Thirty Years After 'My Toot Toot,' Zydeco Seeks More Gold
"Don't Mess With My Toot Toot," by Rockin' Sidney,'
Is Zydeco's Only Million Seller.
March 20, 2015
by Herman Fusilier
The Advertiser
Back in the 1980s, zydeco musician Rockin' Sidney Simien earned enough money to buy KAOK, a radio station in Lake Charles. Record publisher Floyd Soileau purchased a motor home with the license plate, "MY2TOOT."
The station and RV were fitting tributes to their golden goose, Simien's monster hit record and Grammy winner titled "Don't Mess with My Toot Toot." Thirty years later, the goose is still laying golden eggs.
"It's like a little oil well," said Soileau, owner of Flat Town Music Company in Ville Platte. "It just keeps pumping out. Just five years ago, I went to Vegas to get an award for it being one of the top 20 Latino songs in the country. It's still popular in that market.
"A few years ago, the Scandinavian market asked to do a translation. They did a single release and sold over 300,000 copies of it. In Germany, it is still popular. It was so hot when Sidney's 'Toot Toot' was out there, we had a beer company that licensed the song to sell their beer for a year and a half. That's almost unheard of.
"The only reason it didn't go longer, I think they changed agencies. Otherwise, it was still kicking."
Memories and royalty checks are still kicking for "My Toot Toot," a novelty tune written and recorded in Simien's home studio in 1985. After becoming wildly popular locally, the song became a radio and record store hit east of the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, then rare feats for a zydeco record.
"Toot Toot" was soon leased to Columbia Records for national distribution. The tune leaped into country music's Top 20 and clocked its first million in sales. Simien enjoyed music celebrity, appearing on "Hee Haw," "Austin City Limits" and other national TV programs.
Other artists cashed in. Jean Knight, Denise LaSalle, Fats Domino, Doug Kershaw and John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival fame recorded cover versions.
Some scored hits, but none as big as the popular Colombian group, La Sonora Dinamita. They achieved million sellers with two Spanish versions, "Tu Cucú" in 1988 and "No provoques mi pichichi" in 1989.
Throat cancer claimed Simien in 1998, yet his legacy remains unchallenged. "Toot Toot" still stands as zydeco music's lone million seller.
Such fortune is ironic for a song originally buried on the B side of Simien's album, "My Zydeco Shoes Got the Zydeco Blues." The secret to its immortality remains a mystery.
Terrance Simien, zydeco's two-time Grammy winner, believes timing was a big factor. In the 1980s, "The Big Easy" movie, chef Paul Prudhomme's blackened redfish craze and other cultural exports stoked the world's love affair with all things Louisiana.
Soileau said the song's title, along with a happy beat, sparked people's imagination.
"The name itself was a mystique," said Soileau. "I remember Ralph Emery asking Sidney on TV 'What is a toot toot?' He said 'It's a hit record'. That got a lot of laughs.
"He went on to explain it's a Cajun, Creole saying for a little baby, a girlfriend or a sweet person that you love. That went over well with the fans because at first, a lot of people thought it was a risqué record. But it had nothing to do with that.
"But it was on the border of a question mark. Maybe that added to speculation. But the main thing, when he started off with that bass beat, you could tell what was coming on."
Where's zydeco's next gold?
In the 30 years since "My Toot Toot," no other zydeco song has even come close to gold record status. The music is alive and well with artists performing locally and globally and winning Grammys.
Many dream of scoring zydeco's next gold record, but many obstacles lie ahead. Some observers say the music's shortage of lyrics and repetitive beat, while popular with dancers and at festive occasions, fail to hold the attention of a mainstream audience.
Today's artists deal with a music industry that has declined greatly since the glory days of "Toot Toot." Record stores and jukeboxes, launching pads for the song, have gone the way of the telegraph and black-and-white TVs, replaced by the Internet and other digital platforms.
Technology allows artists more creativity and distribution control, yet bootlegging stunts the growth of many hits.
Musician Sean Ardoin, who created a stir last year with a zydeco version of Pharrell William's megahit "Happy," said that technology must be embraced.
"Before you had to work really hard for one person to see you so he could sign you," said Ardoin. "Now you've got to work really hard for everybody to see you. That's followers on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, all that stuff. That's your record deal right there.
"You have to want to do that. If you're not thinking globally, you won't hit globally. When you have the power, you're supposed to use that power to multiply and enlarge your territory."
Ted Fox of New York, manager of Buckwheat Zydeco since 1986, agrees. Fox helped the Carencro-based band achieve a long list of zydeco's firsts, which include a recording contract with Island Records and performances with U2, Eric Clapton and other stars.
"YouTube has become the most important way for people to discover music," said Fox. "That's why we did Buckwheat's World (a YouTube channel).
"The likelihood of another zydeco million seller is tiny. It's tiny for anybody in any genre these days. There aren't million sellers like there used to be. But there are viral videos.
"Some of the vintage Buck clips have over a half million views, which means over a half million listens."
Simien is inspired by "The Cupid Shuffle," a party song and line dance created by Bryson Bernard of Lafayette. Since its release in 2007, the song has had more than 3 million in sales and still enjoys thousands of downloads weekly.
The song even mentions zydeco in its opening lyrics.
"We were in this bar in the Seattle area last month, we went out for a drink and it was a country and western bar," said Simien. "All of a sudden, boom, it was the 'Cupid Shuffle.' The floor got so crowded and people started screaming. There were more people dancing to that than anything else.
"It was so cool to see how that song was able to cross over into so many different places. The First Lady (Michelle Obama) had kids dancing to that song.
"That to me was just as strong as 'Toot Toot,' in its own way, and it's still going. We have some great young, and older, minds in zydeco. Anything is possible."
"Don't Mess With My Toot Toot," by Rockin' Sidney,'
Is Zydeco's Only Million Seller.
March 20, 2015
by Herman Fusilier
The Advertiser
 |
Lebeau native Rockin’ Sidney Simien turned “My Toot Toot” into a multi-million seller and international hit in 1985. (Submitted Photos)
|
The station and RV were fitting tributes to their golden goose, Simien's monster hit record and Grammy winner titled "Don't Mess with My Toot Toot." Thirty years later, the goose is still laying golden eggs.
"It's like a little oil well," said Soileau, owner of Flat Town Music Company in Ville Platte. "It just keeps pumping out. Just five years ago, I went to Vegas to get an award for it being one of the top 20 Latino songs in the country. It's still popular in that market.
"A few years ago, the Scandinavian market asked to do a translation. They did a single release and sold over 300,000 copies of it. In Germany, it is still popular. It was so hot when Sidney's 'Toot Toot' was out there, we had a beer company that licensed the song to sell their beer for a year and a half. That's almost unheard of.
"The only reason it didn't go longer, I think they changed agencies. Otherwise, it was still kicking."
Memories and royalty checks are still kicking for "My Toot Toot," a novelty tune written and recorded in Simien's home studio in 1985. After becoming wildly popular locally, the song became a radio and record store hit east of the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, then rare feats for a zydeco record.
"Toot Toot" was soon leased to Columbia Records for national distribution. The tune leaped into country music's Top 20 and clocked its first million in sales. Simien enjoyed music celebrity, appearing on "Hee Haw," "Austin City Limits" and other national TV programs.
Other artists cashed in. Jean Knight, Denise LaSalle, Fats Domino, Doug Kershaw and John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival fame recorded cover versions.
Some scored hits, but none as big as the popular Colombian group, La Sonora Dinamita. They achieved million sellers with two Spanish versions, "Tu Cucú" in 1988 and "No provoques mi pichichi" in 1989.
Such fortune is ironic for a song originally buried on the B side of Simien's album, "My Zydeco Shoes Got the Zydeco Blues." The secret to its immortality remains a mystery.
Terrance Simien, zydeco's two-time Grammy winner, believes timing was a big factor. In the 1980s, "The Big Easy" movie, chef Paul Prudhomme's blackened redfish craze and other cultural exports stoked the world's love affair with all things Louisiana.
Soileau said the song's title, along with a happy beat, sparked people's imagination.
"The name itself was a mystique," said Soileau. "I remember Ralph Emery asking Sidney on TV 'What is a toot toot?' He said 'It's a hit record'. That got a lot of laughs.
"He went on to explain it's a Cajun, Creole saying for a little baby, a girlfriend or a sweet person that you love. That went over well with the fans because at first, a lot of people thought it was a risqué record. But it had nothing to do with that.
"But it was on the border of a question mark. Maybe that added to speculation. But the main thing, when he started off with that bass beat, you could tell what was coming on."
Where's zydeco's next gold?
 |
| Rockin' Sidney "My Toot Toot Album Cover |
Many dream of scoring zydeco's next gold record, but many obstacles lie ahead. Some observers say the music's shortage of lyrics and repetitive beat, while popular with dancers and at festive occasions, fail to hold the attention of a mainstream audience.
Today's artists deal with a music industry that has declined greatly since the glory days of "Toot Toot." Record stores and jukeboxes, launching pads for the song, have gone the way of the telegraph and black-and-white TVs, replaced by the Internet and other digital platforms.
Technology allows artists more creativity and distribution control, yet bootlegging stunts the growth of many hits.
Musician Sean Ardoin, who created a stir last year with a zydeco version of Pharrell William's megahit "Happy," said that technology must be embraced.
"Before you had to work really hard for one person to see you so he could sign you," said Ardoin. "Now you've got to work really hard for everybody to see you. That's followers on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, all that stuff. That's your record deal right there.
"You have to want to do that. If you're not thinking globally, you won't hit globally. When you have the power, you're supposed to use that power to multiply and enlarge your territory."
Ted Fox of New York, manager of Buckwheat Zydeco since 1986, agrees. Fox helped the Carencro-based band achieve a long list of zydeco's firsts, which include a recording contract with Island Records and performances with U2, Eric Clapton and other stars.
Don't Mess With My Toot Toot - Rockin' Sidney (Live)
"YouTube has become the most important way for people to discover music," said Fox. "That's why we did Buckwheat's World (a YouTube channel).
"The likelihood of another zydeco million seller is tiny. It's tiny for anybody in any genre these days. There aren't million sellers like there used to be. But there are viral videos.
"Some of the vintage Buck clips have over a half million views, which means over a half million listens."
Simien is inspired by "The Cupid Shuffle," a party song and line dance created by Bryson Bernard of Lafayette. Since its release in 2007, the song has had more than 3 million in sales and still enjoys thousands of downloads weekly.
The song even mentions zydeco in its opening lyrics.
"We were in this bar in the Seattle area last month, we went out for a drink and it was a country and western bar," said Simien. "All of a sudden, boom, it was the 'Cupid Shuffle.' The floor got so crowded and people started screaming. There were more people dancing to that than anything else.
"It was so cool to see how that song was able to cross over into so many different places. The First Lady (Michelle Obama) had kids dancing to that song.
"That to me was just as strong as 'Toot Toot,' in its own way, and it's still going. We have some great young, and older, minds in zydeco. Anything is possible."
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