Cajun Country
tagStarted 1950sPeak 1960s-1980sLast big hit 1990sFrom Louisiana, United StatesSung in Louisiana French
Located in 1 route
Louisiana French country: Cajun fiddle and diatonic accordion married to honky-tonk and Nashville arrangements, often sung in Cajun French or with a bayou lilt. Two-steps and waltzes about the swamp, lost love and Cajun identity, with crying fiddle and a rhythmic chank that's pure southwest Louisiana.
History
Cajun dancehall music crossed into commercial country mid-century. Mamou native Jimmy C. Newman ('C' for Cajun) became a Grand Ole Opry star with country-Cajun crossovers; fiddler Doug Kershaw scored a national hit with 'Louisiana Man' (1961), playing it on Johnny Cash's TV show and beaming it to Apollo 12 in 1969.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- 64 Parishes: Doug Kershaw
- Country Roads Magazine: The History of Cajun Music
- Wikipedia: Jimmy C. Newman