17. CLIFTON CHENIER

Born in Opelousas, La., Chenier moved to Port Arthur and later to Houston’s Frenchtown, where he began melding Texas and Louisiana Creole musical traditions into modern zydeco. His “Zydeco Sont Pas Salé,” recorded in Houston, is one of the first pieces to use the term zydeco. Chenier died in 1987, but his influence still ripples like a washboard across the Gulf Coast.

Most Texas musical moment: The frottoier, or zydeco washboard, was designed by Chenier and constructed by a co-worker at the Texaco refinery in Port Arthur in 1946.