Queen Ida Born

Ida Guillory was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana on January 15, 1929. She grew up in the Cajun/Creole communities of Southwest Louisiana and East Texas. She later became know to the world as Queen Ida. Queen Ida was the first female accordion player to lead a zydeco band and the first Zydeco Artist to win a Grammy Award (Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording) in 1982 for her live album entitled Queen Ida and the Bon Temps Zydeco Band on Tour. In 2009, Queen Ida was awarded the prestigious NEA Heritage Fellowship (the highest honor given to a musician in the United States) for her lifetime achievements by the National Endowment of the Arts.