Resources

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I looked at a great many books, academic articles, and various studies to compile the information for the book. Full bibliography in the book (of course!) but here are a handful of studies that I found to be a particularly useful:

  • Bernard, Shane K. The Cajuns: Americanization of a People. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2003.
    • Shane also has the definitive book on swamp pop.
  • Bertrand, Alvin Lee, and Homer L. Hitt. Radio Habits of Rural Louisiana. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Agricultural Experiment Station, 1949.
  • Brasseaux, Ryan. Cajun Breakdown: The Emergence of an American-Made Music. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
  • Brasseaux, Ryan, and Kevin Fontenot, eds. Fiddles, Accordions, Two Step & Swing: A Cajun Music Reader. Lafayette: Center for Louisiana Studies, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, 2006.
    • A great anthology. I cite a number of entries in this book.
  • Broven, John. South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous. Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing, 1983.
  • Norwood, Beth. “French Broadcasting in Louisiana.” Southern Speech Journal 30 (1964): 46–54.  
    • This is a much shorter and condensed version of the author’s master’s thesis. This particular study was published under her married name.               
  • Roberts, Elizabeth Mae. “French Radio Broadcasting in Louisiana, 1935–1958.” Master’s thesis, Louisiana State University, 1959.
    • This study, more than anything else, inspired my own research.
  • Savoy, Ann. Cajun Music: A Reflection of a People. Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. Eunice, LA: Bluebird Press, 2020.
    • These books are “must have” for anyone who wants a deep dive into Cajun music.
  • Schuler, Edgar. Survey of Radio Listeners in Louisiana. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University General Extension Division, 1943.
  • Tisserand, Michael. The Kingdom of Zydeco. New York: Arcade Publishing, 2016.

RECORDINGS

With few exceptions, there are no recordings for the vast majority of radio shows mentioned in this book. This archival vacuum is indicative of American radio as whole. For most of the twentieth century, radio, especially at the local level, was performed live. There are certainly recordings of Cajun musicians dating back to the 1920s, so we have some sense of what kind of music was played on older radio shows.

One notable exception is the show Rendezvous des Cajuns, which began broadcasting in 1987. This show aired on multiple radio stations and also public access cable television, and many of these video recordings also survive. The Center for Louisiana Studies, at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, has an extensive collection of this show, and some copies can be found in other collections.

Here’s one clip from the show from YouTube – there are MANY like this.

The live performances from Fred’s Lounge have also been documented numerous times. The 1979 album “This is Mamou Cajun Radio” includes several musical performances, though only a limited amount of the on-air announcing. Additionally, there is the 1967 album “Cajun Fais Do-Do,” which preserves a KEUN broadcast done by Revon Reed before he had settled into Fred’s as his standard location; this album has none of the announcing sadly.

Here’s a clip from 1995 of Fred’s Lounge

For Dudley LeBlanc, a handful of recordings from circa-1970 do exist, though this was near the end of his radio career.  See my page on Dudley LeBlanc/Hadacol for links to these recordings.

For early radio comedians, Walter Coquille released a series of “Creole monologue” records on the Brunswick label in the 1930s, and his WWL radio show was likely very similar.

There are also various short clips of, Pinky Vidacovich, the star comedian from WWL’s Dawnbusters.  Check out some clips on this page

Different archives in Texas have recordings of DJ/record producer Huey Meaux, the “Crazy Cajun.”

Here’s one clip, from 1974.

There are two recordings of Jerry Dugas’s long-running show, from circa-2000, and the online site CajunMusicRadio regularly plays them.

With the spread of digital technologies, it is likely that many radio shows from the twenty-first century survive as aircheck recordings or are held by individual stations. The great bulk of Cajun radio from the twentieth century, however, was not recorded. Anyone who has relevant recordings, including those from the French Radio Project of the 1930s, is encouraged to contact the Center for Louisiana Studies or Contact Me.