Mark F. DeWitt
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781604730906
- eISBN:
- 9781604733372
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781604730906.003.0005
- Subject:
- Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music
Creole migration to California continued through the postwar periods of the 1940s, as social inequality in the South and differential economic opportunities made California attractive as a place to ...
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Creole migration to California continued through the postwar periods of the 1940s, as social inequality in the South and differential economic opportunities made California attractive as a place to live. The foothold that Creoles gained in the Bay Area during World War II eased the way for friends and relatives to follow. This chapter discusses postwar trends in Louisiana French Music; Danny Poullard (1938–2001), a pivotal figure in the history of Louisiana French music in California, as a performer, teacher, and inspiration to other musicians; dancer Betty Leblanc; dance teacher Olivia Guillory; and the local influence of record producer Chris Strachwitz and filmmaker Les Blank.Less
Creole migration to California continued through the postwar periods of the 1940s, as social inequality in the South and differential economic opportunities made California attractive as a place to live. The foothold that Creoles gained in the Bay Area during World War II eased the way for friends and relatives to follow. This chapter discusses postwar trends in Louisiana French Music; Danny Poullard (1938–2001), a pivotal figure in the history of Louisiana French music in California, as a performer, teacher, and inspiration to other musicians; dancer Betty Leblanc; dance teacher Olivia Guillory; and the local influence of record producer Chris Strachwitz and filmmaker Les Blank.
Mark F. DeWitt
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781604730906
- eISBN:
- 9781604733372
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781604730906.003.0006
- Subject:
- Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music
The American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s stimulated outsider interest in Louisiana French music and culture. This chapter discusses how some revivalists from a hotbed of old-time ...
More
The American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s stimulated outsider interest in Louisiana French music and culture. This chapter discusses how some revivalists from a hotbed of old-time country music and bluegrass activity in northern California found their way to Louisiana French music. It profiles four individuals—Will Spires, Eric Thompson, Suzy Rothfield Thompson, and Delilah Lee Lewis—for whom the folk revival became their initial frame of reference for Cajun and Creole music and the conduit through which they made contact with musicians from Louisiana.Less
The American folk music revival of the 1950s and 1960s stimulated outsider interest in Louisiana French music and culture. This chapter discusses how some revivalists from a hotbed of old-time country music and bluegrass activity in northern California found their way to Louisiana French music. It profiles four individuals—Will Spires, Eric Thompson, Suzy Rothfield Thompson, and Delilah Lee Lewis—for whom the folk revival became their initial frame of reference for Cajun and Creole music and the conduit through which they made contact with musicians from Louisiana.
Mark F. DeWitt
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781604730906
- eISBN:
- 9781604733372
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781604730906.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music
Queen Ida. Danny Poullard. Documentary filmmaker Les Blank. Chris Strachwitz and Arhoolie Records. These are names that are familiar to many fans of Cajun music and zydeco, and they have one other ...
More
Queen Ida. Danny Poullard. Documentary filmmaker Les Blank. Chris Strachwitz and Arhoolie Records. These are names that are familiar to many fans of Cajun music and zydeco, and they have one other thing in common: longtime residence in the San Francisco Bay Area. They are all part of a vibrant scene of dancing and live Louisiana-French music that has evolved over several decades. This book traces how this region of California has been able to develop and sustain dances several times a week with more than a dozen bands. Description of this active regional scene opens into a discussion of several historical trends that have affected life and music in Louisiana and the nation. The book portrays the diversity of people who have come together to adopt Cajun and Creole dance music as a way to cope with a globalized, media-saturated world. The author weaves together interviews with musicians and dancers (some from Louisiana, some not), analysis of popular media, participant observation as a musician and dancer, and historical perspectives from wartime black migration patterns, the civil rights movement, American folk and blues revivals, California counterculture, and the rise of cultural tourism in “Cajun Country.” In so doing, he reveals the multifaceted appeal of celebrating life on the dance floor, Louisiana-French style.Less
Queen Ida. Danny Poullard. Documentary filmmaker Les Blank. Chris Strachwitz and Arhoolie Records. These are names that are familiar to many fans of Cajun music and zydeco, and they have one other thing in common: longtime residence in the San Francisco Bay Area. They are all part of a vibrant scene of dancing and live Louisiana-French music that has evolved over several decades. This book traces how this region of California has been able to develop and sustain dances several times a week with more than a dozen bands. Description of this active regional scene opens into a discussion of several historical trends that have affected life and music in Louisiana and the nation. The book portrays the diversity of people who have come together to adopt Cajun and Creole dance music as a way to cope with a globalized, media-saturated world. The author weaves together interviews with musicians and dancers (some from Louisiana, some not), analysis of popular media, participant observation as a musician and dancer, and historical perspectives from wartime black migration patterns, the civil rights movement, American folk and blues revivals, California counterculture, and the rise of cultural tourism in “Cajun Country.” In so doing, he reveals the multifaceted appeal of celebrating life on the dance floor, Louisiana-French style.
