NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Louisiana musician Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural Jr., who introduced zydeco music to the world through his namesake band Buckwheat Zydeco, has died. He was 68.
His longtime manager Ted Fox told The Associated Press that Dural died early Saturday morning. He had suffered from lung cancer.
Fox said the musician and accordionist died at 1:32 a.m. Louisiana time at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Lafayette, Louisiana. He gained fame by introducing zydeco music of southwest Louisiana to the world.
Popularized in dance halls across the state's southwest, Dural took the music mainstream, playing at former President Bill Clinton's inauguration and at the 1996 Olympics closing ceremony in Atlanta.