00:40 Introduced as part of the first family of Cajun music; Grant Morris wants to talk about Cajun music in general, and LeJeune’s family in particular 01:04 Angelas LeJeune, born in Church Point (Point Noir), was the first musical LeJeune; Eddie’s father Iry was blind and became a famous accordion player; Angelas LeJeune was his father’s uncle, he played accordion at dances and taught Iry; there weren’t as many accordion players as there are today so a good one was recognized immediately; Eddie names current players: Nathan Abshire, Aldus Roger, Belton Richard; back then was Octa Clark, but it took him awhile to find fame; Eddie says people recently have called him (Eddie) the “best kept secret” 04:43 Says that a good accordion player is made in a French-speaking family with a musical tradition, so you grow up with that music until you’re too old to play 06:14 Born in 1951 in Ardoin Cove, between Welsh and Laccassine, west side of Lake Charles before Crowley; his father was from Church Point and his mother was a Blanchard from near Church Point; his maternal grandmother’s maiden name was LeJeune—there were two LeJeune families, but no one knew genealogy then; Eddie was five years old when his father died—remembers riding his bike with his father who could see on cloudy days because of the shadows; his mother never drove, and his father couldn’t, so they moved around with a horse and buggy 09:05 Eddie remembers music at home—mostly remembers radio and television; Aldus Roger one of the first accordion player to have a television program on KLFY on Saturday afternoons, similar to Randal’s in Lafayette; his father was famous because he could play accordion and sing well; he never tried to play like his father, but plays his own way 11:15 Demonstration: “I Went to the Dance Last Night,” written by Iry LeJeune 13:13 Demonstration: “I Left My Family in Misery,” by Eddie LeJeune 15:11 Cajun songwriting is about something that happened to you or someone in your community; “I Left my Family in Misery” lyrics: “I left last night to go to Texas, when I got to Texas I found myself unsatisfied, the reason I was unsatisfied was because I left my family, my wife and kids, in misery in Louisiana;” there’s a lot of truth to Cajun lyrics, even when the stories are made up 17:42 Says that there is air conditioning and better housing, but disagrees that music is gone from the communities; Eddie sees his role as preserving traditional Cajun music—three piece band as the traditional arrangement; nightclubs required you to have bigger bands, but made a decision to play in the style of house dances (fais do do); they would switch around instruments because there was often only one of each; found more feeling in the traditional arrangement and got more attention after this decision; Rounder Records representative heard Eddie perform with Dewey Balfa at a Jazz Festival, DL Menard connected him to Eddie and he cut the record Cajun Soul 23:25 Eddie didn’t go to school very long; after his father died, he would play accordion for money and help with her mother to pay the bills and sometimes stayed away for days; the community took care of him while he played at restaurants, cafes, and bars as a solo accordion player; moved to Welsh in 1963 when he was about 13 or 14; I-10 wasn’t built yet, so he would hitch rides on Highway 90 and people recognized his accordion box and pick him up 26:10 Eddie was encouraged to continue playing through hard times; sometimes the song will affect him, but most of the time he looks inward and expresses the vocals “from his soul;” he felt happy playing as a child because he was doing something meaningful, and feels the same way today; his father’s songs made him feel emotional when he was a child; his father recorded the song “Love Bridge Waltz” and helped to revive traditional Cajun music on the radio 29:15 Demonstration: “La Valse du pont d’amour (Love Bridge Waltz),” by Iry LeJeune 31:08 “Love Bridge Waltz” was a love song for his mother; his father’s legacy revived Cajun music, and accordion playing specifically; Eddie wrote a love song for his wife, too, who he met at a fais do dos, called “When I Met You;” T-Toms(?) was the name of the club where he played and met his wife, and after her parents approved they were married in 1970, and will celebrate their 25th anniversary in August 33:00 Demonstration, “When I Met You,” by Eddie LeJeune 35:00 His father didn’t write his songs, but just sung what he felt at the time of recording; Eddie does the same thing as his father; he likes to record music as it’s actually happening, like in the dancehalls, so his songs and playing changes depending on the mood of the performance 38:25 When Eddie was young he worked all day long, and there wasn’t light at night so they would play music; now Eddie works at Manuel’s Truck Stop fixing tires during the day, and they let him leave to play music whenever he needs to; he got hurt on the job and had back surgery so he played music for a living for about three years; he had a heart attack from another stressful job and had another heart attack three weeks later, and had to cancel some of his tour dates, but continued to play the accordion; however, it’s hard to make a consistent living on the accordion; likes talking to people at his job at Manuel’s Truck Stop and has flexibility to play, too 42:06 His two albums, In the Blood and Cajun Soul; also recorded Le Trio Cadien with DL Menard and Ken Smith, and was nominated for a Grammy 44:52 Demonstration: Cajun waltz
