Rockin' Sidney
Encyclopedia
Sidney Simien aka Rockin' Sidney and Count Rockin' Sidney, (April 9, 1938 – February 25, 1998) was an American
R&B
, zydeco
, and soul
musician
who began recording in the late 1950s and continued performing until his death.
. His credits included "No Good Woman", "You Ain't Nothing But Fine", "Tell Me", and his biggest hit, "My Toot Toot", which became a worldwide hit
.
Simien was born into a sharecropper's family in the tiny farming community of Lebeau
, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana
. 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. In 1957, at the age of 18, he recorded his first side, "Make Me Understand," on the short-lived Carl label. "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. Heavily influenced by local musicians such as Slim Harpo
and Cookie & The 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. Floyd Soileau's Jin Records label released nine Rockin' Sidney singles between 1957–1964. Sidney also recorded on Rod Records. 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. 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.
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
. 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. 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 Solileau'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.
, it became a huge New Orleans hit. Floyd first heard the crowd's reaction to the song at a bill headlined by Solomon Burke. Cleon was also the president of the Orleans Street Jocks Association and took twenty copies of the record back to the city; he quickly had to order more. By Mardi Gras
, it was a jukebox and record hop smash.
Huey Meaux got the original leased to Epic Records
(a division of Columbia Records
), who released it nationally, and for a brief moment Rockin’ Sidney made musical history. Epic managed to get Rockin' Sidney into the country Top 40 where it stayed for 18 weeks. Later that year, "My Toot Toot" was certified platinum and won a Grammy Award
. "My Toot Toot" became a national and international million-selling phenomenon. It was the first zydeco record to get major airplay on pop, rock and country
radio stations. The song's popularity hinged on its double entendre
catchphrase, "Don't mess with my toot-toot", containing both a drug and sex connotation, while its real meaning was a Cajun term of endearment meaning sweet heart, as in 'mà chere tout-tout.'
Sidney was featured in People
magazine, Rolling Stone
, Billboard
and Music City News and appeared on numerous national TV shows, including Nashville Now
, Church Street Station, Hee Haw
, Austin City Limits
, John Fogerty's Showtime Special, New Country and Charlie Daniels
Jam. He was also a guest celebrity on You Can Be a Star. "My Toot Toot" was played in the motion pictures Hard Luck, One Good Cop
, and The Big Easy.
"My Toot Toot" has been covered by many artists including Fats Domino
, Rosie Ledet
, Jean Knight, Terrance Simien, Doug Kershaw, Denise LaSalle
, Jimmy C. Newman and John Fogerty
. A Spanish
version, "Mi Cucu," sold over a million copies in Mexico
, Central America
, and South America
. A German beer company licensed it to use in their radio and television commercials. Over 20 years after "My Toot Toot" debuted, it continued to draw royalties
from commercial use in Europe, and cover versions in several languages by dozens of musicians.
After a long bout with throat cancer, Rockin' Sidney Simien succumbed to the disease in 1998, leaving his legacy to his wife, three sons, and four grandchildren.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
, zydeco
Zydeco
Zydeco is a form of uniquely American roots or folk music. It evolved in southwest Louisiana in the early 19th century from forms of "la la" Creole music...
, and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
who began recording in the late 1950s and continued performing until his death.
Biography
Rockin' Sidney was a long-time zydeco musician who played almost every style of music, from Caribbean beats to bluesBlues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
. His credits included "No Good Woman", "You Ain't Nothing But Fine", "Tell Me", and his biggest hit, "My Toot Toot", which became a worldwide hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
.
Simien was born into a sharecropper's family in the tiny farming community of Lebeau
Lebeau, Louisiana
Lebeau is a small unincorporated community in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States, in the central part of the state. Nearby communities include Palmetto, Ville Platte and Washington. The community is part of the Opelousas–Eunice Micropolitan Statistical Area.Lebeau is the birthplace...
, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. Sidney took up the guitar at an early age. He started his musical career at age 14 or 15 playing harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
. 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. In 1957, at the age of 18, he recorded his first side, "Make Me Understand," on the short-lived Carl label. "No Good Woman" became a small hit in Louisiana in 1962, while the flip side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
, "You Ain't Nothing But Fine" brought him his first national attention as a songwriter. The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American, Grammy-nominated Blues rock band, formed in 1974.-Career:After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records, and later on signed with Epic Records.Their first two albums,...
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. Heavily influenced by local musicians such as Slim Harpo
Slim Harpo
Slim Harpo was an American blues musician. He was known as a master of the blues harmonica; the name "Slim Harpo" was derived from "harp," the popular nickname for the harmonica in blues circles.-Early life:...
and Cookie & The Cupcakes, Sidney made R&B-styled recordings briefly on the Louisiana record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, Fame, during the late 1950s. He was often backed by George Lewis on harmonica and Katie Webster on piano. Floyd Soileau's Jin Records label released nine Rockin' Sidney singles between 1957–1964. Sidney also recorded on Rod Records. 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
Goldband Records
Goldband Records is an American record company based in Lake Charles, Louisiana, founded in 1945 and best known for its Cajun and R&B recordings in the 1950s and 1960s....
. He took to wearing a turban
Turban
In English, Turban refers to several types of headwear popularly worn in the Middle East, North Africa, Punjab, Jamaica and Southwest Asia. A commonly used synonym is Pagri, the Indian word for turban.-Styles:...
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. 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.
Zydeco
In the late 1970s Sidney was performing solo organ gigs at Lake CharlesLake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
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
Louisiana Creole people
Louisiana Creole people refers to those who are descended from the colonial settlers in Louisiana, especially those of French and Spanish descent. The term was first used during colonial times by the settlers to refer to those who were born in the colony, as opposed to those born in the Old World...
heritage. His Clifton Chenier and Buckwheat Zydeco
Buckwheat Zydeco
Buckwheat Zydeco is the stage name of Stanley Dural, Jr. , an American accordionist and zydeco musician. He is one of the few zydeco artists to achieve mainstream success...
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
Ventriloquism
Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is an act of stagecraft in which a person manipulates his or her voice so that it appears that the voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered "dummy"...
. His first zydeco album, Give Me a Good Time Woman was released in 1982 on the Maison de Soul
Maison De Soul
Maison De Soul is a Louisiana based blues and R&B record label. It is owned by Floyd Soileau....
label.
"He already knew keyboards and that was half the battle," said Soileau. 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 Solileau'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.
"My Toot Toot"
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 in his third album, My Zydeco Shoes Got the Zydeco Blues. He recorded the entire album in his home studio in Lake Charles, and played all the instruments himself. In January 1985, "My Toot Toot" was released as a single in Louisiana and Texas, and became his first true regional hit. Thanks to Cleon Floyd, manager of R&B singer (and uncle to) King FloydKing Floyd
King Floyd was a New Orleans soul singer and songwriter, best known for his Top 10 hit from 1970, "Groove Me".-Early career:...
, it became a huge New Orleans hit. Floyd first heard the crowd's reaction to the song at a bill headlined by Solomon Burke. Cleon was also the president of the Orleans Street Jocks Association and took twenty copies of the record back to the city; he quickly had to order more. By Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras
The terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...
, it was a jukebox and record hop smash.
Huey Meaux got the original leased to Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
(a division of Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
), who released it nationally, and for a brief moment Rockin’ Sidney made musical history. Epic managed to get Rockin' Sidney into the country Top 40 where it stayed for 18 weeks. Later that year, "My Toot Toot" was certified platinum and won a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
. "My Toot Toot" became a national and international million-selling phenomenon. It was the first zydeco record to get major airplay on pop, rock and country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
radio stations. The song's popularity hinged on its double entendre
Double entendre
A double entendre or adianoeta is a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué or ironic....
catchphrase, "Don't mess with my toot-toot", containing both a drug and sex connotation, while its real meaning was a Cajun term of endearment meaning sweet heart, as in 'mà chere tout-tout.'
Sidney was featured in People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
magazine, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
and Music City News and appeared on numerous national TV shows, including Nashville Now
Nashville Now
Nashville Now is a television talk show that focused on country music performers. It aired live weeknights on The Nashville Network from 1983-1993. The host was Nashville TV/radio personality Ralph Emery. The show won several Emmy awards during its run. A frequent guest and substitute host was...
, Church Street Station, Hee Haw
Hee Haw
Hee Haw is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with fictional rural Kornfield Kounty as a backdrop. It aired on CBS-TV from 1969–1971 before a 20-year run in local syndication. The show was inspired by Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, the major difference being...
, Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits is an American public television music program recorded live in Austin, Texas by Public Broadcasting Service Public television member station KLRU, and broadcast on many PBS stations around the United States...
, John Fogerty's Showtime Special, New Country and Charlie Daniels
Charlie Daniels
Charles Edward "Charlie" Daniels is an American musician known for his contributions to country and southern rock music. He is known primarily for his number one country hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", and multiple other songs he has performed and written. Daniels has been active as a singer...
Jam. He was also a guest celebrity on You Can Be a Star. "My Toot Toot" was played in the motion pictures Hard Luck, One Good Cop
One Good Cop
One Good Cop is a 1991 American crime film written and directed by Heywood Gould and starring Michael Keaton, Rene Russo, Anthony LaPaglia and Benjamin Bratt.-Plot:...
, and The Big Easy.
"My Toot Toot" has been covered by many artists including Fats Domino
Fats Domino
Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino, Jr. is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Creole was his first language....
, Rosie Ledet
Rosie Ledet
Rosie Ledet is a Creole Zydeco accordion player and singer.Raised in rural Louisiana, she listened to rock music in her youth. Although she was in an environment where zydeco was heard, she took little interest in the music at the time...
, Jean Knight, Terrance Simien, Doug Kershaw, Denise LaSalle
Denise LaSalle
Denise LaSalle is an American R&B/soul and blues singer, songwriter, and record producer.-Career:...
, Jimmy C. Newman and John Fogerty
John Fogerty
John Cameron Fogerty is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his time with the swamp rock/roots rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival and as a #1 solo recording artist. Fogerty has a rare distinction of being named on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest...
. A Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
version, "Mi Cucu," sold over a million copies in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. A German beer company licensed it to use in their radio and television commercials. Over 20 years after "My Toot Toot" debuted, it continued to draw royalties
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
from commercial use in Europe, and cover versions in several languages by dozens of musicians.
Later years
Sidney used royalties from "My Toot Toot" to purchase radio station KAOK-AM in Lake Charles. He also bought Festival City, a 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) entertainment complex in Lake Charles. and started a record label, ZBC Records. After the success of "My Toot Toot," Sidney toured the United States and Europe and continued to record, characteristically playing all parts. Although nothing before or after ever matched the career-defining success of "My Toot Toot," several of his songs such as "If It's Good For The Gander," "My Zydeco Shoes," "Jalapeño Lena", and "Ann Cayenne" have become zydeco staples and are played regularly by other bands.After a long bout with throat cancer, Rockin' Sidney Simien succumbed to the disease in 1998, leaving his legacy to his wife, three sons, and four grandchildren.
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
|||
| 1985 | My Toot Toot | 13 | 166 | Epic |
Singles
| Year | Single | US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | "My Toot Toot" | 19 | My Toot Toot |