His father, a farmer, was an accomplished amateur traditional Creole accordion player, but young Dural preferred listening to and playing rhythm and blues.

[4] Two Lafayette-based bands that he played in during his teens and twenties were Sammy and the Untouchables and Lil' Buck and the Top Cats.

Though not a traditional zydeco fan when growing up, Buckwheat accepted an invitation in 1976 to join Clifton Chenier's Red Hot Louisiana Band as organist.

[4] Scott Billington of Rounder wrote that Buckwheat "played the large piano accordion, like Clifton, but delivered his music with the flair of a rhythm and blues star like Joe Tex, and with the precision of James Brown.

"[9] The band then signed to Island Records, becoming the first zydeco act on a major label, and released On a Night Like This, a critically acclaimed album that was nominated for a Grammy as well.

In 1988, Eric Clapton invited the band to open his North American tour as well as his 12-night stand at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

Buckwheat subsequently shared stages and/or recording with Keith Richards, Robert Plant, Willie Nelson, Mavis Staples, David Hidalgo, Dwight Yoakam, Paul Simon, Ry Cooder, the Cherry Poppin' Daddies and many others, including indie music band Yo La Tengo on the soundtrack of the Bob Dylan bio-pic, I'm Not There.

BET's show Comic View used his live version of “What You Gonna Do?” as theme music for the program's 10th anniversary "Pardi Gras" season.

He also wrote and performed the theme music for the PBS television series Pierre Franey's Cooking In America.

[11] His version of Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy's "When the Levee Breaks" appeared on 2011's Alligator Records 40th Anniversary Collection.

Dural died of lung cancer at age 68 on September 24, 2016, at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center.