Rosie Ledet, Zydeco's Sweetheard, Raw and Rockin'

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Photo of Rosie Ledet by David Simpson, 2016

Florida Cajun Zydeco Update! 7

Zydeco’s Sweetheart RAW AND ROCKIN’

Rosie Ledet’s entire world changed after attending a zydeco performance by the legendary Boozoo Chavis. She wouldn’t have even gone, had her aunt and uncle not pestered her.

“My parents would call it ‘LaLa’ music,” Rosie said of zydeco music. “They were always going out to the club to do the ‘LaLa,’ you know.” Rosie wasn’t the least bit interested in LaLa music. As a teen, Rosie listened to rock music and wanted to become a fiction writer specializing in horror. “I always wanted to be Stephen King,” she said.

“Growing up, until I was a teenager, I didn’t pay zydeco too much mind, because I figured if my parents liked it, of course, I wouldn’t,” Ledet said. “I was really surprised, because when we got there, that

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Photo by David Simpson

place was packed. There were kids my age, sixteen or seventeen, older and younger. I couldn’t believe it. I totally fell in love with it.”

Not only did she discover her future career, but her future husband, Morris Ledet, sitting in with Chavis’ band. Morris asked Rosie to dance during a break, and he would court her for more than a year. Rosie and Morris eventually married and had a child, Kasaundra. During the day while Morris is out of the house working, Rosie taught herself to play his accordion. Then one evening,

Rosie Ledet, 2001 instead of having dinner ready for her husband, Rosie surprised Morris when she pulls the accordion out and plays him a tune.

The way Morris recalls it, “AI got back one day and she said, ‘Hey, I got something to show you,’ and she walks over to my accordion box, and I asked her, ‘What are you doing?’ And she said, ‘I want to show you something,’ and she snapped it open and she began playing a song. I don’t remember the exact song it was.”

“‘Morning Train,’” Rosie said quietly, according to Michael Tisserand

Florida Cajun Zydeco Update! 9

in The Kingdom of Zydeco. Morris Ledet had been playing accordion since his sophomore year in high school when he found the instrument in the band room. Soon after high school, Morris formed the Zydeco Playboys and began performing around the region. The Zydeco Playboys became a skillful, energetic, and cohesive band. Comprised of Morris Ledet on accordion, Morris’ father, Lanice Ledet, on rubboard, nephew Lukey Ledet on drums, and longtime collaborator Kent August on guitar, the Zydeco Playboys was becoming Rosie Ledet, 2003 a reliable draw on the local circuit. Rosie began to sit in with the Playboys, performing a few songs each show. Finally, she took on accordion duties full-time, and Morris happily switched to bass. “What’s good for us is good for me,” he said.

Rosie continued to develop her skills as a musician and song writer. Rosie’s favorite female recording artists were Tina Turner and Koko Taylor. “I’m trying to learn a few things from Koko,” she said. “She sings with a lot of feeling. I’m trying to be more like that. Sometimes I’m still

Photo by David Simpson