Amede Ardoin : The Father of Louisiana French Blues

Amede Ardoin is hailed as "the pioneer of Louisiana French Blues" on the 1995 Ahoolie-released album I'm Never Comin' Back: The Roots of Zydeco. Born March 11, 1898, Ardoin was a Creole musician from the Acadiana region of Louisiana, known for his high, unique singing voice and adeptness with the Diatonic accordion, also called a squeeze box or Cajun accordion.

Amede Ardoin circa 1912


Roots of Zydeco: Early Louisiana French Blues

• Creole and Cajun music both evolved in the southwest region of Louisiana throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The area was settled in 1764 by Acadians (later shortened to 'Cajuns'), a French-speaking group of Canadian exiles, and in post-Civil War years, by Creoles - French-speaking ex-slaves and free persons of color who had, over the years, mixed with Haitians, American Indians, Spanish, and French.

• In early Cajun and Creole families, like the Ardoins, singing was a tradition that passed from one generation to another through house songs and dance music. Their repertoire of songs consisted of solo narrative ballads sung by mothers to their children, as well as those sung by men to one another in a working or post-work relaxation environment.

• This regionally-specific music often served as a cultural history lesson depicting the origins and hardships of Cajun and Creole culture. They were always sung in broken French language, and were played by a solo artist or group of musicians featuring two primary instruments: the fiddle and the accordion.

(left to right: Canray Fontenot and Bois Sec Ardoin, Amede's nephew, on the fiddle and accordion)


Amede Ardoin and the Blues Accordion

• The Diatonic accordion came to Louisiana from Germany. It is now such a vital part of Cajun music that many accordion builders are established in southwest Louisiana. In Amede Ardoin's heyday, the sought after brands were the Monarch and Sterling accordions, which were solid black with 'gold' keys.

• The accordion is small and lightweight ( 6" x 11" and 8 lbs.), and full of power. This was an important feature in its rise to prominence in the dance hall scene of southwest Louisiana before the days of electric amplification.

• According to Barry Jean Ancelet, the accordion's brash sound expressed the frontier character of Cajun culture. The simplicity of the accordion also tended to restrict and simplify the tunes. Musicians ran with this, and adapted old songs to create new one featuring the accordion's unique sounds.

• No one did this better than Amede Ardoin, who created songs with a highly syncopated accordion style. Ardoin is also credited for infusing the blues into Cajun music. To this end, Joel Savoy, a neighbor of Ardoin's remembers:

I would see him walking down our road all the time, visiting, playing dances. He carried his accordion in a twenty-five pound flour sack with a goose and wolf on it. People would feed him. One of my uncles, Adam Young, brought him to my house once and he played the accordion right in my kitchen. That was in around 1928 and 1930. He'd sleep at my uncle's house when my uncle would get him to play. Amede had a certain way of playing - nobody else played like that, and people would copy him. When he played he always put a towel on his knee. The bellows were made out of paper and he would have torn them up. I remember he always played a Monarch or Sterling. Those were his favorite instruments. (Savoy, 67)





Cutting the Deal: Amede Ardoin and the Record Industry

Cover of the 1995 Ahoolie Records-released collection of 26 of Ardoin's 34 recorded songs.

• Ardoin and Dennis McGee recorded the 26 songs included on the aforementioned collection over the course of four years and three trips:

#1 - 10: New Orleans - November 19 & 20, 1930
#11 - 14: San Antonio - August 8, 1934
#15 - 26: New York City - December 22, 1934


The Complete Works of Amede Ardoin with Dennis McGee, released March 1, 2011.

Cajun and Zydeco music would not be what it is today without Amede Ardoin and his musical recordings of the late 1920s and early 30s. his fortes include his uniquely eloquent lyrics, his resonating voice, and his driving accordion virtuosity. The equanimity in which this slight black French-speak composed, performed, and recorded his songs attests to the high regard held by those who knew him. Amede lived the blues and injected his spirit into our music. Without him we would not have the dozen or so songs Iry Lejeune interpreted and recorded in the 1950s that helped to bring about a resurgence of Cajun French pride. (Michael Doucet, Ahoolie Records)


The Tragic End of Amede Ardoin

Amede would sing anything he wanted. His voice would go through you. He could play some music, every woman in the dancehall would cry. They'd stop dancing. Sat down and wipe the tears. Oh yes sir, he would make women cry, and the men would hang their heads down. Daddy said, 'He puts it to them.' Amede used to say, 'Well, I'm singing about the facts of life.' And when he'd mix a little bit of the religious stuff with it, these women would cry like babies. (Tisserand, 60 - 61)