Rosie Ledet
Sweetheart of the Zydeco
Text and Photos by Linda J. Morris

It was a dark and stormy night... Really.

Rain pounded three large windows surrounding the stage area of Paddy Macs, a shoebox loft of a nightclub overlooking the upscale business district of Silver Spring, Maryland. Treetops whipped against the panes, and lightning threw its eerie glow on the five musicians in the spotlights. But all attention was riveted on the Creole woman pumping a blood-red accordion, her purple fingernails dancing over the keys. The surging rhythms of zydeco muffled the clap of thunder, as the woman leaned into the microphone and simmered, "Something wicked won't let me be…"

The woman's eyes were closed tightly, except for the occasional smile she seemed to save for a tall, muscular young man on bass guitar, stage left. Behind her, the rhythm section: a handsome, mustached gentleman with a washboard strapped over a white apron and a youthful drummer with a disarming smile. Stage right, the lead guitar player was biding his time, waiting for the woman to wail, "Give us some GI-tar!" At that, he sprang into action, his jazz riffs using every available fret, and some places in between. And though the crowd was wowed, the guitar man smiled smugly with the cool composure of a man who knows he's hot.

Meanwhile, the floor was jumping. Patrons had come to dance, and dance they did, as Rosie Ledet and the Zydeco Playboys peeled off one blazing number after another till long after midnight.

Rosie Ledet It's a Groove Thing Maison de Soul MDS 1075 (2000) Those who have followed Ledet and her Zydeco Playboys from the youthful sound of their first 1994 recording will find that they have matured greatly in voice and style. On this, her fifth disc, the "zydeco sweetheart" has definitely hit her "groove thing."Ledet, who takes inspiration from life, love, family, and Stephen King novels, penned 11 of the 12 songs.... Read the full review

The last six years have been a remarkable journey for Ledet. In 1995, following the release of her first recording, Brown Sugar [Maison de Soul, 1994], she was nominated for Best New Artist in the Big Easy Awards. The next year, the band won three of Off Beat Magazine's Best of the Beat awards: Best Group, Best Vocalist, and Best Performer. Last year, Ledet was named Best Vocalist at the Creole Music Awards. "There's been quite a few things," she said in an interview from her home in Iota, Louisiana, where she had to rummage in a closet for her trophies, "but they kind of embarrass me, so I kind of put them away." But her brother Addie, she said, has higher expectations. "He told me, 'You know, Sis, one of these days you're gonna be up there getting a Grammy.' " And despite the potential for "embarrassment," Ledet admitted, "I want that Grammy!"

Her original songs also have gotten notice. The HBO series "Strangers" used "Ever Love a Woman," and in the A&E series "The Big Easy," "Let the Sky Cry" was featured. Recently, when the band was playing New York's World Trade Center, representatives from HBO's "Sex in the City" took all of Ledet's CDs and told her they were considering airing some of her material on the show. "I'm just keeping my fingers crossed," she said.

In many ways, Ledet seems a contradiction. As photogenic as she is, she is clearly uncomfortable in front of the lens. An alluring combination of sultry temptress and down-home country girl, she dresses more like she's ready for tennis. "I like to be comfortable, and when you wear different things, it's difficult to play," she said. "When I dress kind of athletic, I feel better. I can jump around." Yet she is aware of her own sex appeal. "I think that's a lot of the reason I don't open my eyes much. People wink and do different things. It tickles me — either I'm gonna bust out laughin' or I'm going to get frightened." And, she added about her habit of doing an entire set with her eyes shut, "It takes you away — you just feel the music."

This is an excerpt from issue #91.