Joe Falcon
"Allons à Lafayette, c'est pour changer ton nom, on va t’appeler Madame, Madame Canaille Comeaux..."
("Let's go to Lafayette, in order to change your name, we'll call you Mrs., Mrs. Canaille Comeaux...")
JOE FALCON, "LAFAYETTE" , 4/27/1928
Joe (1900 - 1965) was a Cajun accordion player in southwest Louisiana, best known for the first recording of a Cajun song; "Allons à Lafayette" in 1928 . He and his wife Cléoma Breaux left for New Orleans to record the first Cajun record and went on to perform across southern Louisiana and Texas.
His career as a professional musician began some years later at a fais-do-do hall called the "Blue Goose" in Rayne, Louisiana when the regular band didn't show up and the dance hall owner insisted that Joe take their place. He and Cléoma landed a recording contract with Columbia records which lasted from 1928 to 1929. He signed on with both RCA's Bluebird records and Decca records between 1934 and 1937.
Cléoma Breaux Falcon
"J’ai passe devant ta porte, j’ai crie, “By-bye la belle.” Y a personne qu’a pas repondu, oh ye yaille, mon coeur fait mal."
("I passed by your door, I cried out "Good by, my beautiful girl." No one answered, oh my, my heart aches.")
CLEOMA BREAUX FALCON, "MON COEUR T'APPELLE", 4/19/1929
Cléoma Breaux Falcon(1906 - 1941) was an American guitarist and vocalist who, along with her husband Joe Falcon, recorded one of the first known examples of Cajun music. The recording, "Allons à Lafayette" was released in 1928, and opened the way for other commercial releases of Cajun music. Aside from being a ground-breaking recording artist, Cleoma Breaux also was one of the few women to perform live, despite the social standards of the era.
Her career as a professional musician began when she joined her brothers, Amédé, Ophé and Cléopha, playing at dance-halls in Louisiana. In the mid-1920s, Breaux was joined in performing by accordion player Joe Falcon. The two also began a relationship with each other and would later marry in 1931, while adopting a child named Loula. Her and Joe landed a recording contract with Columbia records which lasted from 1928 to 1929. He signed on with both RCA's Bluebird records and Decca records between 1934 and 1937.
Amédé Breaux
"Jolie blonde, regardez-donc quoi t'as fait, tu m'as quitté pour t'en aller, pour t'en aller avec un autre, oui, que moi, quel espoir et quel avenir, mais, moi, je vais avoir?"
("Pretty blond, so look at what you've done, you've left to go away, you went away with another, yes, for me, what hope and what future, well, do I have?")
AMÉDÉ BREAUX, "MA BLONDE EST PARTIE", 4/19/1929
Amédé Breaux (1900 - 1973) was an Cajun accordion player that was best known for recording the earliest version of the song "Jolie Blonde", under the title of "Ma Blonde Est Partie". Amédé started playing the accordion when he was 12 years old and was playing house parties at the age of 14.
His career as a professional musician began when he joined his brothers, Ophé, Cléopha,and his sister Cléoma playing at dance-halls in Louisiana. In the mid-1920s, Breaux was joined in performing by accordion player Joe Falcon. He and his brothers, performing under the title "Breaux Frères" had recording sessions in 1929 for Columbia, 1934 for Vocalion and 1937 for Decca. Afterwards, he would headline other groups with independent recording sessions in the post-WWII years.
