Rockin' Sidney

Sidney Simien (April 9, 1938 – February 25, 1998), known professionally as Rockin' Sidney, was an American R&B, zydeco, and soul musician who began recording in the late 1950s and continued performing until his death.

Sidney Simien was born on April 9, 1938, in Lebeau, Louisiana.

He was born into a Creole French-speaking family and was a descendant of Antoine—of Marseille, France—and Marie Simien (who was a free woman of color and a plantation owner).

Sidney himself was born in the tiny farming community of Lebeau, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States.

Sidney took up the guitar at an early age.

He started his musical career at age 14 or 15 playing harmonica and guitar.

His first gig was as backup for his uncle Frank Simien.

By Sidney's late teens, he was leading his own band as Sidney Simien and His All Stars, which included several members of his family.

Heavily influenced by local musicians such as Slim Harpo and Cookie and his Cupcakes, Sidney made R&B-styled recordings briefly on the Louisiana record label, Fame, during the late 1950s.

He was often backed by George Lewis on harmonica and Katie Webster on piano.

In 1957, at the age of 18, he recorded his first side, "Make Me Understand," on the short-lived Carl label.

Floyd Soileau's Jin Records label released nine Rockin' Sidney singles between 1957–1964.

Sidney also recorded on Rod Records.

Between the mid-1960s and the late 1970s, Sidney cut well over 50 singles for the Louisiana-based Goldband label, working in a variety of contemporary blues, soul and R&B modes; none proved successful.

"No Good Woman" became a small hit in Louisiana in 1962, while the flip side, "You Ain't Nothing But Fine" brought him his first national attention as a songwriter.

The Fabulous Thunderbirds recorded the song on their debut album.

After that, Sidney recorded "She's My Morning Coffee" / "Calling You" on the Jin label.

Although his real success came from zydeco, Sidney did not start out playing the accordion or Cajun music.

In 1963 his single "No Good Woman" on the Ville Platte label sold well in South Louisiana and East Texas and was well received by music critics, but just missed the national Top 100.

In 1965, he and his band The Dukes signed with Eddie Shuler's Louisiana-based Goldband Records.

He took to wearing a turban and was known as "Count Rockin' Sidney".

During this period he cut well over a dozen R&B, soul, and blues singles such as "Something Working Baby" and "Soul Christmas", without much success.

In the late 1970s Sidney was performing solo organ gigs at Lake Charles hotels and lounges when he recognized zydeco's growing popularity.

Floyd Soileau takes partial credit, saying "I suppose it was the mid-'70s when I suggested that he pick up the accordion and start doing zydeco which was then making a comeback."

Sidney quickly added the instrument to his repertoire and made that traditional folk music of Louisiana his focus.

Zydeco was long familiar to him, from his Creole heritage.

His Clifton Chenier and Buckwheat Zydeco parodies became one of his performance highlights.

For Chenier, Sidney dressed up as the zydeco monarch, complete with a crown, cape and gold tooth.

The Buckwheat bit was done with a ventriloquist dummy.

In the late 1970s, Sidney was recording for a new label, Bally Hoo, and started his own publishing company, Sid Sim Publishing.

His zydeco talents were immediately recognized and he had another hit with "Louisiana Creole Man."

He also signed a lease agreement with Floyd Soileau to distribute his recordings on Soileau's Maison de Soul Records label, giving Soileau's Flat Town Music Company a share of the profits.

By the early 1980s, Sidney had recorded two successful albums for Maison de Soul, Give Me A Good Time Woman and Boogie, Blues 'N' Zydeco.

His first zydeco album, Give Me a Good Time Woman was released in 1982 on the Maison de Soul label.

"He already knew keyboards and that was half the battle," said Soileau.

His big moment came in 1984 when "My Toot Toot" made him internationally known.

Sidney wrote the song, and released it on the Maison de Soul Records label in Ville Platte, Louisiana.

In October 1984, he included the tune on his third album, My Zydeco Shoes Got the Zydeco Blues.

He recorded the entire album at his home studio in Lake Charles, and played all the instruments himself.

He is best known for his 1985 single "My Toot-Toot", which reached top 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and earned him a Grammy Award.