Larry G. Miller (born July 7, 1936) is a

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 ...

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

maker from

Iota, Louisiana Iota is a town in Acadia Parish, Louisiana, Acadia Parish, Louisiana. The population was 1,304 in 2020. Iota is part of the Crowley, Louisiana, Crowley Micropolitan Statistical Area. History The history of Iota is identified with Pointe-aux-Lo ...

. The brand name of his accordions is "Bon Cajun" (originally "Bon Tee Cajun").

Biography

Miller is the son of sharecropper Abraham Miller and Algena Leger. He worked in primary and secondary education for 22 years, and began to build accordions as a hobby in 1978. In 1988, building accordions became his full-time profession. He was also one of the founders of the

Cajun French Music Association The Cajun French Music Association is an association dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Cajun music and culture. History The Cajun French Music Association is a non-profit organization of Cajuns and non-Cajuns whose purpose is to promo ...

. Miller retired from building accordions full-time in 2006. His grandson Jay continues to build accordions under the brand "Bon Cajun." In 2003, he estimated he built approximately 85 accordions and repaired 200250 accordions each year. He says each accordion was hand-crafted and took between 160 and 175 hours to make, and he made about 1200 in total.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Larry 1936 births Living people Cajun accordionists People from Iota, Louisiana 21st-century American accordionists