Editing Buckwheat Zydeco (section)

==Career==
Dural became proficient at the [[organ (music)|organ]], and by the late 1950s he was backing [[Joe Tex]], [[Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown]] and many others.<ref name=AMG>{{Cite web |last=Ankeny |first=Jason |title=Buckwheat Zydeco Biography |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/buckwheat-zydeco-mn0000636106 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230910033146/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/buckwheat-zydeco-mn0000636106/biography |archive-date=Sep 10, 2023 |website=AllMusic}}</ref> As a teenager, he played piano for [[Little Richard]], [[Fats Domino]], and [[Ray Charles]].<ref name=":0" /> Two Lafayette-based bands that he played in during his teens and twenties were Sammy and the Untouchables and Lil' Buck and the Top Cats.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Billington |first1=Scott |title=Making tracks: a record producer's Southern roots music journey |last2=Guralnick |first2=Peter |date=2022 |publisher=[[University Press of Mississippi]] |isbn=978-1-4968-3915-2 |series=American made music series |location=Jackson}}</ref> 

In 1971, he founded Buckwheat & the Hitchhikers, a [[funk]] band that he led for five years before switching to zydeco. They were a local sensation and found success with the single, "It's Hard To Get", recorded for a local Louisiana-based label.<ref name=AMG />

He began backing [[Clifton Chenier]], one of the most legendary zydeco performers. Though not a traditional zydeco fan when growing up, Buckwheat accepted an invitation in 1976 to join [[Clifton Chenier]]'s Red Hot Louisiana Band as organist. He quickly discovered the popularity of zydeco music, and noted the effect the music had on the audience. "Everywhere, people young and old just loved zydeco music," Dural says. "I had so much fun playing that first night with Clifton. We played for four hours and I wasn't ready to quit."<ref name=OBIT>{{Cite web |date=2016-09-24 |title=Louisiana accordionist Buckwheat Zydeco, who embodied music genre, dies at age 68 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-accordionist-buckwheat-zydeco-dies-20160924-story.html |access-date=September 29, 2016 |agency=Associated Press |website=Chicago Tribune |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001005945/http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-accordionist-buckwheat-zydeco-dies-20160924-story.html |archive-date= Oct 1, 2016 }}</ref>

Dural's relationship with Chenier led him to take up the [[accordion]] in 1978. After practicing for a year, he felt ready to start his own band under the name Buckwheat Zydeco. They debuted with ''One for the Road'' in 1979 on the Blues Unlimited label and then recorded for [[New Orleans]]' [[Black Top Records|Black Top]] label. In 1983, they were nominated for a [[Grammy Award]] for ''Turning Point'' and in 1985 for ''Waitin' For My Ya Ya'' after switching to the [[Rounder Records]] label.<ref name=":0" /> [[Scott Billington]] of Rounder wrote that Buckwheat "played the large [[piano accordion]], like Clifton, but delivered his music with the flair of a [[rhythm and blues]] star like [[Joe Tex]], and with the precision of [[James Brown]]. He performed [[Creole music|Creole]] dance music, but it was also Southern [[soul music]] and Louisiana funk, with a Caribbean edge, all in one package."<ref name=":1" />

The band then signed to [[Island Records]], becoming the first zydeco act on a major label, and released ''On a Night Like This'', a critically acclaimed album that was nominated for a Grammy as well. 

In 1988, [[Eric Clapton]] invited the band to open his North American tour as well as his 12-night stand at London’s [[Royal Albert Hall]]. Buckwheat subsequently shared stages and/or recording with [[Keith Richards]], [[Robert Plant]], [[Willie Nelson]], [[Mavis Staples]], [[David Hidalgo]], [[Dwight Yoakam]], [[Paul Simon]], [[Ry Cooder]], the [[Cherry Poppin' Daddies]] and many others, including indie music band [[Yo La Tengo]] on the soundtrack of the [[Bob Dylan]] bio-pic, ''[[I'm Not There]]''. His music has been featured in films including ''[[The Waterboy]]'', ''[[The Big Easy (film)|The Big Easy]]'', ''[[Fletch Lives]]'' and ''[[Hard Target]]''. [[Black Entertainment Television|BET]]'s show ''[[Comic View]]'' used his live version of “What You Gonna Do?” as theme music for the program's 10th anniversary "Pardi Gras" season. He also wrote and performed the theme music for the [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS television]] series ''[[Pierre Franey]]'s Cooking In America''. Buckwheat won an [[Emmy Award|Emmy]] for his music in the [[CBS]] TV movie, ''[[Pistol Pete: The Life and Times of Pete Maravich]]''.<ref name=OBIT/>

Buckwheat Zydeco played many major music festivals, including the [[New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival]] (numerous times), [[Chicago Blues Festival]], [[Newport Folk Festival]], [[Summerfest]], [[Street Scene (San Diego music festival)|San Diego Street Scene]], [[Bumbershoot]], [[Montreux Jazz Festival]], the [[Voodoo Experience]], and countless others.<ref name=OBIT/>

During the 1990s and early 2000s Buckwheat recorded for his own Tomorrow Recordings label and maintained an extensive touring schedule. Buckwheat Zydeco's last album, ''Lay Your Burden Down'', was released on May 5, 2009 on the [[Alligator Records]] label. It was produced by [[Steve Berlin]] of [[Los Lobos]] and included guest appearances by guitarists [[Warren Haynes]] and [[Sonny Landreth]], [[Trombone Shorty]], [[JJ Grey & MOFRO|JJ Grey]] and Berlin himself. The album was nominated for a [[Grammy Award]]. ''Sonicboomers.com'' says, "The CD is a vastly entertaining and appealingly diverse package. Bandleader Dural remains an ever-engaging vocalist and a whiz on any keyboard he touches. So, for Buckwheat Zydeco fans, ''Lay Your Burden Down'' finds the maestro and his group near the top of their form. For listeners with less interest in the ol' accordion get-down, the collection supplies enough interesting wrinkles to get the good times rolling."<ref name=SB>{{cite web |last1=Morris |first1=Chris |url-status=dead |website=SonicBoomers |url=http://www.sonicboomers.com/albumreviews/buckwheat-zydeco |title=Album of the Week - Lay Your Burden Down |archive-url=https://archive.today/20090518095444/http://www.sonicboomers.com/albumreviews/buckwheat-zydeco |archive-date=2009-05-18 |date=May 15, 2009}}</ref>

Buckwheat Zydeco's version of the classic "Cryin' in the Streets" appears on the benefit album for [[Hurricane Katrina]] recovery, ''[[Our New Orleans: A Benefit Album for the Gulf Coast]]''.<ref>"[http://www.allmusic.com/album/our-new-orleans-a-benefit-album-for-the-gulf-coast-mw0000351963 Our New Orleans: A Benefit Album for the Gulf Coast]". ''AllMusic''. Retrieved on September 29, 2016.</ref> His version of [[Memphis Minnie]] and [[Kansas Joe McCoy]]'s "[[When the Levee Breaks]]" appeared on 2011's Alligator Records 40th Anniversary Collection. It originally appeared on the 2009 Buckwheat Zydeco album ''Lay Your Burden Down''.