STANLEY DURAL JR. knew he would make music his life, he just didn't know it would be Zydeco-the playful amalgamation of French music, Afro-Caribbean rhythms and American blues particular to Southern Louisiana that took its name from the French term for snap beans, les haricots. Heck, if it had been up to Stanley, a.k.a. Buckwheat (a nickname Stanley's buddies in Lafayette, La., tagged him with as a kid because his wild hair made him look like the Little Rascals star), he would never have played Zydeco, period. Its principal instruments, the accordion and washboard, as well as Zydeco's parochial, family-oriented style, were all too old-fashioned to crack Buckwheat's fondness for the worldliness of R&B and soul. After all, this was the '70s, man! But Clifton Chenier, architect of modern Zydeco and a family friend of the Durals, wouldn't leave the young organ player well enough alone. So in 1976, Buckwheat, a self-styled soul and R&B musician, agreed to sit in with the King of Zydeco and the Red Hot Louisiana Band for one night at the local bar in Lafayette. That night changed Stanley's life forever, and he changed his name to prove it. "The energy!" the young Buck would later exclaim to an interviewer. "The energy that came out-it was so much... it was something I'd never seen before. And Cleveland, (Chenier's) brother, he's got this washboard on him wrapped around him like suspenders. And he's got these things in his fingers, you know, some bottlecap openers. I said, 'Man, that don't sound too far from what I'm doing with the beat. Shoot, I can't believe this.'" So after two years of keyboarding with Clifton Chenier, and almost an entire year "woodshedding" with the accordion, Buckwheat Zydeco and the Ils Sont Partis (They're Off) Band emerged with a unique blend of unadulterated Zydeco, Southern soul and groovy R&B. Crowds responded, the touring never ended and the group became the first Zydeco act ever signed to a major label when Island Records locked them up for a five-record deal. Over 20 years and four Grammy nominations (but no winners) later, Buckwheat is still smiling and living large. He'll bring his substantial stage show (Buck's accordion, two guitars, trumpet, rubboard, base and drums) to six dates in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont starting the first week in February. We caught up with Buckwheat just before the national tour got under way and had a chance to talk about friends, family, growing up Creole and poor in Southern Louisiana and, perhaps most importantly, what brings a smile to his face.

In every picture I have seen, you wear the most ecstatic smile. What makes you so exceedingly happy all the time?

I love playing music, there's nothing I'd rather do, and if I'm having a bad day, I know I'll work it out on stage and feel better after.

Growing up in Louisiana in the 1950s and '60s, where would you hear Zydeco music? Was it ever on the radio?

Old-time Zydeco was just played at home for the family or just for your friends at a get-together. After people worked hard all day in the fields or whatever, it was the way they relaxed and spent time together-all generations, parents and kids.

Even your father, Stanley Dural Sr., a Zydeco and accordion player himself, believed Zydeco was meant for entertaining family and friends in the home only, and definitely not for the clubs.

It was just the tradition, the way he knew. He grew to love what I do, and we ended up getting along great. It made me proud.

Your name is Buckwheat Zydeco, not Buckwheat Cajun, yet people still confuse the two styles. What makes Cajun music Cajun, and Zydeco music Zydeco?

Cajun is white, and we blacks in Southwest Louisiana call ourselves Creole. Zydeco is more based on R&B, Cajun is based more on country.

In addition to R&B, modern Zydeco blends Afro-Caribbean rhythms, American blues, soul and rock. Do you find the music to be as successful at uniting people as it does musical genres?

Just look at the crowds at our shows. We get all generations and all kinds of people. We welcome everybody, and Zydeco is something anyone can get into and like. We want everyone to have a good time and forget about their troubles for a while.

Your longtime friend and manager, Ted Fox, wrote that you are a "consummate old-school performer." What does that mean?

Well, I do like to please my audience, and I work hard on every show.

Twenty years after getting into the business, Buckwheat Zydeco is comprised of the same core group it started with back in the 1970s. How important is family, both the musical one and the blood one, to doing what you do?

Lee Allen Zeno, my bass player and music director, has been with me since we were kids. He's the best in the business and he's like my brother. And it's been great to have Buckaroo-Lil' Buck-that's Paul Sinegal, the guitar player-back in the band. We go way back to Clifton (Chenier), and before that I played in his band, Lil' Buck and the Top Cats. Now I have my son Reginald playing rubboard and keyboards with me. Being tight with the people you play with sure helps you play tight!

You grew up a poor kid with a stutter in a two-room house with 11 brothers and sisters in Lafayette and became an international band leader and role model. Looking back on your life so far, do you consider yourself an exceptional person?

I have been blessed, and I'm thankful for it.

Buckwheat Zydeco is the posterboy, spokesperson and musical ambassador for Zydeco all rolled into one. Is there a lot of pressure on you to keep moving the music forward?

Oh, I don't feel any pressure. I'm just doing what I love and what I know how to do. I play the same whether it's for six or sixty thousand. I'm glad I can bring the culture of Louisiana to the world, and I hope I'll always be able to do that. It's an honor.