Sammy Naquin lives to play music that makes people feel good, have fun and want to dance. When you catch Sammy Naquin onstage he’ll cook up a Louisiana musical gumbo, with a strong traditional zydeco / cajun / creole roux, with some zydeco blues (a la the great Clifton Chenier, one of Sammy’s early mentors), spiced with New Orleans jazz and R&B, maybe a dash of country and just about anything else he’s heard in his travels. He will mix it up till it becomes one and serves it up smokin’ hot. “I like music from all over the world” says Sammy. “I’ll take anything and throw it into the pot.” But he never strays too far from his authentic Louisiana roots. Besides Clifton Chenier, the “King of Zydeco,” another of Sammy’s inspirations was Rockin’ Dopsie Sr. He continues to pay homage to the pioneers of zydeco like Boozoo Chavis, Nathan Williams (and the Zydeco Cha-Chas) and his friend Zachary Richard. Naquin is known for his distinctive, powerful and compelling accordion style, built up in nearly 30 years of playing. Sammy was born into a musical Cajun family and raised on the bayous around Montagut, south of New Orleans. His great-granddaddy played accordion, the band often performing at a club in Point Barre. His father and uncle also played guitar. Sammy started on guitar around age 5 or 6, but soon switched to accordion. “My daddy was a minister in a French church. There was a lady who played the accordion, and that was the first time I had seen that .” He was hooked. His father soon gave Sammy an accordion for his birthday and within 6 months Sammy was playing on stages.“There was a guy had a little club called The Camp in a place called Bobtown. Jimmy Southern - he'd been a professor in Cuba! - was playing accordion there. Another man, Buddy Miller, showed me some licks.” Sammy remembers his first session with recording artist Gene Rodrique, known as the “Lonesome Pine From Valentine.” Sammy was too young to drive so Rodrigue, stoned drunk, (this was back in his drinking days) picked him up at home and stopped at every bar along the way to the studio. The result was a track, called “You’re Breaking My Heart.” Once Rockin’ Sidney called a young Sammy onstage in front of thousands of fans to play “Don’t Mess With My Toot Toot.” Sammy sat in and played with people like Johnnie Allan and Bruce Daigrepont. By age 16 Sammy was in New Orleans performing on Bourbon Street, logging thousands of sets there. One of the highlights was playing Pete Fountain’s birthday party for several years, sharing the stage with Rusty Kershaw and guests like Jimmy Buffet and Smokey Robinson. Sammy joined his father Richard, a cajun singer/ guitarist and recording artist, in The Sons of Cajun Heritage. This band was featured in Southern Living magazine in the early 1980s. Sammy has collected a few awards over the years, including Best Upcoming Band in the CFMA (Cajun French Music Awards). Sammy’s band reached semi-finalist in Jazz Search 1990. He won two awards (in both Cajun Country and Traditional Cajun divisions) at the Acadian Village Battle of the Bands. Sammy Naquin’s accordion has been recorded with artists including: Rusty Kershaw, David Doucet (Beausoleil), Gina Forsyth, Scott Goudeau, David Greely (The Mamou Playboys). You can even hear Sammy on the soundtrack to the TV series “The Big Easy.” Sammy’s work has taken him outside the usual dance halls and clubs to some more unusual performances. His band provided the music for the wrap-up party for the 1988 remake film “In The Heat Of The Night” starring Carroll O’Connor. He toured with Chef Paul Prudhomme, providing music while the Chef promoted his culinary products. Sammy even performed at the wedding of one of the characters on ABC’s Dynasty II: The Colbys! Sammy’s music is often requested for private and corporate parties, conventions and events with a Louisiana music theme. Other colorful characters that Sammy has hung out and played music with include the comedian-singer Kip Adaway (Jackson Hole) and the legendary Johnny Paycheck at -- you guessed it – a 1990's truckers and Bikers Festival in Cherokee, North Carolina. The mid-90's found the band “Sammy and His Main Squeeze” cooking it up with regular gigs at Fort Morgan Alabama, the Flori-Bama and The Bare Foot Club at Gulf Shores, Alabama. For 25 years Sammy operated out of his home base in New Orleans. He traveled and toured from Florida to Canada, from New York City to California, and the central and western states in between. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed just about everything Sammy and his fiancé Debra owned. Now married and back home in Louisiana, Sammy Naquin is back with Sammy Naquin & The Zydeco Whips. He's cooking up his Louisiana gumbo -- better, stronger and hotter than ever -- with the release of his new CD: Big Dog Little Dog. The Band consists of Accordion,Guitar,Bass Guitar,Drums,and sometimes a second guitar player and scrub board (washboard) player. Sammy's Discography includes his new release, Big Dog Little Dog (2009), Cajun Party, Pure Cajun, Best of Cajun Instrumentals(Featuring Sammy Naquin), Super Cajun (various artists), The Bourbon Street Cajuns, The Bourbon Street Cajuns After the Storm, Si Longtemps Separe(recorded with W.Thibodeaux, theme song for the 1999 international reunion,'Congres Mondial Acadian'), Story Of My Life(recorded with his father Richard Naquin), Chante Pas T'rouge (honored by the Humane Society for its stance against cock fighting and animal cruelty) and many other recordings with other artists. Sammy's music can be purchased on iTunes, as well as through Mardi Gras Records and his website.