When I lived in Richmond, Virginia, one of my first and favorite Louisiana LPs was an album from the Arhoolie label by Bois Sec Ardoin, Canray Fontenot, and his son, Morris. I loved the simplicity of the accordion style, the soulful tone of the vocals, and the way they spoke the French language. Super high tech, showy musicianship has never touched me deeply, but this did. I learned some of their songs before I learned any Cajun music. Of course, their music was almost all the same tunes Cajuns play, but it was in a simpler style and slightly different rhythmically. When I moved to Louisiana, we went to music parties at Bois Sec and Marceline’s house several times and also to a boucherie. When I taped and interviewed Bois Sec I also filmed him playing many songs accompanied by his son Morris. Bois Sec and Marceline took me to Amédé Ardoin’s girlfriend’s house to find the only other existing photo of Amédé!

-Ann Savoy