One for the Road is Buckwheat Zydeco's debut album, credited to his band at the time, Buckwheat Zydeco Ils Sont Partis Band.[1] Ils Sont Partis is French for 'They're Off!', used by horse race announcers at the start of a race.[2] It was released on J.D. Miller's Blues Unlimited label[1] in 1979.[2] The majority of the tracks were written by Buckwheat Zydeco, credited to his birth name, Stanley Dural.[1] He reworked Fats Domino's "Good Hearted Man" renaming it "You Got Me Walkin' the Floor"[2] and Clifton Chenier's "Oh My, Lucille" as simply "Lucille".[1]B. B. King's "Rock Me Baby" was also covered.[3] The track "I Bought Me a Raccoon" was his first local hit[1] and was inspired by his pet racoon, Jack (later replaced by Tina), who he brought on the road and draped over his shoulders while playing.[1]
Alan Greenberg for AllMusic contrasted One for the Road to Zydeco's later work as more blues-based, slower and more bass-heavy, and overall more relaxed.[4] Michael Tisserand, in his book The Kingdom of Zydeco describes the album as a "mixture of two-step, waltzes, and the blues."[1]
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