Johnette Downing clings to memories of her parents taking her to jazz and blues clubs in New Orleans. The family sometimes wandered into the country to two-step and waltz in the Cajun dancehalls around Pierre Part.
Downing says Louisiana music, with children in mind, became her mission in life.
“I love sharing this culture we have in Louisiana,” said Downing. “I want to share that with children the way my parents shared it with me. It made me who I am today. I want that for our children now. I want them to have that same experience.”
Thirty-two children’s books and numerous awards later, Downing is set to release album no. 13, “My Little Snap Bean: Zydeco For Children,” with Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas. Zydeco legend and Grammy nominee Nathan Williams of Lafayette shares the accordion mastery and Creole vocals that have brought him to the Grand Ole Opry, the Kennedy Center and festivals across the United States and Europe.
The album features a lively mix of 12 children’s songs based on Louisiana legends and folklore. Titles include “My Parrain is the Loup Garou” (My Godfather is a Werewolf), “The Fifolet” (supernatural swamp gas) and “Going to the La La,” reminiscent of the Creole house dances in the 1920s and ‘30s. Those move-the-furniture-aside, “La La” parties in rural southwest Louisiana gave birth to zydeco music.
The album’s fun lyrics touch on themes of community, Creole traditions and children’s games, like “Loop de Loop” and “Ready or Not.”
Several cuts feature Downing’s harmonica-playing husband and Grammy-winning producer Scott Billington. Besides working with Irma Thomas, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and other Louisiana music icons, Billington produced seven Zydeco Cha Chas albums. The discography includes the band’s 1989 debut album, “Steady Rock” on Rounder Records.
Downing, who has collaborated with jazz and Cajun musicians in previous projects, said the state’s rich music roots and traditions fueled the record.
“I want children to hear the real thing. Collaborating with someone like Nathan or Irma Thomas, they get to hear that on a kid’s album,” Downing said. “Working with Nathan was so much fun. The band brought so much joy to the session. They came to have fun and to work. They knew this is for the next generation. They knew the importance of it.”
Downing isn’t slowing down. She has another children’s book, “New England Animals A to Z,” circulating in the Northeast.
Downing and Billington have completed four years of work on “Irma Thomas: Soul Queen of New Orleans.” The biography is set for a fall release on the University Press of Mississippi.
“This is such a big year for me,” she said. “I don’t see any reason to stop.”
Herman Fuselier is executive director of the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission. A longtime journalist covering Louisiana music and culture, he lives in Opelousas. His “Zydeco Stomp” show airs at noon Saturdays on KRVS 88.7 FM.