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On This Day

September 16

Quiet day in the archive

Nothing is filed for September 16 — yet.

Here's what happened in the days around it. Know something that happened on September 16? Help us fill the page.

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Around September 16

Close to this day

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SEP · 13, 1922
Charles Brown Born

Blues Legend Charles Brown was born on September 13, 1922 Texas City, Texas. Mr. Charles Brown was a major musical figure in the pre-rock and roll era of the late Forties and early Fifties. As a membe...

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SEP · 10, 1999
Beau Jocque Dies

Andrus Espreé, known to the Zydeco Nation as Beau Jocque (which means Big Guy), died of a heart attack in Kinder, Louisiana on September 10, 1999, at the age of 47. Lead singer of the Zydeco group Bea...

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SEP · 22, 1931
Willis Prudhomme Born

Willis Prudhomme, lead accordionist of Willis Prudhomme & the Zydeco Express was born on Tuesday, September 22, 1931 in Kinder, Louisiana. Willis Prudhomme was one of twelve children and grew up as a...

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SEP · 06, 2005
Oldest Buffalo Soldier Mark Matthews Dies

Mark Matthews, the oldest surviving Buffalo Soldier in the United States Army, died on September 6, 2005 age of 111. While working at a racetrack in Kentucky, he met several Buffalo Soldiers, and when...

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SEP · 05, 1907
Albert "Sunnyland Slim" Luandrew Born

Blues pianist Albert "Sunnyland Slim" Luandrew was born on September 5, 1907 in the Mississippi Delta on a farm near Vance, Mississippi. The son of a preacher and the grandson of a slave, Albert "Sunn...

Festival History
SEP · 04, 1982
Original Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Festival founded

The Original Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Festival, the world’s oldest and first Zydeco Festival, was started on September 4, 1982 on a farmer’s field in the Plaisance community on the outskirts of Opel...

From the archive

More to discover

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MAY · 21, 1938
Lee "Shot" Williams Born

Henry Lee Williams, known to the Southern Soul and Blues Nation as Lee "Shot" Williams was born on May 21, 1938 in the small country town of Lexington, Mississippi.He grew up singing in local gospel g...

World History
OCT · 14, 2006
Freddy Fender Dies

Baldemar Huerta, known to the world as Freddy Fender, transitioned at 12:14 PM on October 14, 2006 at the age of 69 of lung cancer at his home in Corpus Christi, Texas. Hi is buried in his hometown of...

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AUG · 27, 1940
Fernest Arceneaux Born

Fernest Arceneaux, lead accordionist for Fernest and the Thunders, was born on August 27, 1940 to a large sharecropping family based in Lafayette, Louisiana. He learned to play an accordion owned by h...

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JUL · 29, 1995
Canray Fontenot Dies

Highly respected creole fiddler Creole fiddler Canray Fontenot died on July 29, 1995 after a lengthy battle with lung cancer and diabetes. His family was originally from the Duralde area, where his fa...

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MAR · 17, 1995
Albert "Sunnyland Slim" Luandrew Dies

Blues pianist Albert "Sunnyland Slim" Luandrew died on March 17, 1995 in Chicago, Illinois at the age of 87. He was coming home from a winter show, he slipped and fell on some ice which led to medical...

Zydeco Music
FEB · 26, 1986
Rockin’ Sidney Wins Grammy Award

Rockin’ Sidney won a Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording for his 1986 single "My Toot Toot." from his third album “My Zydeco Shoes Got The Blues.”

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