01:15 Welcomes Queen Ida Guillory who just finished a shrimp creole cooking demonstration. Grew up near Lake Charles (Homewood), dad was a sharecropper. Moved to Beaumont, Texas at 9 years old to be rice farmers. Started cooking then and helped with farming, drove tractor. Seven children, all spoke French, had relatives who played accordion and fiddle, always music around. Listened to early French music called “la la” music. 8:00 Became Zydeco when blues and R&B elements got mixed in, was no longer Cajun music. Left Beaumont for CA in 1947 because work was plentiful during WWII. Los Angeles has largest Creole community outside LA. Raised a family there. Her son Myrick plays in her current band. At time, was not playing music. She was told tha girls didn’t play accordion, that was for men. She drove school bus. 12:10 Started to play accordion in secret while she waited to transport school kids. Started to play in her brother’s band, then sat in with another band of Louisiana musicians. Was crowned “Queen Ida” at a Mardi Gras celebration by a San Francisco Chronicle journalist. “That’s how the ball started rolling.” 15:10 Didn’t have a band and only knew a few songs. Started building repertoire and 2 years later played Monterey Jazz Festival (1976). Got record contract with GNP Crescendo Records who she stayed with through 8 albums, 1 Grammy (1983) and 4 nominations, the 1989 W.C. Handy award for blues artist of the year. 16:35 Major influences were Clifton Chenier and Professor Longhair because of his style. State department tour of West Africa in 1989, has traveled around the world and audiences respond the same everywhere. 18:20 Demonstration: plays a segment from 1990 album, Zydeco a la Mode entitled “Creole from Lake Charles.” 20:20 Talks about her cookbook, Cookin' with Queen Ida, with traditional and family recipes, still does the cooking at home (San Francisco area). Is on the road about 150-75 days a year with her band. 23:30 She writes some of her songs but is on the road so much she doesn’t have much time. Plays in Bay area at Great American Music Hall and Community Center in Berkeley. Has had same band for five years, new addition is sax player. Had a fiddle player, for some reason it’s hard to hang on to a fiddle player. 26:50 Why aren’t there more women in Zydeco – wish I knew. 27:47 Interview Ends