Iry Le Jeune - Legacy

Legacy

Widely mourned in Acadiana, LeJeune's music continued to live on. To this day most jukeboxes in Acadiana have at least one selection by LeJeune, he remains a staple of Cajun radio, and most Cajun bands feature some of LeJeune's material. The timelessness of LeJeune's music can be traced to his mastery of the accordion and his unrestrained individuality. LeJeune sang deeply personal songs about his life which in fact reflected the lives of all Cajuns. Iry LeJeune said that he wasn't ashamed to sing and speak French and that the Cajun way of life suited him just fine. Simply put, he was proud to be Cajun when it wasn't necessarily popular.

LeJeune's complete body of work consists of less than 30 songs. Frustratingly for Cajun listeners, unless you were lucky enough to possess some of his original 78s or 45s, until a few years ago, you couldn't hear LeJeune's undoctored masterpieces. When assembling LeJeune's material for reissue on LP in 1970, Shuler overdubbed an electric bass on all the tracks. This was undone when Ace Records in England assembled Iry LeJeune: Cajun's Greatest — The Definitive Collection using original discs and master tapes as sources.

  • Iry LeJeune with the Oklahoma Tornadoes: Love Bridge Waltz Listen
  • Iry LeJeune with the Oklahoma Tornadoes: Evangeline Special Listen

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