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W e d n e s d ay, J u ly 2, 2025
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New album featuring The Rolling Stones a historic mix of cultures The Rolling Stones don’t do tribute albums. Rock ’n’ roll gods with more than 250 million albums sold, the Stones are usually the worshipped, not the worshippers. But rock guitarist C.C. Adcock, of Lafayette, was on to something that could change Herman that. Adcock, Fuselier like Mick Jagger, cut his musical molars on the accordion blues and boogie of Opelousas native Clifton Chenier, the heralded King of Zydeco. Adcock is also a producer on an album that celebrates the 100th anniversary of Chenier’s birth. He’s also friends with a couple of Jagger’s children, Lizzy and Jimmy, known to crash at Adcock’s place in the French Quarter. All were together for a dinner at Antoine’s in New Orleans when Adcock brought up the Chenier tribute and a possible Stones participation.
Antoine’s waiter Alvin Ross delivered the restaurant’s classic baked Alaska for dessert.
STAFF PHOTOS BY JAN RISHER
ALL IN ‘Louisiana Eats’ Poppy Tooker dishes on love, loss and oysters at Antoine’s in New Orleans
IMAGE FROM FRANCIS PAVY/FACEBOOK
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is releasing a 7-inch vinyl of the Rolling Stones and Steve Riley performing Clifton Chenier’s ‘Zydeco Sont Pas Sale,’ as part of a 100th anniversary tribute to the King of Zydeco. “I had already gone to Keith Richards’ camp,” Adcock said. “I knew a couple of people there. We had been told it was a possibility, but nothing firm.” “When I brought it up to Mick, he said, ‘Yeah, that’s something I’d like to be involved in. Let’s do it,’ ” Adcock continued. “I said I had been waiting to hear back from Keith. He goes, ‘You asked the wrong man, didn’t you?’ ” The world gets to hear the Stones’ reverence for Chenier when “A Tribute to the King of Zydeco” is officially released June 27 on Valcour Records and Smithsonian Folkways. The 14song album features the Stones, Taj Mahal, Lucinda Williams, Charley Crockett and other icons performing Chenier classics with Keith Frank, Nathan Williams, Clifton’s son C.J. Chenier, Sonny Landreth and other Louisiana music stars. A special, 7-inch vinyl of the Stones’ single, “Zydeco Sont Pas Sale,” drops June 25, Clifton
BY JAN RISHER
Staff writer
Sharing a meal with someone creates possibilities far beyond immediate nourishment. In this lunch series, Louisiana Culture editor Jan Risher meets notable Louisianans at the restaurant of their choice and tells the story of their lunch. Poppy Tooker knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to ask for it. “So I want it to be a dark pink, not a pale pink. OK? No ice, no fruit — and in a stemmed glass. Got it?” she said, as she ordered what she calls “Poppy’s Pink drink” at Antoine’s. It’s her signature drink, and she’s happy to teach others how to make it. That generosity sums up much of the spirit with which Tooker approaches life. (For the record, to make Poppy’s Pink drink, shake 10 shakes of Peychaud’s bitters into a stemmed glass, top with 8 ounces of sparkling water. Garnish with lime, if desired.) The bitters’ distinctive New Orleans flavor is no accident. Tooker describes herself as old-school New Orleans, which, in local parlance, means that the next sentence should be about where she went to school. “I was a lifer at Ursuline, kindergarten all the way through,” she said, eventually explaining
Jan Risher and Poppy Tooker in front of Antoine’s in New Orleans that it was almost all the way through. In her senior year in 1975, she left Ursuline amidst a bit of drama. She finished at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts — a brief detour that, 50 years later, came full circle. Even so, she did eventually become Ursuline’s alumni president, which she considers one of the greatest feathers in her cap.
‘Food became my love language’ Tooker is the award-winning
host and producer of the radio show “Louisiana Eats,” which is broadcast weekly on NPR affiliates throughout the Gulf South. Her much-loved radio broadcast celebrates its 15-year anniversary this month. Our lunch was evidence of its influence and reach. Lunch with Tooker is a community affair — a running conversation with staff, friends and family. She credits her paternal greatgrandmother for her deep interest
ä See TOOKER, page 2G
ä See ALBUM, page 2G
STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU
But where, exactly, is the geographical center of La.? Mary Guillory, left, assistant director of the Avoyelles Parish Commission of Tourism, and Wilbert Carmouche, director, frame themselves within the Centre de la Louisiane sign, marking the geographic center of the state in Avoyelles Parish. STAFF PHOTO BY ROBIN MILLER
BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer
siana, the region that covers the state’s midsection. “But where is the exact center of the state?” Smith asked. “Has anyone marked it on a map or put up a sign letting people know where it is?”
Louisiana’s highest geographical point is Driskill Mountain near Arcadia in the northwest part of the state. Its lowest elevation is New Orleans at 8 feet below sea level. Easy answer, secluded path But where is the state’s geoThe answer to Smith’s quesgraphical center? That’s the question Megan Smith has been tion is easy, because the Avoypondering. She lives in Pollock, elles Commission of Tourism which is located in central Loui- commemorated what it calls
Centre de la Louisiane — the center of Louisiana — with a marker last October. The not-so-easy part is that it’s off the beaten path, so finding it can be a bit of a treasure hunt for out-of-towners who are unfamiliar with the parish. But that hasn’t deterred people from finding it. “We’ve placed kiosks with QR codes around the parish,”
ä See CURIOUS, page 2G