Rockin' Dopsie

Biography

Alton Rubin, 1932, Carenco, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA, d. 26 August 1993, Opelousas, Louisiana, USA. Rubin taught himself accordion at the age of 14, and in 1955 teamed up with scrub-board player Chester Zeno to work the local club circuit, adapting his name from that of ‘Doopsie’, a Chicago dancer. In 1969-70 he recorded for the Bon Temps and Blues Unlimited labels, and in 1973 began a successful collaboration with Sonet Records and producer Sam Charters. Following the death of Clifton Chenier in 1987, Rubin, under his alter-ego guise of the Rockin’ Dopsie, was hailed as the ‘king of zydeco’, and was crowned as such by the Mayor of Lafayette, Louisiana, in 1988. During that decade he worked alongside a number of gifted performers attempting to bring Cajun and zydeco to a broader, international audience, achieving substantial success in that pursuit. Numerous international tours were undertaken and Rubin’s vivacious stage presence...

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