Center for Louisiana Studies Archival Catalog

Solo Recording at Home - Made by Louis Spell; Date of recording unknown, probably 1981

00:00 - Instrumental Waltz
02:05 - Quand j'étais pauvre;
03:30 -
06:36 - J'ai été au bal;
09:45 - Jolie Blonde;
12:30 - Lacassine Special;
14:25 - Touts les soirs;
17:30 - Allons à Lafayette
20:20 - Unnamed waltz
22:20 - Jambalaya;
25:15 - Touts les deux pour la même;
28:00 - Chère Mom;
29:10 - Instrumental tune;
30:25 - Chère Alice
34:45 - La danse de Lemonade;
38:40 - Viens me chercher;
42:25 - Instrumental two step
44:15 - Instrumental waltz
46:00 - Crowley Two step
49:05 - Allons danser Colinda

00:00 - Touts les soirs;
03:30 - J'ai été au bal;
07:36 - Chère tout-toute;
13:42 - Jolie Blonde;
17:30 - Allons à Lafayette;
20:45 - Instrumental Waltz;
23:25 - Diggy Liggy La;
26:07 - La valse de Cajun;
28:44 - Instrumental Two-step;
30:35 - Unnamed Waltz;
33:13 - Colinda;
39:05 - 'Tit Monde;
43:10 - Le chanson de limonade;
46:50 - Unnamed waltz;
50:30 - Quand j'etais pauvre;
52:10 - J'ai passé devant ta porte;
55:38 - Jambalaya;
59:10 - Touts les deux pour la même

Same Recording as SP1-006

00:00 - Touts les soirs;
03:40 - J'ai été au bal;
07:44 - Chère tout-toute;
11:30 - Bayou Pon Pon;
13:55 - Jolie Blonde;
17:45 - Allons à Lafayette;
21:05 - Instrumental Waltz
23:40 - Diggy Liggy Lo;
26:26 - La valse de Cajun;
29:04 - Instrumental two-step;
30:49 - La valse de chagrin
33:30 - Allons danser Colinda
39:22 - 'Tit monde;
43:30 - Le chanson de limonade;
47:05 - Unnamed waltz
50:48 - Quand j'étais pauvre
52:35 - J'ai passé devant ta porte
56:00 - Jambalaya;
59:37 - Touts les deux pour la même

00:00 - ??
02:50 - La danse à frère (Dennis says this right as the tape cuts off)
05:50 - Adieu Rosa;
07:50 - Chère bébé Créole;
10:55 - La valse des Frugés;
14:50 - La valse qui finit dans le coin de la maison;
18:30 - Pa Janvier;
21:10 - Petite ou la grosse;
23:40 - Wang Wang Blues;
24:25 - La valse du coteau (Dennis says he took part of another tune to make this one);
26:40 - La valse des Frugés;
29:00 - Old-time Tune - Dennis says the name after, can’t make it out;
30:00 - Corina, Corina (Fragment)

00:00 - Unnamed Waltz;
02:40 - Jolie Blonde (Sady takes the lead);
04:43 - J’ai passé devant ta porte;
06:17 - Unnamed Waltz;
08:28 - Adieu Rosa;
10:44 - La valse du coin (La valse qui finit dans le coin de la maison);
13:20 - Two step à Amédé
15:10 - Interview segment with Sady - Will and Sady talk about Amédé Ardoin - Sady says the people either beat him or they gave him poison;
16:20 - Sady tells the story about the last time he saw Amédé - Sady saw him walking down the side of the road sometime in the late 30s. Amédé told him he was just out of the hospital and was trying to get home. Amédé got in the truck and decided to stay with some friends in Eunice. Sady mentioned that he had his accordion with him. After that, the next thing Sady heard is that Amédé passed away.
19:55 - Sady says he, Shelby Vidrine, and Amédé played at Abe’s Palace every Saturday night for 3 years in the 20s.
21:20 - The fiddle that Dennis was currently playing is the one Sady got from Shelby Vidrine;
21:55 - Sady talks about when he and Amédé started playing together;
23:10 - Description of Eunice in those days - Dirt streets, 1500-2000 population, The old buildings on Second Street were still there. “La valse a Abe” was written for the owner of Abe’s Palace. Sady mentions that songs were named after people back in those days. (Abe Boudreaux was the owner). Sady says that the room is still the same and has a sign that says “Welcome to Abe’s Palace.” Dances stopped during the 40s, no liquor during dance. Mothers brought daughters to the dances there.
26:30 - No amplifiers, music had to carry. Amédé was playing a Monarch D Accordion;
Sady says Amédé was very well liked and respected. By the time Dennis made the recordings with Amédé, Sady had stopped playing. He talks about the record labels they recorded with. He says they never got paid except for expenses.
29:15 - Sady tells the story of meeting Chris Strachwitz in the 60s;
31:10 - Sady says Amédé was very polite - would take off his hat when entering buildings; Story about playing a wedding dance in Oberlin one night from 8pm until 3am. When they were ready to leave, he had a flat - says someone had cut his tire because he was playing with Amédé; (Iry LeJeune - “Viens me chercher” playing in the background);
34:20 - Amédé’s records sold well in the early days. They talk about the local record store. Sady says they’d play the songs on the street when new ones would come out.
Sady says he would sell phonographs and records. Teer Furniture Company would also sell records;
37:50 - Sady talks about how his dad and his dad’s brother would play music, that’s where Dennis learned. He says that he wishes they had a chance to record some songs;
39:10 - Faquetique was a Native American settlement;

0:30 - J’ai passé devant ta porte (Dennis says he doesn’t like that one);
2:05 - Unnamed Waltz
2:55 - Breakdown - Reel des Marcantels (Mitch Reed calls this one Pascal’s Egrets);
4:10 - La valse à Reed - double and solo fiddle versions;
7:45 - Dennis’ wife tells him not to stomp his feet so loud;
8:08 - La valse à Reed (version in lower key);
9:25 - Irene, You Gotta See Big Joe;
10:15 - La valse du coin (La valse qui finit dans le coin de la maison);
12:10 - La valse de Ballot;
13:30 - Gabrielle;
15:40 - Guilbeaux Pelican;
16:45 - Napoleon Bonaparte;
18:00 - La valse de Bombocheur (solo);
19:20 - La valse de Bombocheur (twin fiddle);
21:00 - La valse de la penitencière (Balfas)
22:20 - unnamed waltz (two versions);
26:02 - Breakdown??
27:10 - Square Dance (Courville’s Favorite);
28:00 - Reel de Berzas;
28:50 - La valse à Pop (Joel Savoy);
31:10 - Dennis demonstrates bow movements to Will;
33:30 - La valse qui me fait du mal (twin fiddles);
34:40 - Will asks Dennis about the oldest tunes he knows;
36:07 - Two-step d’Amédé;
38:07 - La valse d’orphelin??
38:50 - T’en à eu, t’en auras plus;
41:42 - Unnamed waltz
43:30 - Port Arthur Blues

00:00 - 'Tit Monde;
02:46 - Quand j'étais pauvre;
04:22 - Quand j'étais pauvre;
05:35 - 'Tit Monde;
08:26 - Bayou Pon Pon;
10:22 - Jolie Blonde (fragment);
11:08 - Crowley two-step (fragment);
12:28 - 'Tit monde (fragment);
14:30 - Crowley two-step (fragment);
15:08 - 'Tit monde (fragment)

Exact date of recording unknown - Cassette says only "1977"

00:00 - Touts les deux pour la même;
02:33 - Fifty Cent Song;
05:58 - Chanson de Lemonade;

Commercial recordings

09:17 - T'es si easy pour aimer;
12:45 - Unnamed waltz;
14:53 - Mom, I'm Still Your Little Boy - Jim Olivier

Switches back to home recordings of Louis Spell

17:20 - Unnamed waltz;
19:25 - Chère Mom;
21:20 - Jolie Blonde;
23:27 - Tom papa m'a jeté dehors;
25:20 - La valse de grand chemin;
27:47 - Bayou Pon Pon;
29:39 - 'Tit Monde;
31:37 -
33:20 -
37:00 - Allons à Lafayette;
40:03 - Touts les deux pour la même;
42:36 - Allons danser, Colinda
45:45 - J'ai passé devant ta porte;
49:15 - Fi Fi Poncho
53:00 - Have I Told You Lately That I Love You

Recorded in 1977

Louis Spell
Shine Mouton
Will Kiegley
Alex Bertrand

00:00 - Touts les deux pour la même;
02:31 - Allons danser Colinda;
05:30 - J'ai passé devant ta porte;
08:53 - Fi Fi Poncho
10:58 - Have I Told You Lately That I Love You (fragment);
12:15 - Your Papa Threw Me Out (fragment)
12:53 - La valse de grand chemin;
15:08 - Bayou Pon Pon
16:56 - 'Tit Monde
19:00 - Have I Told You Lately That I Love You

Louis Spell
Will Kiegley
Shine Mouton
Alex Bertrand

00:05 - Chère Mom
01:48 - Jolie Blonde
03:50 - Your Papa Threw Me Out;
07:50 - Bayou Pon Pon;
09:39 - Lake Charles Waltz;
11:45 - Have I Told You Lately That I Love You
14:15 - Touts les deux pour la meme
16:38 - Allons danser Colinda;
19:35 - J'ai passé devant ta porte

00:00 - Valse de Jolly Roger (D.L. Menard on vocals);
04:20 - Reel Faché;
05:10 - Sady talks about Amédé Ardoin, he’d play African-American house dances with Amédé - He said that’s where he learned to second. Sady says that Amédé moved from the Eunice area to Crowley in the 30s. Amédé was well liked and respected;
07:00 - Sady talks about a wedding dance that they played together with Dennis in Oberlin in 1928. They played all night long;
07:45 - Sady saw Amédé right before he died. He was walking down the street carrying his accordion;
09:10 - First fiddle he bought was from Dennis. Sady says that Dennis knows good fiddles. He’d buy one and then sell it quickly;
09:40 - Will talks about playing a gig with Dewey Balfa, played through a mic and had trouble hearing himself. They discuss sound issues and not being able to hear their fiddles over the rest of the band;
11:30 “Amédé Ardoin was some musician.” Sady says that you could see tears coming out of his eyes sometimes when he’d sing. He took his music very seriously;
12:40 - Sady says he’d give anything to have Dennis and Amédé’s music on a cassette tape. The last time he heard them play was at Uncle Arby’s(?) house in 1929;
13:55 - They discuss dance payment amounts in the old days. They’d each make a dollar or two per night. Amédé might make a bit more;
16:45 - Dennis McGee plays a waltz (name?) - accompanied by an organist;
19:35 - Unnamed waltz;
22:45 - Irene Gotta See Big Joe - into instrumental tune that sounds like Adieu Rosa;
24:40 - Song name? Mitch Reed calls this one "Pascal’s egret";
27:00 - La valse de Coteau;

00:00 - Dennis talks about playing tunes on the violin, talks about how most people can’t play the tunes he plays. He mentions that he was around 16 years old when he played his first dance.
01:20 - Dennis talks about when he was gifted his first violin. He played his first dance 3 months after he started playing;
02:30 - Mentions he was a farmer in his younger days. Started fishing around the time he married his third wife. He likes to fish for Spotted Catfish;
03:30 - Talks about meeting Sady Courville for the first time;
05:35 - “Donne-moi une autre chance” - Marc Savoy on Accordion;
06:40 - The Last Waltz - Marc Savoy on Accordion (Lionel Leleux on fiddle?);

00:00 - Pa Janvier, donnes-moi Pauline - vocal verse after two instrumental versions;
03:20 - Another version of Pa Janvier;
04:45 - Enterre-moi pas;
09:25 - La valse d’orphelin (Sady joins on second fiddle);
11:20 - La valse à mon défunt père;
13:00 - Pa Janvier, donnes-moi Pauline played with twin fiddles;
15:00 - Dennis explains the name of Pa Janvier;
15:30 - Reel Frugé;
18:10 - unnamed waltz played with twin fiddles;

00:05 - unnamed waltz - Dennis demonstrates one of his bow maneuvers;
01:45 - La valse de l’anse Maigre;
02:40 - Valse de l’anse maigre - played in “Accordion time” (first with one fiddle, then with twin fiddles)
05:46 - Enterre-moi pas;
07:15 - La valse de Tolam
08:35 - Nobody’s Darling but Mine (T’es petite et t’es mignonne);
10:40 - Dixieland
11:47 - Gotta See Momma Every Night;
12:20 - Casey Jones;
13:55 - unnamed reel
15:00 - La valse des vâchers;
15:55 - Reel des Deshotels;
17:15 - unnamed waltz; (Green Valley Waltz??)
19:43 - Wang Wang Blues
20:45 - Ain’t Gonna Rain No More
21:45 - unnamed song
22:35 - unnamed waltz

00:15 - Enterre-moi pas - Dennis on Accordion - Says he used to be a really good accordion player but can’t play it anymore;
03:15 - Kaplan Waltz (ID accordion player);
07:40 - Chère tout tout;
00:11 - Allons à Lafayette;
15:14 - La valse qui me fait du mal;
17:45 - La valse de quinze ans;
19:45 - Danse Carré - (La reel de Courville);
22:20 - La valse des Cherokees;
26:15 - La valse criminelle;

Principal subjects:
Great Depression and World War II eras
Description of a typical day and daily routine during the Great Depression - Grandmother raised him;
Childhood games (Depression era);
Daily diet;
Role of the church in everyday life;
Education;
Use of English in school;
Language usage at home;
Parental support of education;
Age at which persons usually began to work;
Jobs;
Impact of the Great Depression on everyday life in informant's community;
Age at which informant married;
Material culture:
Home ownership;
Cost of a house;
Celebration of holidays;
Exchange of gifts (Christmas, etc.);
Christmas trees;
Dancehalls (dance halls);
Changes occurring after World War II;
Flood of 1927

00:00 - Fur industry in South LA - No school in the wintertime, kids would spend winter with their parents trapping and skinning animals;
01:50 - Great Depression - Both rich and poor people were affected; Farms went under;
02:50 - Flood of 1927 - Doesn't remember much about it. He did remember a hurricane happening that year;
03:40 - Finished school in the 8th grade and started working on the farm;
04:35 - His family wasn't affected much by the depression because they lived on a farm - always had cattle and crops growing, Hunting also helped;
07:10 - Evaluating presidential performances - Roosevelt, Truman. Says Harry Truman was his greatest president because he ended the war;
11:00 - U.S. entry into WWII, Speaks about U-boats that were in the Gulf of Mexico; Speaking about his service time;
16:40 - Used his French to help out while serving in France during WWII;
17:15 - Reasons for not teaching French to his children;
21:00 - Speaking about how the Cajun and Creole communities were affected by the war - rationing
22:00 - Main characteristics of Cajun culture

00:00 - Born July 21, 1913 in Mamou, 5 brothers and 2 sisters, Father's name was Eudé Billeaudeaux, Mother was Iris Aguillard Billeaudeaux, French was the primary language used at home;
00:45 - Had to own land to sell produce for a good price. Her father wanted to leave each child 50-100 acres when he died;
03:45 - Says they were scared of cars when they started being used. Her father drove into a ditch the first time he drove;
04:40 - Daily routines - Food they ate was mostly grown and raised on their land, clothing was sewed at home, recreation - games they'd play;
07:30 - Traveling by wagon to visit friends and family. her Grandfather lived in Chatagnier, 4 miles away. She says that felt like a far distance and they'd get excited to travel that far;
11:00 - Raising a calf to sell;
11:40 - Took a train to Lafayette - Myrtle says she was scared to come to the "big city." Attended SLI from 1932-1936;
13:30 - Attitudes towards French speakers - Elementary teachers made her speak English;
15:15 - Says that her father wanted all of his children to be educated;
15:50 - Impact of the Great Depression on the area;
18:00 - WWII