Good news from Stanley “Buckwheat” Dural, the longtime frontman of Buckwheat Zydeco: The singer/accordionist has been declared cancer-free and will resume his busy touring schedule next month.
Buckwheat Zydeco on the 2013 Congo Square poster (Artist: Gregory Christie)
The popular bandleader revealed in January that he’d been diagnosed with early-stage cancer of his left lung and vocal cord; at the time he put all pending shows on hold to begin treatment. Though he was unable to perform at Jazz Fest this year, he received a tribute by being featured on this year’s Congo Square poster. This week his label Alligator Records announced that the treatment was successful. Said Dural in a press release, “I feel great. I said I’d beat this and I did. Big thumbs up! The band and I can’t wait to hit the road again.”
Buckwheat’s career began in the ’60s when he played organ behind a number of soul greats including Joe Tex and Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown; his first band was the funk group Buckwheat & the Hitchhikers. In recent years he’s devoted parts of his local gigs to old-school organ funk, then switched back to accordion and played zydeco.His latest disc is a kids’ album, Buckwheat Zydeco’s Bayou Boogie.
Buckwheat begins his current tour July 29 in Lookout, NY, then plays up and down the East Coast and Canada through mid-August. Full schedule is here.
