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Born and raised in Crowley, Louisiana
Wayne Toups has traveled the world entertaining folks
with his own style of music, a unique combination of
rock, folk, r & b and Cajun/Zydeco types of music for
over 35 years. Since the age of thirteen, when older
brother Roger first inspired Wayne to play music, Toups
has performed with several legendary entertainers from
all genres of music. For the past twenty-two years Toups
has fronted his own group of musicians. Noted for his
flamboyance and rock-derived rhythms, there is no one
quite like him, as any patron of his sold-out shows can
confirm. Young and old musicians alike shake their heads
in amazement at his proficiency at mastering the
diatonic accordion. Wayne is considered one of the most
charismatic and compelling "roots music" entertainers
around, having toured in over 26 countries. He debuted
his brand of Cajun/Zydeco style music on a 1986 album
called ZyDeCajun. Now considered the pioneer of
ZyDeCajun, you can hear “Toups Style Accordion” playing
by every aspiring and successful “ZyDeCajun” musician
that has come along after Wayne Toups. One of the most
commercially successful Cajun artists, Toups has
recorded with major labels like Polygram-Mercury. To his
credit, Toups has released eleven albums/cds. Wayne
Toups was the first Cajun performer to achieve the
monumental accomplishment of charting several cuts on
Billboard's Top Album charts with his "Back to the
Bayou" release. His distinctive instrumental style has
also been heard on #1 country hits from Nashville
musicians such as Mark Chesnutt, Alan Jackson, Clay
Walker, Sammy Kershaw and Garth Brooks, just to name a
few. “Two-Step Mamou” was released on the soundtrack of
the “Steel Magnolias” movie. A legend in its own right,
Toups "Take My Hand" music video was awarded the Silver
Lone Star Remy Award for Best Concert Performance Video,
directed by award winning director John Frazier. “Sweet
Jolene” has appeared on MTV as a video. Other tracks
have been heard on both movie and television
soundtracks. Additional distinguished awards include
induction into the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame, the
Gulf Coast Hall of Fame, and most recently, the Cajun
French Music Association Hall of Fame, who also honored
Toups by voting his recording of “Late in Life” with the
Song of the Year award.
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