Oran "Doc" Guidry (April 28, 1918 – November 10, 1992) was an American

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the US state of Louisiana and surrounding Gulf Coast states. Whi ...

and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

fiddler. Some of his best known recordings include "Wondering", "Colinda", "Crowley Two Step", and "Chere Cherie".

Biography

Born April 28, 1918 in

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette ( , ) is the most populous city in and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, Lafayette Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located along the Vermilion River (Louisiana), Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's List of municipaliti ...

, Oran Guidry learned to play the fiddle from his father, Cleopha.

Career

Early on, in 1936, he began recording with Happy Fats' Rayne-Bo Ramblers and

Hackberry Ramblers The Hackberry Ramblers (also known as the Riverside Ramblers) is a Grammy Award-nominated Cajun music band based in Hackberry, Louisiana and formed in 1933. Since its heyday in the late 1930s it has become one of the most recognized names and in ...

' Joe Werner. There, they recorded a slew of recordings for Bluebird. By 1938, he had scored a chance to record with David Kapp's

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

and formed the "Sons of Acadians" band. After World War II, he would continue performing, recording and broadcasting with Happy Fats forming the group "Happy, Doc and the Boys" (or sometimes listed " Hadacol Boys"). These would be featured on J. D. "Jay" Miller's new Fais Do Do label. However, other groups would also use Doc's fiddle and electric mandolin in their recordings. Bill Hutto had him playing on his recordings during the 1950s. He even toured the country with

Jimmie Davis James Houston Davis (September 11, 1899 – November 5, 2000) was an American singer, songwriter, and Democratic Party politician. After achieving fame for releasing both sacred and popular songs, Davis served as governor of Louisiana from ...

where he would make his signature 1953 recording of "Chere Cherie" with L. J. Blanc at a session in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, TN. Together, they played on the

Louisiana Hayride ''Louisiana Hayride'' is a radio and later television country music show that was broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana; during its heyday from 1948 to 1960, it helped to launch the careers of some ...

and the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

. In May of that year,

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...

stated the song was a ''"pretty ballad, sung in English and French by the Cajun folk artist, is presented gracefully. Might earn some regional action"''. In 1962,

Vin Bruce Ervin "Vin" Bruce (April 25, 1932 – June 8, 2018) was one of the first Cajun musicians to appear on the Louisiana Hayride and Grand Ole Opry. Biography Bruce was born in Cut Off, Louisiana. His father, Levy Bruce, worked as a trapper and fisherm ...

had him recording at a session at the KLFT radio station. He jumped in with Aldus Roger and his Lafayette Playboys at the La Louisianne studio in 1964 and 1965. In 1966, La Louisianne had him record a solo album. By 1968 in his last recordings, he joined Vin Bruce again in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

at the Cosimo Matassa recording studio. In his later years, he would play blues, jazz and even some popular lounge music. At some point in the early 1980s, he toured Asia with Cajun legend D. L. Menard. *''Chere Cherie'' (1966)

Legacy

Guidry would eventually be entered into the Cajun French Music Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Discography

* ''Chere Cherie'' / ''The Little Fat Man'' (9-28678 Decca, 1953) * ''Doc Guidry: King Of The Cajun Fiddlers'' (LL-115 LaLouisianne, ca.1966)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guidry, Oran American folk musicians Musicians from Louisiana Cajun fiddlers 1918 births 1992 deaths 20th-century American violinists