Jambalaya, Apple Pie, Chante Quelque Chose Oh Yé Yaille: A History of Cajun Culture through Music from the Early 1920s to the Late 1980s Main Menu Jambalaya, Apple Pie, Chante Quelque Chose Oh Yé Yaille The Online Exhibit Acknowledgments Many people were a part of the process of this exhibit! Defining Terms The Twentieth Century for Louisiana A century of change and growth Discovery of Commercial Cajun Music: The Beginnings The introducing of Cajun traditional music to record companies in the later 1920s Discovery of Commercial Cajun Music: New Styles The 1930s was a time of changes in music styles as many imitated what was popular Discovery of Commercial Cajun Music: The Comeback World War II halted music production until victory led to a revival of folk music in the later half of the 1940s The Revival in the Second Half of the Century An era of “Renaissance” for Cajun music The Acts of Revival for Cajun Music: The Dance Hall Sounds of Zydeco The rise of Zydeco in South Louisiana and its influence to Cajun Music The Acts of Revival for Cajun Music: The Dance Hall Sounds of Swamp Pop The creation of Swamp Pop as a sub-genre of Cajun Music The Acts of Revival for Cajun Music: The Cajun Culture and Music sThe struggle between American mainstream culture and a growing counterculture The Acts of Revival: CODOFIL and Cajun Music The Acts of Revival for Cajun Music: The Contemporary Era Conclusion The Twenty-First Century Era Endnotes List of Songs The songs featured in the exhibit in order of chapters Further Research Rachel Blomquist

Introduction

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In classroom talk done in 2011 with Michael Doucet, a Cajun fiddler that started in the 1970s, talking about Cajun music observes that music is like a newspaper and it tells the essential feelings of the Cajuns as a people, and it updates itself regularly as there is always something new. Doucet’s comment is a thought-provoking analogy for an interesting topic like Cajun music. Many people outside of the Cajun culture see the culture as something from the past and not the present. By tracing the historical development of Cajun music throughout history can provide a different perspective of the Cajuns’ culture. Examining Cajun music from 1920 to the early 1990s will provide a glimpse into the influences of other cultures in Louisiana that have mixed in with the Cajuns' culture and what variety of styles of Cajun music have come about from these influences and adaptations into what we know as Cajun music today.   

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, France founded several colonies in present-day Canada, one of which was Acadia. When Britain gained control of these colonies, and the question of loyalty arose, some Acadians found themselves homeless and deported. Nonetheless, many were able to find their way to the former French colony of Louisiana. As the United States annexed the Louisiana territory and eventually granted statehood, the Acadians were soon absorbed into a much larger, foreign culture.

As little written materials survives from Acadians it is difficult to discern what the Acadians and eventually the Cajuns gained from their neighbors throughout the centuries. What has survived through the centuries is the music of the Acadian culture. Cajun music is a (literal) record of the survival of a culture and how Cajuns have adapted to the various influences here in Louisiana.  
 

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