In the twentieth century, the world shifted in the way people lived as a result of changes in ideology, society, culture, technology, and other various ways. The twentieth century was an overall century of change and growth that started with horse-drawn carriages and ended with Internet. Many of these advances directly resulted from the two world wars that engulfed the first half of the century. Pushing for new ways to fight and stay one step ahead of the enemy, technology blossomed. Industrialization and trade also helped in expanding the innovations at the turn of the century and drew the world closer together through new forms of communication.

Twentieth-century Louisiana experienced these changes just like the rest of the world. Physically, the state saw creation of new roads connecting towns and cities, and culturally, the creation of new jobs led to a migration of people from all over the country seeking work. The Cajuns and others in South Louisiana were not immune to such changes and they resulted in a struggle for cultural identity that is marked, or rather heard, in the evolution of the traditional (folk) music of the area.


Mandatory public school, new highways, and other avenues of work helped connect South Louisiana to the rest of the country.[i] Ironically though these changes also helped in preserving the very cultures threatened by the Americanization process. Tracing the development of music by the Cajun people through the first half of the twentieth century provides a glimpse into the early influences other cultures and the start of cultural movements had on Cajun culture and ultimately, present-day Cajun music styles.    

Regional and ethnic records swept the country in the early 1900s, and record labels and listeners soon noticed la musique française of the Cajuns. Many companies such as RCA Victor, Columbia, OKeh, Bluebird, Brunswick, Vocalion, Paramount, and Decca began their search for regional or ethnic music in hopes of making more money by capitalizing on the locals' love for their music.[ii]