[1] Carrière started playing fiddle at 13 or 14 years old, using an instrument he crafted out of a cigar box and screen wire.
[2] Carrière's compositions, in addition to the Creole tradition, included influences from blues and country music.
[2] In 1946, Carrière and his older brother Eraste created a band for playing house parties called the Lawtell Playboys.
One reviewer has commented, "it's easy to ascertain zydeco's early roots: Afro-Caribbean with its intricate polyrhythms and Eastern European with a mazurka, and 'Robe À Parasol' with very Creole lyrics.
[4][2][3] Bébé Carrière famously taught fiddler Michael Doucet, who became one of the most successful Cajun musicians with his band BeauSoleil.
[2] Carrière's son, Andrew Carriere, eventually became an accordionist and bandleader after moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he plays with other practitioners of Louisiana music.