"Queen" Ida Guillory was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, into a family of Creole rice farmers. As a child, Guillory helped cook for 30 to 40 field hands and later drove a tractor during the planting season. She grew up hearing French lullabies as well as zydeco, the vigorous blues-inflected music played at weekend fais dos dos (dance parties). When she was 18, her family moved to San Francisco along with many other Louisiana emigrants to pursue work in the shipyards. After marrying Raymond Guillory, she raised three children and drove a school bus for a living. As the children grew, she pulled out her accordion and began to sit in with her brother’s band. Combining auditory and gustatory arts, Guillory would also cook big pots of gumbo for the band’'s club dates. In 1975, she was chosen as Queen of the Mardi Gras at a church celebration and a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle dubbed her 'Queen Ida." Assuming leadership of the band soon after, she was booked at the San Francisco Blues Festival and the Monterey Jazz Festival. Guillory's touring and recording career subsequently took off, and in 1982 her On Tour album won a Grammy. Queen Ida and her Bon Temps Zydeco Band have toured nationally and internationally, in addition to appearing on programs such as A Prairie Home Companion and Austin City Limits. She also has published a popular cookbook, Cookin' with Queen Ida. There have been several kings of zydeco over the years, but there has been only one Queen Ida.
"Queen" Ida Guillory was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, into a family of Creole rice farmers. As a child, Guillory helped cook for 30 to 40 field hands and later drove a tractor during the planting season. She grew up hearing French lullabies as well as zydeco, the vigorous blues-inflected music played at weekend fais dos dos (dance parties). When she was 18, her family moved to San Francisco along with many other Louisiana emigrants to pursue work in the shipyards. After marrying Raymond Guillory, she raised three children and drove a school bus for a living. As the children grew, she pulled out her accordion and began to sit in with her brother’s band. Combining auditory and gustatory arts, Guillory would also cook big pots of gumbo for the band’'s club dates. In 1975, she was chosen as Queen of the Mardi Gras at a church celebration and a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle dubbed her 'Queen Ida." Assuming leadership of the band soon after, she was booked at the San Francisco Blues Festival and the Monterey Jazz Festival. Guillory's touring and recording career subsequently took off, and in 1982 her On Tour album won a Grammy. Queen Ida and her Bon Temps Zydeco Band have toured nationally and internationally, in addition to appearing on programs such as A Prairie Home Companion and Austin City Limits. She also has published a popular cookbook, Cookin' with Queen Ida. There have been several kings of zydeco over the years, but there has been only one Queen Ida.