Papa Cairo was a big, brazen man and a big talker. He came to my house for the interview because I had my children at home and it was easier for him to come over. He didn’t have too much good to say about musicians in general, which he called “low lifes”. He had an amazing photo scrapbook which he allowed me to copy. He was a big deal in the early stringboard days, when he hoped the old swamp organ would be set aside so he could play more modern music. He was one of the earliest steel guitar players, back when the Cajuns were all trying to figure out how to play it. His steel rides are pretty out there if you listen to the old recordings. He described a pretty rough scene in Louisiana in the dancehall world.

– Ann Savoy