Iry Le June Jr- "Love Bridge Waltz"

A artist that recorded for Goldband Records was listed as "Iry Le June Jr.". To some this name draws puzzled looks and questions. Who was Iry Le June Jr.? This artist recorded 2 records for Goldband and Jador. But the idenity of the artist is none other than Ervin J. Lejeune, Iry's oldest child, who was not named for his famous father.


Ervin began playing at house dances around the age of nine or ten. He played his father's accordion around the house but his mother Wilma, keep it guarded. In 1963, Ervin played at a tribute to Iry at the Sparkle Paradise in Bridge City. By 1966, Ervin moved to Sulphur for work and began playing with musicians in the area. He was underage at the time and club owners would let him sneak in and play.


Ervin had been playing with Jake and Robert Bertrand at clubs in the late 1960's. After some time, Ervin joined the Louisiana Ramblers. Robert wanted to record and talked Ervin into recording, even though he was leery of Eddie Shuler and his buisness practices. This uneasiness came from Iry's unfavorable dealings with Eddie and Goldband. Ervin wanted to step out on his own playing music as a solo act.

In the early 1970's, Ervin set up a recording session at Goldband like his father before him, with the recordings being produced by Eddie Shuler. "Lawtell Two Step" and "Love Bridge Waltz" was recorded with Robert Betrand on fiddle. When Ervin went to the studio to pick up some records to sell, he discovered Eddie had used the Iry Le June Jr tag and a argument ensued. Eddie had used this as a tactic to sell more records and Ervin, who was trying to establish his own musical identity wasn't happy. This conflict between Ervin and Eddie over mislabeling would happen once more before Ervin had had enough.


Joining Ervin on the session was Robert Bertrand on fiddle, Ronnie Anderson on drums, and T-June Benoit on guitar.


Reflecting on the session and dealing with Shuler, Ervin stated:

"Iry had already been down that path before and I decided not to go there."

Ervin continued playing at festivals throughout Louisiana and Texas. He recorded with the Calcasieu Cajuns, Louisiana Ramblers, and the Sundown Playboys. Along the way he also took up accordion building. He passed away on January 26, 2018.

Resources
Ron Yule-Iry Lejeune- Wailin'The Blues Cajun Style