Grammy Award for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album

The Grammy Award for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album was an honor presented to recording artists at the 50th, 51st, 52nd and 53rd Annual Grammy Awards (2008–2011) for quality zydeco or cajun music albums. The Grammy Awards, an annual ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards,^[1] are presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".^[2]

Beginning in 2001, advocates began lobbying for a Grammy category specifically for cajun and zydeco music. Award recipients, in chronological order, included Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, Buckwheat Zydeco, and Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band; no artist received the award more than once. Awards were presented to the engineers, mixers, and/or producers in addition to the performing artists. The group Pine Leaf Boys holds the record for the most nominations, with four. Though nominated each year the honor was presented, the group failed to receive an award. Doucet and Cedric Watson each received three nominations. 2009 marked the only year in which a musician received more than one nomination as well as the only time two artists were nominated for works appearing on the same album—Doucet was nominated as a member of BeauSoleil for Live at the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival as well as for his solo album From Now On, and Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys were also nominated for their contribution to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival compilation album. Many nominated artists were from Louisiana, specifically Lafayette.

In 2011, the Academy announced the retirement of the award category. Beginning in 2012, zydeco or cajun recordings were eligible for the Best Regional Roots Music Album category.