Talk:Iry LeJeune

Singlehandedly restored the accordion to Cajun music? References?

I edited the opening paragraph. Though Iry was immensely popular (and why not? he was great!), and was probably the most important figure to record with the accordion after WWII, he was not the first (Lee Sonnier for J.D. Miller), and not the only (Nathan Abshire, Lawrence Walker, Aldus Roger, Austin Pitre, and others were recording very soon after WWII). That is why I tempered the statement about "singlehandely." Through the book on the Hall of Fame of the CFMA of Lake Charles chapter, Atlas Frugé recalled that J.B. Fusilier was playing the accordion in his dancehall performances even during the string band era when the Hackberry Ramblers, Leo Soileau, Happy Fats, and Harry Choates were most popular. Frugé largely credited Fusilier for keeping the accordion in Cajun music. Also, I have interviewed people who recall Lawrence Walker performing on the accordion in Texas dance halls throughout World War II. It does not seem to be the case that no one played or enjoyed the accordion during those times. They simply were not recorded, for some reason, and the impression has been made that the accordion had fallen out of Cajun music.

There were NO references in this article at all until I added a reference to Ron Yule's book on Iry LeJeune which was published in 2007. This article will be more credible, in my opinion, once we cite some of the standard, popular academic works on Cajun music. These include Brasseaux and Fontenot: Accordions, Fiddles, Two Step and Swing; Savoy, Cajun Music: A Reflection of a People; and Ancelet & Morgan, The Makers of Cajun Music. Npomea 00:43, 28 September 2007 (UTC)Npomea

Yeah, I give a lot of thanks to npomea for cleaning that up. I didn't really have any references for the article other than Ann Savoy's book on Cajun music as well as recollections from members of Iry's family that I've met over the years.Dr3noodle (talk) 15:23, 27 September 2008 (UTC)