The Balfa Brothers (or Les Frères Balfa) were an American

cajun music Cajun music (), an emblematic music of Louisiana played by the Cajuns, is rooted in the ballads of the French-speaking Acadians of Canada. Although they are two separate genres, Cajun music is often mentioned in tandem with the Creole-based ...

ensemble. Its members were five brothers: Dewey on fiddle; Will on fiddle; Rodney on guitar, harmonica, and vocals; Burkeman on

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...

and spoons; and Harry on

Cajun accordion A Cajun accordion (in Cajun French: ''accordéon''), also known as a squeezebox, is single-row diatonic button accordion used for playing Cajun and Creole music. History Many different accordions were developed in Europe throughout the 19th c ...

History

The brothers first played together at family gatherings in the 1940s. Their father, Charles Balfa, a sharecropper, had played fiddle and was a singer. Along with Hadley Fontenot, an accordionist and acquaintance of the family, they made their first recordings in 1951. The

78rpm A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The g ...

single was "La Valse de Bon Baurche" b/w "Le Two Step de Ville Platte", recorded at their house. After this Dewey went on to a successful solo career, recording on his own and with many ensembles. Adopting the name Balfa Brothers in 1967, Dewey, Rodney, Will, Hadley Fontenot, and Dewey's daughter Nelda started touring

folk festival A folk festival celebrates traditional folk crafts and folk music. This list includes folk festivals worldwide, except those with only a partial focus on folk music or arts. Folk festivals may also feature folk dance or ethnic foods. Handicra ...

s and European venues, playing Cajun music at a time in which its impact on American music had largely been forgotten. They made their first new recordings that year, and played at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. They released several albums and appeared in the 1972 documentary ''Spend it All''. Over time they experimented with blending traditional Cajun music with more modern orchestral sounds. They continued together until 1979; that year Rodney and Will died in an

auto accident A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. Tra ...

. In 1980, Dewey's wife died of

trichinosis Trichinosis, also known as trichinellosis, is a parasitic disease caused by roundworms of the '' Trichinella'' genus. During the initial infection, invasion of the intestines can result in diarrhea, abdominal pain, and vomiting. Migration of ...

. Following further lineup changes, the group continued under the name a few years later, and an ensemble continued to perform even after Dewey died in 1992. The Balfa Brothers, performing with

Marc Savoy Marc Savoy ( ; born October 1, 1940) is an American musician, and builder and player of the Cajun accordion. Early life He was born on his grandfather's rice farm near Eunice, Louisiana, Eunice, Louisiana. His grandfather was a fiddler, who occ ...

, made notable film appearances in two Hollywood productions: the 1981 Walter Hill film ''

Southern Comfort Southern Comfort (often abbreviated SoCo) is an American naturally fruit-flavored whiskey liqueur with fruit and spice accents. The brand was created by bartender Martin Wilkes Heron in New Orleans in 1874, using whiskey as the base spirit. Whi ...

'', where they perform "Parlez-nous à Boire", and the 1986 film '' The Big Easy'', where Dewey Balfa appears in an uncredited role performing "La valse de Balfa" during a backyard barbecue scene. Their song "La Danse de Mardi Gras" appears on the soundtracks for the 1992 film ''

Passion Fish ''Passion Fish'' is a 1992 American drama film written and directed by John Sayles. The film stars Mary McDonnell, Alfre Woodard, Vondie Curtis-Hall, David Strathairn, Leo Burmester, and Angela Bassett. It tells the story of a soap opera star ...

'', the 2012 film ''

Beasts of the Southern Wild ''Beasts of the Southern Wild'' is a 2012 American fantasy-drama film directed, co-written, and co-scored by Benh Zeitlin. It was adapted by Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar from Alibar's one-act play ''Juicy and Delicious''. The film stars Quvenzhan� ...

'', and '' Serenity''. It also appeared in a commercial for

Carling Black Label Carling Black Label is a lager distributed by Carling Brewing Company. History Although its original focus was on ale, Carling has brewed lager-style beers since the 1870s. In 1927, as part of a corporate re-branding under new president ...

Lager. Two of the Balfa Brothers, along with the late Cajun accordionist Danny Poulard, are briefly in the movie ''Garlic Is As Good As Ten Mothers,'' a 1980 documentary film about garlic directed by Les Blank.

Discography

* ''The Balfa Brothers Play Traditional Cajun Music'' (

Swallow Records James Floyd Soileau (born November 2, 1938) is an American record producer. Biography Soileau was born in Faubourg, a small community between Ville Platte and Washington, Louisiana. He grew up speaking Cajun French and did not speak English ...

, 1967) * ''The Cajuns'' (

Sonet Records Sonet Records was a jazz, pop and rock record label operating as an imprint of Universal Music Sweden. It was founded in Sweden in 1956. Sonet Records was established by Sven Lindholm and Gunnar Bergström, who managed the label into the 1980 ...

, 1972) * ''The Good Times are Killing Me'' (Swallow Records, 1972) * ''The Balfa Brothers Play Traditional Cajun Music Vol. 2'' (1974) * ''J'ai Vu le Loup, Le Renard et la Belette'' (1976, re-released

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts, by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by A ...

, 1988) * ''The Balfa Brothers and Nathan Abshire: The 1970 NYC Cajun Concert'' ( Field Recorders Collective, 2008) * ''The Balfa Family: A Retrospective - Festivals Acadiens et Créoles 1977-2010'' (

Valcour Records Valcour Records is an independent record label based in Eunice, Louisiana. Valcour was founded in 2006 by Joel Savoy (son of Marc Savoy, Marc and Ann Savoy), with friends Phillip LaFargue II and Lucius Fontenot. Valcour Records' first release in ...

, 2012)

References

External links

The Balfa Brothers The Balfa Brothers (or Les Frères Balfa) were an American cajun music ensemble. Its members were five brothers: Dewey Balfa, Dewey on fiddle; Will on fiddle; Rodney on guitar, harmonica, and vocals; Burkeman on triangle (music), triangle and spo ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

*
Portrait of Ray Abshire on culturbase.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balfa Brothers, The American folk musical groups Musical groups from Louisiana Cajun fiddlers Sonet Records artists

History

Discography

See also

References

External links