Two men united by their Port Arthur roots and their passion for music were inducted together into the Museum of the Gulf Coast on Thursday evening.

Clifford Antone, a blues aficionado whose landmark Austin nightclub bears his name, and C.J. Chenier, “Crown Prince of Zydeco,” were honored before an overflow crowd of enthusiastic fans and family.

Chenier, son of the King of Zydeco, Clifton Chenier, recollected how passionate his own father was about zydeco and how he passed along that passion to his son, who grew up in the Port Arthur projects and graduated Abraham Lincoln High. He later studied music briefly at Texas Southern and worked odd jobs before his father called him one night to join his Red Hot Louisiana Band for a Bridge City gig — and for good.

Initially, the younger Chenier played saxophone but later developed his skill on the accordion, eventually taking over leadership of the band after his father passed away in 1987. Clifton Chenier, worked at the Gulf Refinery in Port Arthur before landing a recording deal in the 1950s, eventually emerging as an international star.

“Luckily, my daddy saved me,” the younger Chenier said before the induction ceremony.

C.J. Chenier said he took a sole, “sit-down” lesson on the accordion from his dad, but learned under his steady observation.

“I saw how passionate he was about the music he played,” he said. “I saw the love he got from people.”

“I don’t try to live up to him,” he said. “I try to do the best I can in my style.”

A 1976 graduate of Lincoln High — several classmates were present to cheer him Thursday — Chenier has toured the world playing zydeco, landing a Grammy nomination and numerous accolades. He continues to stay on the road about 100 nights a year, he said, down from the 250 nights a year he used to travel.

A Houston resident, he said he also intends to buy a home in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, in the heart of Cajun and Creole country.

In brief remarks after his induction, Chenier paid tribute to Antone, who grew up not far from Chenier in Port Arthur, and said he turned 21 celebrating in Antone’s club in Austin.

“He was the greatest guy,” Chenier said, adding that he will mark 40 years in music with an appearance at Antone’s on Feb. 8.

He said he still calls Port Arthur his hometown, a “great place” that could be better, he said. He said the city retain huge potential.

His mother, Mildred Bell, a Louisiana native, died last January.

“I learned everything from Mom,” he said. “I never wanted for anything.”

Antone, born in 1949, graduated Thomas Jefferson High and studied briefly at the University of Texas. Museum Director Tom Neal said he treasured the blues, and used popular regional band, The Boogie Kings, as his benchmark for blues genius.

“He was a scholar of the blues,” Neal said, and used his nightclub, which moved a half-dozen times in Austin, to provide a stage for showcasing blues talent. Clifford Chenier opened his club for him, and iconic blues musicians like B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughn, John Lee Hooker and Hubert Sumlin played there. So did Vinton, Louisiana native Marcia Ball, also enshrined in the museum.

He especially loved to help people, Neal and others said, making the welfare of the musicians more paramount in importance than his own financial well being. Antone’s sometimes hung on by a financial shoestring: Sometimes, the musicians he helped played benefits for him to keep the doors open.

In a video detailing the story of Antone’s, B.B. King said, “We who are in this field owe him a lot.”

“Out of every honor he received, I believe he would cherish this one the most,” said his younger sister, Janelle, who sat on the front row for the induction. “He loved Port Arthur.”

Chenier, who joined his father in the Hall of Fame, entertained the crowd with his version of his father’s favorite song — it is his, too, he said — “I’m Coming Home.”

He said he never knew if his hometown would recognize him. Now they have.