1.18.11: Artist Profile on Queen Ida

Listen to the show:

On this show, Laura spotlights new music from Southern songwriter, filmmaker, and singer Johanna Divine, as well as a new Loretta Lynn tribute album. We also hear songs from Louise Mosrie, Katherine Whalen, Emmylou Harris, Kate Campbell, Dawn Landes, and more.

…and we celebrate the life and birthday of Creole squeezebox legend Queen Ida, born January 15, 1929 in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Queen Ida was the first female accordion player to lead a zydeco band.

Born Ida Lewis to a musically talented family in Lake Charles, LA, she learned to play accordion from her mother after spending a few years learning piano. Her family moved to Beaumont, TX when she was ten, and eight years later moved to San Francisco. Her first language is French, and wherever her family went, they took their Creole culture and music with them. But while music was important to Lewis, during her young adult years she married (becoming Ida Guillory) and raised a family, only rarely performing for social occasions. She briefly attended nursing school but left during her first pregnancy. When her children were all school-aged, she became a part-time bus driver. As they grew, Queen Ida’s friends began more strongly encouraging her to perform publicly.

In the early ’70s, she began performing with Barbary Coast Band and with the Playboys. She was in demand, not only because of her talent, but also because female accordion players were a rarity. She got her stage name in 1975 during a Mardis Gras celebration in the Bay Area. There she was formally crowned “Queen of the Zydeco Accordion and Queen of Zydeco Music.” The following year she and her band played at the Monterey Jazz and Blues Festival. She also signed to GNP/Crescendo Records, a Los Angeles-based jazz label.

Despite her popularity, Queen Ida never felt music was stable enough to support her children and so continued bus driving until her youngest daughter went to school. After that, Ida began touring more frequently, and has performed throughout the world. (from allmusic.com)

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