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

J.B. Fuselier- "Think of Me"

                                         

Jean Baptiste "J.B." Fuselier was born April 17, 1901 near Oberlin. He began playing the fiddle at five years of age. He claims at that age he was too small to pick it up, so he had to place it on the bed to play. He also learned the accordion when he was young.

By the mid 1930's, J.B. joined Miller's Merrymakers and recorded at four different sessions between 1936 and 1938. When Miller left the group, JB took over the group. His music never gained the popularity of artists such as Leo Soileau and Luderin Darbone.

He had a specific sound of traditional Cajun fiddle playing and emotional singing that was well received. Many musicians were influenced by his playing. His band was also well known for their radio broadcasts during this time. With musicians such as Preston Manuel and Atlas Fruge in the band, they would work live radio shows during the day and play dances at night.

After this J.B. didn't record, but he continued playing with his string band at house parties. It was at these fais do do's that J.B. would bring a accordion and play in between breaks on the fiddle. Musicians like Maurice Barzas credit him to bringing back the accordion's popularity.

By 1945, Fuselier was running a restaurant in Eunice and playing dances every night. Iry LeJeune was a frequent visitor there and befriended J.B., soon he was playing music with him.

In 1955, Fuselier and Iry were involved in a accident which left J.B. severely injured and claimed LeJeune's life.

J.B. stayed in the hospital for over a year, but was soon playing again. Around 1962, he ended up recording for Eddie Shuler's Goldband Records out of Lake Charles. Shuler had found success with Cajun music and had recorded artists like Iry LeJeune and Sidney Brown. 

For his first recording on Goldband, he reached back to one of the songs he had recorded in 1938 called "Ponce A Moi" and retitled it "Think Of Me". The songs describes a abandoned lover urging the other to think of them even though they have parted ways.

J.B. would record again for Goldband in 1966. From those sessions, recordings have surfaced of him and James Stewart where J.B. plays the fiddle again. Fuselier would continue to play until his death in 1976. Many musicians have covered his songs and are now part of standard Cajun repertoire.

                                                                            

Session info:

J B FUSILIER AND HIS ACCORDION (1138)

V/acdn, remainder unknown

Goldband Studio, Lake Charles LA; c1962

-1 (9484) Think of me Goldband 1138

Resources: 

Ron Yule- Wailing the Blues

Wade Falcon- Early Cajun Music Blog

Jesse Lege and the Jeff Davis Ramblers- Jeff Davis Ramblers Special

                        

Jesse Lege was born north of Gueydan in 1951. He was the fifth of nine children and he grew up listening to Cajun French at a young age. He recalls listening to a old battery radio that sat in the window; his chair was not ever far from it.

He had a cousin that would come by and bring instruments, which they would play outside. He loaned him a Truetone box guitar and Jesse picked on it learning from a hand printed sheet with chords on it. Soon he bought a harmonica from Western Auto and play on it and his cousin's accordion whenever he could.

His cousin, Elson Mier, came by one weekend and Jesse played his accordion for him. Elson was impressed and told Jesse's father he should get him one. But the sharecropping job and side work his father was doing was enough to get by; not much else. Elson ended up loaning him one to learn on.

 

He started a family band at 17 and they had a few light playing gigs. Blackie Fruge stopped in one night at their show at Henry's Cafe in Midland to watch them play. Blackie's brother was looking to get the Moonlight Serenaders back together and they needed a accordion player. Jesse joined on but still played with his band as well.

From the Moonlight Serenaders, he played with Ronnie Fruge and the Cajun Kings, then Hicks Wagon Wheel Ramblers. When Joe Bonsall went into brief retirement, Jesse took his place. The band became the original Jeff Davis Ramblers, but most all of the members changed out.

Circle D Records was run by Clinton "C.E." Diehl. He ran a TV service in Jennings but also ran the Circle D, Buck and Wagon Wheel labels. Jesse had met him when he was with the Cajun Kings years before. C.E. wanted Jesse to record for the Circle D label and Jesse had some songs in mind.

It was in 1987 when Jesse and the Ramblers entered the studio to record "Jeff Davis Ramblers Special". Jesse modeled the song from Adam Hebert's "My Rope and Spurs". Joining him on the recording was Ed Credeur on fiddle, Atlas Fruge on steel guitar, Frick Laove on guitar and Morris Newman on drums.

Resources

Conversations with Jesse Lege

Photo -Wade Falcon

Nick Leigh-  Cajun Records 1946-1989

Session info

V/acdn, Ed Credeur (fdl), Atlas Fruge (st-g), Frick Laove (g), Morris Newman (d), C.H.Diehl Studio, Jennings LA: c1987 LH 25004 Memories in my heart Circle D 1008 LH 25005 Jeff Davis special (instrumental) Circle D 1008

Sidney Brown- "La Misere De Mon Beau-Pere"

Sidney Brown was born October 28, 1906 in Church Point. Growing up, he  was self taught on the accordion. He would borrow a accordion and sit in the field and play. By the time he was 13, he was already playing house dances and fais do-dos. 

After years of working in the oilfield as a roughneck, he moved to Lake Charles from Ville Platte in 1940. There he found work as a woodworker and carpenter. It was here that Sidney began developing his skills towards making and repairing accordions. He would eventually be recognized as the first person to build Cajun accordions after WWII in Louisiana.

After World War II he formed the Traveler Playboys. In 1948 they played on KPLC on a weekly 30 minute broadcast. From 1952 to 1959, Sidney performed with the Musical 4 + 1 and the Hillbilly Ramblers, as well as his own bookings. 

In 1955, Sidney and his band began recording for Eddie Shuler. Eddie had been inspired by the success of Iry Lejeune's records and became more involved in recording Cajun music. Sidney's record "Pestauche A Tante Nana" would become the third best selling record in the history of Cajun Music. Sidney and his band played many clubs in Louisiana and Texas. They also appeared on KPLC radio with the Israel Lafleur Show and on KPAC television in Port Arthur.

"La Misere de Mon Beau-Pere" ( My Father-In-Law's Sorrow) was recorded in 1958 at Goldband studio in Lake Charles. Playing with Sidney on the recording was Nelson Young on fiddle, Cliff Newman on vocals, John Crochet on drums and either Tilford McClelland or Mervin Faul on steel guitar.

Toi, petite fille, 
qu'est assis la galerie, 
le chapelet dans la main, 
après prier pour tout qui vient 
jolie fille, 
pourquoi donc t'es comme ça, 
tu connais pour toi même quand ça fait du mal.
toi, malheureuse, 
pas la faute à ton beau père, 
pas la faute à la petite mère.

toi, petite fille, 
rappelles toi pour toi même les misères tu m'as fait ....


In the early 1960's Atlas Fruge joined the Traveler Playboys on steel guitar. By this time Sidney's health began to fail and he slowed down, eventually quitting any dancehall performances. He continued to perform on a limited basis, even winning the Cajun Days accordion contest in 1968. He continued building and repairing accordions, producing a unknown amount, many which are still in use today.


Sidney's impact on the local accordion scene is noted by Mervin Faul. Mervin played steel guitar with the Veteran Playboys for a while in the 1950's when Shirley Bergeron quit because his father's accordion was so bad out of tune and Shirley couldn't stand the sound. The other band members talked Mervin into talking to Alphe about it. Alphe let Mervin take his accordion to Sidney to repair. After his accordion was fixed the band continued playing. But Shirley would peek in and listen in to the group. It wasn't long before Shirley was back in the band thanks to Sidney's repair's to his fathers accordion.


In the early 1960's Atlas Fruge joined the Traveler Playboys on steel guitar. But by this time Sidney's health began to fail and he slowed down, eventually quitting any dancehall performances. He continued to perform on a limited basis winning the Cajun Days accordion contest in 1968. He continued building and repairing accordions, producing a unknown amount, many which are still in use today. One of Sidney's accordions sits in the Acadian Memorial in St. Martinville, Louisiana. He passed away on August 6, 1981.

Resources-
Early Cajun Music Blog
Accadian All Star Special
Ron Yule-Cajun Dancehall Heyday
lyrics by Stephane F.