Zachary Richard was born September 8, 1950 in Scott, Louisiana. At the age of eight, he began taking piano lessons, but he credits his singing in the Bishop’s Boys Choir with a great deal of his early musical education. His teenage bands included his cousin Michael Doucet, who continued to play with him into the 1970s.

Richard enrolled at Tulane University, where he was a gifted student, graduating summa cum laude in history in 1971. His heart, however, belonged to music. After college, he moved to New York City and recorded an album. In 1976, he moved to Montreal, where his musical career blossomed. He recorded seven albums in French and received two gold albums. In 1981, he returned to Louisiana where he began recording songs written in English. In 1995, he returned to French language recording while continuing to write English as well. He has received numerous awards.

In addition to his musical works, Richard’s published works include three volumes of poetry and three children’s books. In 1996, he founded Action Cadienne, a volunteer organization dedicated to the promotion of the French language and the Cadien/Cajun culture of Louisiana. His contributions to the arts and French culture were recognized by the government of France in March 1997.

Richard produced and narrated numerous television documentaries. In collaboration with Louisiana Public Broadcasting, he produced, narrated, and scored Against the Tide, the story of the Cajun people of Louisiana, which was awarded Best Historical Documentary by the National Educational Television Association (NETA) in 2000. A French version, “Contre vents, contre marées,” received the Prix Historia from the L’institut d’Histoire de l’Amérique Française in 2003.