Mayeus Lafleur

Last updated

Mayeus Lafleur (born in Mamou, Louisiana in 1906) was one of the earliest musicians to record Cajun music. Along with fellow musician Leo Soileau, he recorded the standard "He Mon" (which is widely considered to be only the second recorded documentation of the genre), [1] in 1928. [2] However, less than two weeks after the recording session, he was shot to death during a quarrel involving moonshine at a local dance after jumping to the aid of a friend, Alexander Bellon, who was shot first. He was only 22 at the time of his death. [3] [4] [5]

Related Research Articles

Rockin Sidney American zydeco and R&B musician and songwriter

Sidney Simien, known professionally as Rockin' Sidney, was an American R&B, zydeco, and soul musician who began recording in the late 1950s and continued performing until his death. He is best known for his 1985 single "My Toot-Toot", which reached top 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and earned him a Grammy Award.

The music of Louisiana can be divided into three general regions: rural south Louisiana, home to Creole Zydeco and Old French, New Orleans, and north Louisiana. The region in and around Greater New Orleans has a unique musical heritage tied to Dixieland jazz, blues, and Afro-Caribbean rhythms. The music of the northern portion of the state starting at Baton Rouge and reaching Shreveport has similarities to that of the rest of the US South.

Cajun music Music of Cajun Louisiana is rooted in ballads of French-speaking Canadians

Cajun music, an emblematic music of Louisiana played by the Cajuns, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Although they are two separate genres, Cajun music is often mentioned in tandem with the Creole-based zydeco music. Both are from southwest Louisiana and share French and African origins. These French Louisiana sounds have influenced American popular music for many decades, especially country music, and have influenced pop culture through mass media, such as television commercials.

Swamp pop is a music genre indigenous to the Acadiana region of south Louisiana and an adjoining section of southeast Texas. Created in the 1950s by young Cajuns and Creoles, it combines New Orleans–style rhythm and blues, country and western, and traditional French Louisiana musical influences. Although a fairly obscure genre, swamp pop maintains a large audience in its south Louisiana and southeast Texas homeland, and it has acquired a small but passionate cult following in the United Kingdom, Northern Europe, and Japan.

Maison de Soul is a Louisiana-based Zydeco and blues record label. It was founded in 1974 in Ville Platte, Louisiana by Floyd Soileau and remains under his ownership. It is one of four record labels under Soileau's Flat Town Music Company umbrella, and combined the Flat Town labels make up "the largest body of Cajun, zydeco, and swamp music in the world". Living Blues magazine has called Maison de Soul "the country's foremost zydeco label".

Boozoo Chavis American zydeco musician, singer and songwriter

Wilson Anthony "Boozoo" Chavis was an American accordion player, singer, songwriter and bandleader. He was one of the pioneers of zydeco, the fusion of Cajun and blues music developed in southwest Louisiana.

James Floyd Soileau is an American record producer.

"Corrine, Corrina" is a 12-bar country blues song in the AAB form. "Corrine, Corrina" was first recorded by Bo Carter. However, it was not copyrighted until 1932 by Armenter "Bo Carter" Chatmon and his publishers, Mitchell Parish and J. Mayo Williams. The song is familiar for its opening verse:

Rod Bernard American singer

Rod Bernard was an American singer who helped to pioneer the musical genre known as "swamp pop", which combined New Orleans-style rhythm and blues, country and western, and Cajun and black Creole music. He is generally considered one of the foremost musicians of this south Louisiana-east Texas idiom, along with such notables as Bobby Charles, Johnnie Allan, Tommy McLain, and Warren Storm.

J. D. "Jay" Miller American record producer, musician and songwriter

Joseph Denton "Jay" Miller was an American record producer, musician and songwriter from Crowley, Louisiana, whose Cajun, swamp blues, and swamp pop recordings influenced American popular culture.

Dennis McGee American musician

Dennis (Denus) McGee was one of the earliest recorded Cajun musicians.

History of Cajun music

Cajun music has its roots based in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada, and in country music.

This Should Go On Forever 1958 single by Rod Bernard

"This Should Go On Forever" is a popular song of the south Louisiana rock and roll genre known as swamp pop. It was written by J. D. "Jay" Miller and Bernard Jolivette

Harry Choates American musician

Harry Henry Choates was an American Cajun music fiddler known as the "Fiddle King of Cajun Swing" and the "Godfather of Cajun music." The scholar Barry Jean Ancelet called Choates "undoubtedly the most popular Cajun musician of his day."

Leo Soileau was one of the most prolific Cajun recording artists of the 1930s and 1940s, recording over 100 songs, which was a substantial amount considering the reluctance to record the music during its early stages. He is known as the second person to record a Cajun record and the first to record this genre with a fiddle.

Cajun fiddle

Cajun fiddle music is a part of the American fiddle music canon. It is derived from the music of southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas, as well as sharing repertoire from the Quebec and Cape Breton Island traditions. It is one of the few extant North American folk music traditions rooted in French chanson. According to Ron Yule, "Louisiana fiddling had its birth roots in Europe, with fiddling being noted as early as the 1400s in Scotland". Zydeco music is a geographically, culturally, and musically related style.

Andre Thierry is an American Zydeco musician. He leads the band Zydeco Magic.

Leroy Leblanc Musical artist

Leroy "Happy Fats" Leblanc was a Cajun swing musician that recorded with RCA Records in the 1930s and 1940s. He is known for his recordings with Harry Choates and his broadcasts on KVOL. Next to the Hackberry Ramblers, the Rayne-Bo Ramblers were the most popular and innovative of the Cajun string bands.

References

  1. "Mayeus Lafluer > Overview". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
  2. "Soileau helped put swing into music". The Eunice News. 2012-05-06. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  3. "Artist Biography: Mayeus Lafleur" music.barnesandnoble.com
  4. "Brawl took life of Cajun musician". Abbeville Meridional. 2009-04-19. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  5. "Mayeus LaFleur killed just as record released". The Daily Advertiser. 1998-12-29. p. 35. Retrieved 2022-04-07.