Location: Louisiana
Ann Savoy Collection: Ambrose Sam, 1990
Coming from the Mallet region, near Lawtell, Ambrose and his brother Hebert (father of the great child zydeco band The Sam Five) were primarily know as double row and triple row accordion players and played the style called Lala.
Read MoreAnn Savoy Collection: Adam Hebert, 1985 and 1986
I interviewed Adam twice, once at his house where I also took portraits of him and once at my house where I filmed him playing his wonderful music. The lyrics in Adam’s songs have more poetry in them than most and he always had excellent bands playing with him.
Read MoreAbout Chris Strachwitz
The ripple effect of Chris Strachwitz in the world is immeasurable in preserving this music. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to not...
Read MoreWorking From Home: Wilson Savoy
The Arhoolie Foundation has teamed up with Little Village Foundation to produce “Working From Home,” a video series of mini house concerts recorded live by traditional...
Read MoreKEUN – Eunice, LA 1962 Gallery
In 1962 Chris Strachwitz journeyed on a road trip that took him from California to Texas and all through the South, the East Coast, Midwest, and then back down to the South before heading back to California. While driving from New Orleans back towards Texas, he heard a Cajun radio show on KEUN-AM and drove to Eunice to check it out. Here is an interview with Mr. Strachwitz talking about that visit to Eunice, Louisiana and the photos he took.
Read MoreArhoolie Records 45rpm Discography
Arhoolie Records 45rpm Discography by Tom Ball Arhoolie Records was founded in 1960 by Chris Strachwitz. Throughout the years of the vinyl disc, Arhoolie Records released...
Read MoreFrankie Lee Sims Interview
“I always could sing see. I always could sing but my hobby, what I really loved, was the guitar. You go somewhere where the guitar was at. I just didn’t pay no attention.”
Read MoreHerbert Sam Interview – Zydeco
Herbert Sam was born near Opelousas, LA., in 1924 into a musical Creole family. His father played accordion and so did his mother and two brothers, including Ambrose Sam who in the 1950s went to Los Angeles, Ca, and played for the Creole community in that area.
Read MoreOcta Clark Interview – Cajun
And you take Joe Falcon, was very good too. And Amédé Breaux was very good too. Amédé Breaux was good too. He was first a singer and he was good, too. A lot of people were good, but some like Aldus Roger, you going to hear him. He’s a good playing, but an old musician told me. He said, “Clark, nobody can beat you for dance.” I said, “You believe so?” He said, “Yes.”
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...
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