Zydeco | Soileau, LA
Keith Frank, born on October 9, 1972, in the community of Soileau, Louisiana, is an American singer, accordion player, and producer. Dubbed the “Zydeco Boss,” Frank is one of the most well-known figures in zydeco music, especially in the nouveau zydeco sound, which was influenced by other genres such as R&B and hip hop. He is most known for his work with the Soileau Zydeco Band, which was established in 1990.
The son of zydeco musician Preston Frank, he started playing the drums in his father’s Preston Frank Swallow Band when he was four years old, with him first playing the accordion at six years old.
By age nine, he took over the full-time drumming duties in his dad’s band. Despite his involvement, Frank was initially not fond of zydeco, saying in an interview:
I hated it. I swear, I hated it. I could not stand playing music. I hated zydeco, I hated the whole thing. My old man would make me practice, and I could always find something better to be doing.
However, as his father’s employment at a plywood plant became less flexible, Frank assumed more and more responsibility within the band. As his father became less available as a result, Frank said that “I realized [zydeco]’s a part of my life, and I couldn’t stand being without it.”
While attending high school in 1990, he formed his own group, Keith Frank and the Soileau Zydeco Band, with his sister Jennifer on bass and his brother Brad on drums.HYPERLINK “https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Frank” \l “cite_note-this_legend-4” In 1991, the group performed at the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance in Trumansburg, New York, an event they would headline for several years following that. The debut release for the group came in 1992, with On the Bandstand.
The following year, the group released Get on Boy! Frank was active in every stage of production of the album, which led to him earning the moniker “The Zydeco Boss,” which has stuck with him for the rest of his career.