized by zydeco pioneer Clifton Chenier of Opelousas, Louisiana.
The track is set to appear on the all-star Tribute to the King of Zydeco, to be released on June 27 in celebration of Chenier’s 100th birthday. Grammy-nominated Louisiana accordion player Steve Riley also appears on the Stones track. Other songs feature Steve Earle, Jimmie Vaughan, Lucinda Williams, John Hiatt and Taj Mahal.
The Rolling Stones’ interest in Chenier – and Louisiana music – actually runs deep. “Clifton was a great influence on me,” Mick Jagger told Songlines. “We first listened to him around 1965 when we went to the States and picked up his records on the Arhoolie label. … We first met up with the band in Los Angeles, I think, and I love the way he just grabs a blues number and adapts it to his style.”
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Lafayette saxophonist Dickie Landry arranged the meeting, which Michael Tisserand’s Kingdom of Zydeco said took place at intermission during a 1970 appearance by Chenier in South Central LA. There was a moment of hilarious initial confusion, however, when Landry told Chenier that Mick Jagger with the Rolling Stones wanted to meet him. Tisserand said Chenier replied, “That magazine – they did a good article on me.”
Soon, it was time for Chenier to get back onstage at the Verbum Dei High School Auditorium. “All of a sudden, this group of people come with autograph papers,” Landry remembered. “Jagger starts backing up, and they walk right by him to get to Clifton.”
Listen to Clifton Chenier’s ‘Zydeco Sont Pas Sales’
The Rolling Stones’ Deep Connection to Louisiana
Louisiana music stars like Dr. John, Aaron Neville, Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural and Michael Doucet have worked with the Stones in the studio. Their rootsy 2016 album Blue and Lonesome included three songs by Louisiana native Little Walter.
The Rolling Stones memorably made time for a local performance by zydeco legends Boozoo Chavis and Beau Jocque before a 1994 concert at the Louisiana Superdome, paying $5 at the door. More recently, they performed “Let It Bleed” with Lafayette accordion player Dwayne Dopsie at 2024’s New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
“Zydeco Sont Pas Sales” marks the Rolling Stones’ first new music since they scored an international Top 5 hit with 2023’s Hackney Diamonds. Prior to that, they released the stand-alone single “Living in a Ghost Town” in 2020. Proceeds from A Tribute to the King of Zydeco benefit a new Clifton Chenier Memorial Scholarship at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
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