Zachary Richard (born September 8, 1950) is a Cajun singer/songwriter and poet. His music is an innovative combination of Cajun and Zydeco musical styles.
Zachary Richard began his musical career at the age of 8, as soprano in the Bishops’s Boys Choir at Saint John’s Cathedral in Lafayette Louisiana. He attended Cathedral High School and Tulane University, graduating summa cum laude in 1972.
Richard has recorded Cajun and zydeco music for over 35 years. He has recorded sixteen studio albums of which five were declared gold albums in Canada with 1 double platinum (Cap Enragé). Although recording in both English and French, Richard’s career has been notably Francophone. He has been awarded 5 Félix (Quebec music award named after Félix Leclerc).
He is an Officier in the Ordre des Arts et Lettres de la République Française and a member of the Ordre des Francophones d’Amérique. In 1980, he was awarded the Prix de la Jeune Chanson Française by the French Minister of Culture.
In addition to his musical works, Richard published works include 3 volumes of poetry and 3 children’s books. Faire Récolte earned the Prix Champlain (Quebec) in 1998 and Feu received the Prix Roland Gasparic (Bucharest Roumania) in 2002.
Richard has collaborated on several television documentary projects including Against the Tide, the Story of the Cajun people of Louisiana (producer and music director) which received the Best Historical Documentary prize in 2000 awarded by the National Educational Television Authority (UA). The French version, Contre vents, contre marées received the Prix Historia the following year. Zachary was narrator and musical director of Migrations", "Vu du Large", "Coeurs Batailleurs (24 part series) and most recently Kouchibouguac, l’histoire de Jackie Vautour et des Expropriés.
A lifelong resident of south Louisiana, Richard is a committed to the protection of the natural environment. In collaboration with the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, he participated in the television documentary Labranche, Legacy of the Lost. A founding member of Action Cadienne, Richard remains committed to the preservation and promotion of the French language of Louisiana.
In 2009, he was made an honorary Member of the Order of Canada "for his contributions as an author, composer, singer and poet, and for his important role in defending and promoting the French language and the "Cadian" and Acadian identity".
Discography 1972 - High Time (re-released 2000) 1976 - Bayou des mystères 1977 - Mardi Gras 1978 - Migration 1979 - Allons danser 1980 - Live in Montreal 1981 - Vent d’Été 1984 - Zack Attack 1987 - Zack’s Bon Ton 1988 - Mardi Gras Mambo 1990 - Women in the Room 1992 - Snake Bite Love 1995 - Looking Back (compilation) 1997 - Cap enragé 2000 - Coeur fidèle 2000 - Silver Jubilee (compilation) 2002 - Travailler c'est trop dur (double compilation) 2007 - Lumière dans le noir 2009 - Last Kiss
