:For the Louisiana
sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
, see ''Charles Fuselier''.
Jean Batiste "J.B." Fuselier
[ Savoy 1984, p. 142.] (April 17, 1901 – August 16, 1976)
[The Eunice News, Eunice, Louisiana, 19 Aug 1976, Thu • Page 5] was a
Cajun music
Cajun music (french: Musique cadienne), 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 w ...
ian most remembered for his tune "Ma Chere Bassette".
[ Broven 1983, p. 54.] He played for many years with the group J. B. and His Merrymakers.
Early life
Fuselier began playing the fiddle when he was five. In a 1937 interview, he claimed that when he started violin, he was too small to pick it up to play.
[ Yule 2009, p. 124.] He had to lie on the bed. He also started playing the accordion at a very young age. At the age of nine, he played his first dance.
String band era
In the 1930s, he recorded many records with
Victor Records under the
banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...
ist Beethoven Miller's Merrymakers.
After Miller left the group in early 1938,
[ Brasseaux 2009, p.153.] Fuselier changed the name to J.B. and His Merrymakers. The group was very successful, drawing large crowds at the Step Inn Club in
Lawtell and Fais Do Do in
Ville Platte
Ville Platte is the largest city in, and the parish seat of, Evangeline Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 7,430 at the 2010 census, down from 8,145 in 2000. The city's name is of French origin, roughly translating to "flat town ...
.
After World War II
It was around the end of the war that he met
Iry LeJeune
Ira "Iry" LeJeune (October 27, 1928 Cajun Music a Reflection of the People – October 8, 1955) was one of the best selling and most popular Cajun musicians in the mid to late 1940s into the early 1950s.
His recordings and repertoire remai ...
.
[ Yule 2009, p. 128.] He began playing with Iry Lejeune and the Calcasieu Playboys after he moved to Lake Charles. They played together regularly until 1955 when Lejeune died. Fuselier was driving from the Green Wing Club in
Eunice
Eunice is a feminine given name, from the Greek Εὐνίκη, ''Euníkē'', from "eu", good, and "níkē", victory. Eunice is also a relatively rare last name, found in Nigeria and the Southeastern United States, chiefly Louisiana and Georgia.
Pe ...
, when his tire was punctured. While changing the tire, a car hit Fuselier's car. Fuselier suffered many injuries as well. His daughter remembers his lung was collapsed and he had many broken bones; others mention a head injury.
[ Savoy 1984, p. 143.][ Yule 2009, p. 129.] He continued playing with his Merrymakers which consisted of Norris Courville on drums, Desbra Fontenot on steel guitar and Preston Manuel on guitar.
Legacy
Fuselier played for almost his entire life, until his death in 1976. Many other musicians have covered his songs and they are now a part of standard Cajun repertoire. His three most famous songs are "Ma chère Bassette", "Jongle à Moi" and "Chère Tout-Toute". Written for his daughter, he is the first to record "Chère Tout-Toute" which would be re-recorded by many local artists.
He never learned to use four fingers when playing the violin. He is quoted as saying, "All that money I made, I made it with three fingers."
He is also credited with being the first person to incorporate the
steel guitar
A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...
into Cajun music by hiring Atlas Frugé to play in his band.
[ Savoy 1984, p. 145.]
:*''Ma Cher Bassett'
Listen (MP3):*''Ponce A Moi'
Listen (MP3)
Family
Fuselier had two daughters, Myrtle "Tout-Toute" Berglund and Ethel Champagne.
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuselier, Jean Baptiste
American folk musicians
Musicians from Louisiana
Cajun fiddlers
1901 births
1976 deaths
20th-century American violinists
People from Oberlin, Louisiana