Ervin LeJeune & Jake Bertrand with the Calcasieu Cajuns- "Lacassine Breakdown"

                                       

It was only natural that Ervin Lejeune follow in his father's footsteps. He remembered as a small child that his father would put him on  his lap and let him play his accordion. Being his father was Iry Lejeune, it would be only a matter of time before people started asking him to play.

Ervin grew up exposed to Cajun music and musicians. At the age of 9 he began playing at dances where the band would let him sit in with them. In 1963, Ervin played at a tribute to his father in Bridge City at the Sparkle Paradise. By 1963, he moved to Sulphur for work and began playing with musicians in the area. One of those musicians he met was Jake Bertrand. 

Jake was playing in a group at the time called the Calcasieu Playboys. The group was started in 1947 by Louis Lopez from Elton. Louis never had a set group of members for his group and sometimes use a pick up band.

 By the late 1960's, the group had members that included Garland Domingue, Atlas Fruge and Lenis Lapoint. The group would play clubs though out southwest Louisiana including the Blue Moon and The Shamrock. Sadly, Louis never made any recordings with the group and passed away in the 1970's. It seems when Jake took over the group they changed the name to the Calcasieu Cajuns.

But it was in the late 1960's when Ervin met up with the group and started playing with them. Buck Records was a early label of Clinton "C.E." Diehl out of Jennings. It was around this time that the Calcasieu Cajuns with Ervin recorded one 45 rpm record for the Buck label. The record seems to be the first recordings of Ervin.

At Diehl's studio in Jennings, the group recorded a cover of one of Iry's first recordings called "Lacassine Special" and titled it "Lacassine Breakdown". 

Ervin's accordion playing on the record shows a eerie resemblance to his father's playing. On the recording with him was Jake Bertrand on fiddle, Atlas Fruge on steel, Lennis Lapoint on guitar, Elwell Brashear on bass and Tan Benoit on drums.

As for the Calcasieu Cajuns, the group disbanded after Jake Bertrand became ill and passed away. Ervin had been playing with Jake's son Robert and would join him in the Louisiana Ramblers.

                                    

Session info:

ERWIN LEJEUNE, JAKE BERTRAND + THE CALCASIEU CAJUNS

V/acdn, Jake Bertrand (fdl), Atlas Fruge (st-g), Lenis Lapoint (g), Elwell Brashear 

(b), Tan Benoit (d)

C.H.Diehl Studio, Jennings LA 1971

SH 1575 Calcasieu Playboys waltz Buck 501

SH 1576 Lacassine breakdown Buck 501

Resources

Ron Yule- Iry Lejeune- Wailin the Blues

Ron Yule- Cajun Dancehall Heyday

with thanks to Jesse Lege and Jo El Sonnier