Author Archives: John Adams

Old and Young    |   By Emile Waagenaar
  When Milton Vanicor, 90 years old in this picture, was still a child, his father made this 1-string fiddle for him. It only sounded good if it was a ‘Prince Albert’ cigar box. His wife Odile used to arrange the financial agreements for the bands Milton played in, among others The Lacassine Playboys with […]
October 10, 2019

See You Later, Alligator!    |   By Emile Waagenaar
  Shelton Manual was blind. Long ago he was blinded by a bullet during the hunt. So he could not see what his room looked like. He had a housekeeper who benefited from it and had taken half the interior of his house. Shelton’s neighbor welcomed us warmly and showed us to the living room. […]
October 8, 2019

Eddie, Eddie, Ervin, Rodney and Doris Leon    |   By Emile Waagenaar
  I also visited several small but world-famous sound studios such as Eddie Shuler’ s Goldband Records in Lake Charles, not far from the Texan border. A small dark recording studio where in 1959 Eddie recorded the first single by Dolly Parton, then 13 years old, called ‘ Puppy Love’ . But also in the […]
October 3, 2019

Cajun Musicians At Home    |   By Emile Waagenaar
  In those first years I traveled from here to there, on roads like the LA 82, passing the Rockefeller State Wildlife Refuge near Grand Chenier. No idea where I would end up. But the more musicians I got to know, who all referred me to other musicians, the more I got the idea that […]
October 1, 2019