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On Douglas Bellard

Douglas Bellard was the first black man to record Creole music in this area. In Vol 1 I put the lyrics to his two released songs and a beautiful portrait of him. The portrait came from a one armed black man in Eunice. Shortly after he lent me the photo to copy and I had returned it his house burned down with the picture in it, so I am thankful I went to get it. I had Joel with me when he was about four years old. He was wearing a raccoon cap I had made him. As I was leaving I absent mindedly slammed the car door and it slammed on little Joel’s hand!!! I will never forget my horror when that happened. I spent a few trips looking for traces of Douglas Bellard to get a more rounded portrait of him. All I had heard were negative and violent things. But our old friend Murphy Soileau knew him well and even picked up Douglas’ brother David to be interviewed. I also went to the home of Ida Jones, a very old black woman, who told me various stories about black musicians in the area in the 1920’s-1930’s.

– Ann Savoy

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  • Ida Jones on Douglas Bellard 00:00
Interviewee: Ida Jones
Interviewer: Ann Savoy
Date: –
Language: French / français
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  • Murph Soileau & David Bellard 00:00
Interviewee: Murph Soileau & David Bellard
Interviewer: Ann Savoy
Date: March 18, 1993
Language: English

These are interviews originally recorded for research purposes. It is presented here in its raw state, unedited except to remove some irrelevant sections and blank spaces. All rights to the interview are reserved by the Arhoolie Foundation. Please do not use anything from this website without permission. info@arhoolie.org

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Dear friends,

On Giving Tuesday, we announced the capital campaign to purchase our building at 10341 San Pablo Ave in El Cerrito — home to the Arhoolie Foundation (and before that Arhoolie Records), Les Blank Films, and Down Home Music Store since 1976. We’ve been heartened by the community’s response to our fundraising announcement. To all who have donated so far: thank you. We couldn’t do this without you.

Now, while there is a contract in place to buy the building in partnership with Les Blank Films, we need to raise $1.2 million — our half of the purchase price — by April 15. Donations to the campaign can be made via the link below, by check, or by bank transfer. (To make a bank transfer, please email us at info@arhoolie.org).

In the new year, we look forward to collaborating with Les Blank Films and Down Home Music to bring more public programming to our community. We plan to revive Les Blank and Chris Strachwitz’s tradition of in-store film screenings and will host more informal, free performances and gatherings in the store as part of our outreach work. We believe this collaboration will result in a vibrant community gathering place dedicated to music, film, and deep roots culture.

If you’re interested in donating and would like to discuss our plans for the building, please don’t hesitate to email director Adam Machado at adam@arhoolie.org.

Thank you for your support as we begin this exciting new chapter!

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