Cajun's Greatest; The Definitive Collection Iry Lejeune

£11.70

Genre:
Louisiana/New Orleans
Label:
Ace Records
Format:
CD
Catalogue Id:
CDCHD 428

This product is also available in these versions:
Cajun's Greatest; The Definitive Collection (MP3), MP3 (£7.99)

The music of lry LeJeune is some of the most well-loved and legendary in the history of Cajun Music. One of the most popular of post war Bayou artists he was born on his father's farm on the outskirts of Church Point, Louisiana, on October 28th, 1928. With a musical family around him, he began playing accordion at a young age, aided through the basic stages by his father Agnes LeJeune. Nearly blind, the young lry found music his main enjoyment in life and, as he grew older, it became his living too. His major influence was the Black Cajun great Amede Ardoin from whom lry picked up his crying style of singing and his gritty basic accordion sound, to which lry added speed and more complicated licks than Amede.Though well-known at local dances his music failed to reach a wider regional audience in the '40s, The audience taste at that time had succumbed to the popularity and influence of cowboy and western swing styles and Cajun Music had followed their trend towards fiddle-led outfits. String bands led by stars like Harry Choates and Leo Soileau were in heavy demand and, though lry tried his hand at the fiddle, he finally, decided to stick with what he knew best. He moved to Lacassine, near Lake Charles, and began to sit in with bigger aggregations and in 1948, Floyd LeBlanc took him to Houston where he recorded for the Opera label with Virgil Bozman's Oklahoma Tornadoes. His recording of Love Bridge Waltz became a big hit and turned Cajun Music around. For the first time in a decade, the accordion wailed out from jukeboxes in Louisiana.After six months playing the bars and dance halls of Houston, lry returned to Lake Charles and a recording contract with Eddie Shuler. Eddie recorded lry for the Folk Star, TNT and Goldband labels and hit with the Calcasieu Waltz and Teche Special. Surrounded by musicians like Duckhead Cormier, Wilson Granger, Robert Bertrand and even Eddie Shuler himself sometimes, lry played the Louisiana clubs, recording at local radio stations, studios and even on portable equipment set up in a kitchen. From the latter source, came Duraldo Waltz, the only one of his recordings on which there is no accordion. On October 5th 1955, on the way home from a Eunice gig with J Fusilier, the pair were repairing a flat tyre on the highway when a passing car knocked them into a field, seriously injuring J B and killing lry instantly. For years, most fans have had the chance to hear lry's music only via poor sounding releases, often with distracting over-dubbed bass-guitar. Now, with the arrival of Cajun's Greatest -The Definitive Collection, these great sounds can be heard in excellent sound quality. Near mint copies of most of these 78s have been located through collectors like Chris Strachwitz and transfers from these have been worked on with love and care by Duncan Cowell of Sound Mastering to produce a fine tribute to a true Cajun master. The three songs mentioned in the text above are on this definitive collection plus Grande Bosco, Church Point Breakdown, Evangeline Special and 19 other great slices of the sound of the south.The package is completed by notes from leading Cajun authority Ann Alien Savoy who was in the UK earlier this month with the Savoy-Doucet Band.

Share

Track listing

Show

Side 1

Delivery & Returns

Show

We offer free P&P to UK addresses. For all other territories packaging is free and postage is charged on a weight basis.

We use Royal Mail First Class for UK deliveries and standard Air Mail for all other territories, very large orders will usually be sent via parcelforce. You may cancel your order at any time prior to your order being dispatched by emailing us at orders@acerecords.com ensuring that you quote your name, address and order reference number or by telephoning +44 (0) 208 453 1311 between 9am and 5pm GMT/BST, Monday to Friday. Please note: As music downloads are dispatched immediately after purchase, there is no possibility of cancelling these orders.

In the event that any products supplied to you by us are damaged or defective, we agree to replace or repair the damaged or defective products or refund the amount you paid for such goods (including postage & packaging) providing you notify us (either via post at or e-mail: orders@acerecords.com ) and return the goods within 28 days of purchase. Physical goods should be sent back to us in the same condition you received them to: “Returns” Ace Records, Such Close, Letchworth Garden City SG6 1JF, United Kingdom. Music downloads should be returned to us via the e-mail address above including a copy of your notification.

You have the right to cancel your order within seven days of purchase, or seven days of receipt of the goods (whichever is the longer). If you choose to cancel your order, full payment will be returned to you. Returned items should be sent to: “Returns” c/o Ace Records, Such Close, Letchworth Garden City SG6 1JF, United Kingdom. Music downloads should be returned to us via the email address: orders@acerecords.com including a copy of your notice of cancellation and order number.

Customer reviews

Show

Related products

Customers who bought this item also bought