For the first time, all full-length albums of Clifton Chenier for the influential roots music label Arhoolie Records are now available digitally through Smithsonian Folkways Recordings in both standard and high-resolution formats.
The newly released catalog spans Chenier’s groundbreaking 1965 debut Louisiana Blues and Zydeco—widely regarded as a foundational document of zydeco music—through Live at the San Francisco Blues Festival (1982), which captures the accordionist’s formidable onstage power in his later years. Together, the albums trace the evolution of zydeco through one of its most celebrated and influential innovators, whose artistry and showmanship helped bring the music from rural Louisiana to international audiences.
Among the notable releases are Bogalusa Boogie, which was added to the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress in 2016; Out West, featuring guitarist Elvin Bishop and pianist Steve Miller; and Clifton Chenier’s Red Hot Louisiana Band, showcasing one of the most revered ensembles in Louisiana music history.
While many of these albums have circulated as CD reissues since the late 1980s and early 1990s, those editions were often edited or rearranged. The new digital releases restore the original artwork, liner notes, and tracklists, preserving the recordings as they were originally issued. Numerous 7-inch singles from Chenier’s long-running collaboration with Arhoolie founder Chris Strachwitz are also now available.
Audio for the releases was sourced from new transfers of the original master tapes housed in the Smithsonian’s Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections and remastered by Smithsonian Folkways. The albums are available on all major digital streaming platforms, with high-resolution 24-bit audio offered exclusively via the Smithsonian Folkways website.
The digital releases precede the forthcoming box set King of Louisiana Blues and Zydeco, the first comprehensive anthology of Chenier’s career. The 4CD/6LP collection includes a 160-page book of essays and photographs and will be released February 6, 2026, via Arhoolie Records and Smithsonian Folkways.
