ARHOOLIE FOUNDATION COLLECTIONS:Chris Strachwitz Collection
Chuck Guillory Interview – Cajun
“Since I was four, five years old I liked music. I’d rather play music than eat.”….“George Jones, I’m the one who put him where he’s at…That man was poor. He begged me to play. I didn’t need him, I had a 7 piece band. I hired him anyway…five dollars a night…After the dance he would just sleep on the table ‘til daybreak and get a ride back to Beaumont.” – Chuck Guillory
Read MoreJoe Falcon Interview – Cajun
In 1928 Joe Falcon went to New Orleans and recorded the first Cajun record. In this 1962 interview with Chris Strachwitz, he talks about making that first record and his early days playing music.
Read MoreClifton Chenier Interviews
“Well, you see in 1955 I used to play nothing but rock music on accordion. Then I got so, I said “Well there’s too many rock groups.” I said, “I’m going to change this a little.” That’s why I got it down to put French in the rock music. See, how it goes.”
Read MoreLightning Hopkins & the Zydeco Uprising
In 1962 Chris Strachwitz was writing a blues column for Jazz Report magazine. Here is part one of three articles about his travels in the south,...
Read MoreDL Menard Interview
The late Cajun musician D.L. Menard’s biggest hit was “La Porte En Arrière” (“The Back Door”) which he wrote. He was often called “the Cajun Hank Williams”. In this interview from around 1988, Chris Strachwitz, Maureen Gosling, and Les Blank talk to D.L. about his first guitar, Cajun music, meeting Hank Williams, world travel, song writing, and making chairs.
Read MoreThe Chris Strachwitz Archive – Chris’ 90th Birthday Celebration
Chris’ 90th Birthday Celebration We are celebrating the birthday of Arhoolie Records founder Chris Strachwitz as he turns 90 on July 1, 2021! For over 60...
Read MoreThe Chris Strachwitz Archive – Home Videos
We are calling these “home videos” since they were never intended to be released. As soon as small, portable video recorders were available, Chris Strachwitz carried one...
Read MoreEarl Hooker Interview
“First I used to be a bad, bad, boy, run around with street gangs. After I got to playing music well all this here bad stuff got out of my mind and I got interested in playing music. My first guitar that I ever bought I bought from Sears and Roebuck. I paid a dollar down and fifty cent a week.”
Read MoreEddie Shuler – Goldband Records
“Of course I had a good band, The Hackberry Ramblers were backing me up on all that stuff. You know Luderin Darbone, he’s hard to beat when it comes to playing that Cajun fiddle that he’s got. Do you know they’re going to go play at the World’s Fair this year?…”
Read MoreHackberry Ramblers Interview
“The way we would play, when we started playing over here at Silver Star, we would play maybe about three numbers. Then we would play a waltz. The waltzes we would play, French waltzes. It has a certain beat that the people around here like.”
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