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Traditional CajunThis style comprises the roots of Cajun dance music, involving only a few instruments such as the Cajun accordion, fiddle, and triangle. This form holds firm to a basic rhythm with staccato style notes, including lots of fiddle double stops. Each fiddle solo is composed of a major scale riff, repeated between verses. This form has existed since the early 1900s and the waltz and two-step are the most common dances of this Cajun music genre. Many songs that became standards in the Cajun music repertoire were first recorded
in this period of the 1920s and 1930s. A number of the most prominent traditional Cajun musicians such as Dewey Balfa, D.L. Menard, Louisiana Aces, Belton Richard, Paul Daigle and Beausoleil are featured in the 1989 documentary J'Ai Ete Au Bal
(I Went to the Dance). JOE AND CLEOMA FALCON (1900 – 1965, 1906 – 1941) were best known for the first recording of the Cajun song "Allons à Lafayette" in 1928. Joe, an accordionist, and Cleoma, a guitarist and vocalist, recorded the song in New Orleans for Columbia Records and it became a smash hit. The couple sold thousands of copies and played shows across Louisiana and Texas. DENNIS McGEE (1893 – 1989) was one of the earliest recorded Cajun musicians. His most notable recordings were done
with fellow fiddle players Sady Courville and Ernest Frugé, and those sessions are said to be among the few existing that reflect Cajun music prior to accordions being the prominent instrument. SADY COURVILLE (1905 – 1988) is a Cajun fiddler known for his collaborations with Dennis McGee. The pair’s most famous work was recorded in New Orleans in 1929. IRY LeJEUNE (1928 – 1955) was one of most popular and best selling Cajun musicians in the late 1940s. He was among a small group of Cajun recording artists
who returned the accordion to prominence at a time in which the western Texas swing sound was starting to influence Cajun music. LAWRENCE WALKER (1907 – 1968) was a Cajun accordionist best known for the original songs Reno Waltz, Evangeline Special, Bosco Stomp and Mamou Two Step. He was inducted into the Cajun French Music Association Hall of Fame in its inaugural year. BALFA BROTHERS were a group of five who played across America and Europe in the 1960s, at a time when Cajun music’s influence on other American
genres had been somewhat forgotten. One of their most prominent appearances was at the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City. BALFA TOUJOURS is the Cajun band led by Christine Balfa, the daughter of acclaimed Cajun musician Dewey Balfa. The band has recorded a half dozen albums, made several television and movie appearances and have toured on four continents.
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Country and Texas Swing CajunThis style involves heavy elements of Texas country music influence and a move away from the traditional accordion. This music has more of a "swing" style popularized by Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. Instead of the music being dominated by the accordion, Cajun swing relies heavily on the fiddle and piano with a swinging tempo. Bands in the 1940s began using the steel guitar, an instrument which also found use in dancehall Cajun music. Dances such as "the jig" are common among this
genre of Cajun music. Harry Choates and the Hackberry Ramblers are early examples of this style, The Red Stick Ramblers and The Lost Bayou Ramblers are contemporary bands playing in this style. RED STICK RAMBLERS is a contemporary Cajun group, playing traditional songs as well as covers of Western swing, early jazz, blues and honky-tonk music. The band formed while members were attending Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, which inspired the band’s name. LOST BAYOU RAMBLERS is a contemporary Cajun band that has
toured throughout the U.S. and Europe. They have played some of America’s largest music festivals and they earned a Grammy nomination in 2008. HARRY CHOATES (1922 – 1951) penned the famous Cajun song “Joli Blon” in 1946. It was a major hit for Choates and was even bigger when country singer Moon Mulligan covered the song later, but Choates was never compensated for the song’s success because he had waived the rights to it. D.L. MENARD (1932) has been called the “Hank Williams of Country
Music” because of the country-like sound of his voice and his original music. He has been nominated for a Grammy twice in recent years. His song La Porte En Arrière (The Back Door) is one of the most popular Cajun recordings ever — it sold over 500,000 copies in 1962 alone.
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Dancehall CajunDancehall Cajun is often known in South Louisiana as "Fais do-do" music. “Fais do-do” comes from the local practice of couples bringing their young children with them to the dance hall. It is similar to traditional Cajun music with added accompaniment such as the bass guitar, drum kit, steel guitar, and rhythm guitar, electric or acoustic. The same abrupt, staccato feel can be felt as in traditional Cajun. This style originated in the post-war era of the late 1940s and continues up until the present
in small town dancehalls. Electrification of the dance venues allowed the fiddle to be played in a smoother style, alternating leads with the accordion. The steel guitar also adds remarks. Typically in dancehall Cajun performances the melody is played by the accordion followed by a bridge, a vocal verse, a leading line by the steel guitar, a leading line by the fiddle, then a leading line by the accordion player again followed by a bridge. This is followed by the next vocal verse, and so on. The characteristics of dancehall Cajun can be seen in artists such as Jesse Légé, and The Basin Brothers Band. ALDUS ROGER (1915 – 1999) led the Lafayette Playboys for more than 20 years. His popularity
in the 1950s and 1960s led to him hosting a Cajun music television show on KLFY in Lafayette. He also recorded a Cajun French version of the Hank Williams hit Jambalaya (On The Bayou), which Williams had based on the Cajun tune Grand Texas. AL BERARD AND THE BASIN BROTHERS Cajun band founded by musician, composer, vocalist Al Berard received a Grammy nomination for their 1990 album "Let's Get Cajun" JESSE LEGE AND BAYOU BREW music is deeply rooted in tradtional Cajun styles but with a rhythm and beat demanded by
patrons in dance halls in Louisiana and Texas.
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Cajun “Renaissance"Drawing on elements of the earlier traditional, Texas swing, and dancehall periods, the Cajun "renaissance" also incorporates more modern elements of folk, blues, jazz and swamp pop, and bluegrass styles. The fiddle players relax, involving a more legato feel to the solos. The quick fiddle action and double stops are missing, replaced by dominant blues chords and jazz slides.
Pioneers such as BeauSoleil with Michael Doucet, Zachary Richard, Jambalaya Cajun Band, Bruce Daigrepont, and others broke new ground, while other musicians such as Eddie LeJeune, Robert Jardell, Les Frères Michot, The Pine Leaf Boys, and others bring energy to older, more traditional forms. PINE LEAF BOYS have been nominated for three times for a Grammy award. They tour internationally and in 2009, they were part of a U.S. State Department tour in which they performed in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jerusalem. BEAUSOLEIL avec MICHAEL DOUCET is one of the most known Louisiana genre bands worldwide. Their music includes Cajun and zydeco songs, many with elements of American rock, jazz, blues and even calypso music. The group has won two Grammy awards and earned a dozen nominations. ZACHARY RICHARD has been a prominent performer in Cajun music for four decades. In addition to touring worldwide, Richard has published three volumes of poetry and three children’s books. BRUCE DAIGREPONT has played at New Orleans’
Tipitina’s almost every Sunday since 1986. Bruce is credited with popularizing Cajun music and Cajun dancing in the cosmopolitan New Orleans area, and has emerged as one of Cajun music’s finest cultural ambassadors.
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Contemporary CajunThis style involves Cajun music with a heavy influence of rock, R&B, blues, soul, and zydeco, producing a less traditional, more contemporary sound. Although led by the accordion, the electric guitar, washboard, and keyboard are all present in this form. Since the 1940s, musicians such as Wayne Toups, Roddie Romero and the Hub City Allstars, Lee Benoit, Damon Troy, Kevin Naquin, and Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys have popularized this modern form of Cajun music. STEVE RILEY AND THE MAMOU PLAYBOYS — This month marks 25 years that Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys have been together!
The band was founded in 1988 with Steve Riley on accordion, David Greely on fiddle, Mike Dupuy on guitar and Mike Chapman on drums. The band has made 13 albums, four of which have received Grammy nominations. Today’s Mamou Playboys is comprised of Steve Riley on accordion and fiddle, Kevin Wimmer on fiddle, Sam Broussard on guitar, Kevin Dugas on drums and Brazos Huval on bass. WAYNE TOUPS fused his love of Cajun music, rock, R&B and zydeco into a genre he calls “zydecajun,” and he sings in English and French. He has performed around the world and has contributed accordion tracks to songs by Mark Chesnutt, Clay Walker, Alan Jackson, George Jones and Garth Brooks. DOUG KERSHAW recorded "Louisiana Man", an autobiographical song that he had written while in the army. The song sold millions of copies; over the years it has come to be considered a standard of contemporary Cajun music. The song has been covered by more than 800 artists.
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Cajun Music in the Tuesday Cajun-Zydeco Dance PlaylistCajun artists represented in my library are from the 1920s (The Alley Boys of Abbeville and Cleoma Beaux) to the latest recordings by Steve Riley and Kevin Naquin. As a deejay, I don’t select dance tunes based on those categories listed above, but more on tempo, mixing in a few fast songs with mostly medium tempo and zydeco tunes. Here are some of my favorite artists and tunes of different tempos which are sure to fill the dance floor. Fast Tempo
(180 beats per minute or faster): “Lafayette Two Step” by San Diego Cajun Playboys; “Choupique Two Step” by Ray Abshire; “Quand Jetais Pauvre” by Pine Leaf Boys; “McGee’s Medley” by Feufollet; “Fait L’amour Dans le Poulaillier” by La Recolte; “Ossun Two Step” by Kevin Naqin; “Chanson de Mardi Gras” by Jambalaya Cajun Band; “Cow Island Hop” by Feufollet; “Yo Yo Two-Step” by Cory McCauley; “Petit Mamou” by Bruce Daigrepont; “Tipitina Two Step” by Bruce Daigrepont; “Reel de Dennis McGee” by Beausoleil; “Le 2 Step de Platin” by Balfa Toujours; Medium Tempo
(140-180 beats per minute): “My True Love” by Steve Riley; “Co Fa” by Tom Rigney; “Toi, Tu Veux Pus de Moi” by The Revelers; “Louisiana Saturday Night” by Nouveaux Cajun Xpress; “Rubboard Stomach” by Lisa Haley; “One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer” by Kevin Naquin; “Jambalaya (On The Bayou)” by Hank Williams; “Mamou Two-Step” by Gator Beat; “The Back Door” by D.L. Menard; “Johnny Peut Pas Danser” by BeauSoleil; “Freetown Breakdown” by Bonsoir, Catin; “Broken Hearted” by Cedric Watson Swing Tempo
(100-135 beats per minute): “Boozoo’s Blues” by Steve Riley; “Oh Mam” by Jeffery Broussard; “Diamond Smile” by Lisa Haley; “634-5789” by Kevin Naquin; “Blues a Basile” by Dennis Stroughmatt; “Blues a Bébé” by BeauSoleil; “Hey Lucille” by Lynn August; “I Want It All” by Geno Delafose; “I’ll Go Crazy” by BeauSoleil Cajun Waltz: “Katherine” by Steve Riley (Kevin Naquin does a nice version too); “Old Carpenter’s Waltz Revisited” by Ed Pollard; “Neitzcsche’s Waltz” by Charivari; “Le
Petit Cadeau” by Bruce Daigrepont; “it’s a Sin to Tell a Lie” by BeauSoleil; “Le Bons Temps Rouler Waltz” by Beausoleil; “Cest Tout Perdin” by Balfa Toujours; “Mom I’m Still Your Little Boy” by Kevin Naquin; “You’re Mine Forever” by Pine Leaf Boys; “La Toussaint” by Steve Riley
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Allen Toussaint, New Orleans R&B Mainstay, Dies at 77By Ben Sisarionov,
New York Times Allen Toussaint, the versatile producer, songwriter, pianist and singer who was a fixture of New Orleans R&B, died after appearing in concert in Madrid on Monday night. He was 77. Alison Toussaint-LeBeaux, his daughter, confirmed his death. Javier Ayuso, a spokesman for Madrid emergency services, told The Associated Press that rescue workers had been called to Mr. Toussaint’s hotel early Tuesday and were able to revive him after a heart attack, but that Mr. Toussaint later stopped breathing en
route to a hospital. In concert, in the studio or around his beloved New Orleans, Mr. Toussaint (pronounced too-SAHNT) was a soft-spoken embodiment of the city’s musical traditions, revered as one of the master craftsmen of 20th-century American pop. “In the pantheon of New Orleans music people, from Jelly Roll Morton to Mahalia Jackson to Fats — that’s the place where Allen Toussaint is in,” said Quint Davis, the longtime producer of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, where Mr. Toussaint
played almost every year since the mid-1970s. Mr. Toussaint’s career began when he was a teenager in the ’50s and his jaunty piano playing caught the ear of Dave Bartholomew, Fats Domino’s producer. It continued to the present, with a late-blooming love for performing live and collaborating with rock and pop musicians like Elvis Costello. Mr. Toussaint had his greatest impact in the ’60s and ’70s, when, as both songwriter and producer, he worked on records, like Ernie K-Doe’s
“Mother-in-Law,” Lee Dorsey’s “Working in the Coal Mine” and Jessie Hill’s “Ooh Poo Pah Doo,” that described everyday pleasures and nuisances with empathy, wit and a loose, funky swing. During the ’70s Mr. Toussaint’s studio, Sea-Saint, which he founded with the producer Marshall Sehorn, became renowned for recordings by the Meters, Dr. John and Labelle, and attracted international pop stars like Paul McCartney and Robert Palmer. Mr. Toussaint, then still a largely behind-the-scenes figure in music, also found his way to No. 1 on the pop charts in 1977 when Glen Campbell recorded a cover of his song “Southern Nights.” Mr. Toussaint’s inspiration, he often said, was New Orleans itself, and over the years he became an unofficial musical ambassador for the city, where for decades he maintained a modest home in a middle-class neighborhood. At Jazz Fest, as the Jazz and Heritage Festival is known, he usually performed in a bright and elaborately decorated coat. Even offstage, Mr. Toussaint had an eccentric dandy style; he drove a Rolls-Royce with the license plate PIANO and favored pinstriped suits and purple silk shirts paired with Birkenstock
sandals. “It’s who we are,” Mr. Toussaint said of New Orleans, in an interview last year published by the Red Bull Music Academy. “The food we eat, the history, Mardi Gras Indians who rehearse all year around, the second-line brass bands who strut that stuff, the syncopation, the humor, and the slightly slower pace than the rest of America — the way we mosey along rather than running the race.” On Tuesday Paul Simon, with whom Mr. Toussaint was scheduled to give a benefit concert in New
Orleans on Dec. 8, recalled their long history together, which goes back to recording sessions in the early ’70s, when Mr. Toussaint played piano for him and wrote chord charts for his musicians. “We were friends and colleagues for almost 40 years,” Mr. Simon wrote in an email. “We played together at the New Orleans jazz festival. We played the benefits for Katrina relief. We were about to perform together on Dec. 8. I was just beginning to think about it; now I’ll have to think about his memorial. I am so sad.” Allen Toussaint was born on Jan. 14, 1938, in Gert Town, a working-class neighborhood of New Orleans, to Clarence Toussaint, a railway worker, and the former Naomi Neville, whose names he occasionally used as songwriting pseudonyms. By his early teens he was playing piano with the guitarist Snooks Eaglin, and he got his first break when he substituted for the New Orleans bandleader and pianist Huey Piano Smith on tour in 1957.
The next year, Mr. Toussaint recorded “The Wild Sound of New Orleans,” an album of instrumentals released by RCA Victor under the name Tousan. It was no hit, but it later gave him a taste of success as a songwriter: One song on the album, “Java” — for which Mr. Toussaint shared credit with Alvin Tyler and Freddy Friday — was covered by the trumpeter Al Hirt in 1963 and reached No. 4 on the Billboard pop chart. In 1960, Mr. Toussaint became the house producer, arranger and songwriter for the Minit label, where he worked with Irma Thomas, Aaron Neville, Benny Spellman and others. After serving in the Army from 1963 to 1965, he returned to music, establishing Sansu
Enterprises, a publishing company and group of record labels, with Mr. Sehorn.
The sound that Mr. Toussaint developed in the ’60s built on the rollicking piano style of earlier New Orleans figures like Professor Longhair, with arrangements that melded deep R&B grooves with touches of pop. “Allen was the crucible of New Orleans music,” said the producer Leo Sacks, who in the 1990s recorded a gospel singer, Raymond Myles, who was later signed to Mr. Toussaint’s NYNO label. “Allen’s call-and-response choruses were catchy and clever, his harmonics were rich and gospel-flavored. And no one had his handiness with a hook.”
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