Bois Sec Ardoin & Canray Fontenot

Biography

Bois Sec Ardoin (Alphonse Ardoin) and Canray Fontenot were iconic Creole musicians from southwest Louisiana, pioneers of traditional black Creole music blending Cajun, zydeco precursors, and blues elements. Canray Fontenot was born on October 16, 1922, in L'Anse aux Vaches near Basile, Louisiana, into a musical family; his father, Adam 'Nonc Adam' Fontenot, was a renowned accordionist who played with Amédé Ardoin, and his parents both performed. Growing up as a sharecropper, Fontenot crafted his first fiddle from a cigar box with screen-door strings and a pear-tree bow, later earning a real fiddle by helping his uncle harvest corn. Both parents died when he was around 14, prompting him to drop out of school to support his family while continuing the musical tradition at local dances and weddings.[1][3][4][5]

In the late 1930s, Fontenot formed a short-lived string band with George Lenard and Paul Frank, playing boogie woogie, western swing, jazz, and traditional tunes, but he soon partnered with accordionist Alphonse 'Bois Sec' Ardoin, a cousin of Amédé Ardoin from nearby Duralde, after his father's death. In 1948, they formed the Duralde Ramblers, gaining popularity at house dances, radio broadcasts on KEUN in Eunice through the 1950s, and writing originals like Fontenot's standards 'Joe Pitre a Deux Femmes,' 'Les Barres de la Prison,' and 'Bonsoir Moreau.' Their career surged in 1966 when folklorist Ralph Rinzler convinced them to perform at the Newport Folk Festival, leading to their debut album Les Blues Du Bayou with Dick Spottswood and international festival tours as the last exponents of pre-zydeco 'old style' Creole music. Fontenot's legendary loose, Caribbean-style bowing and 'blues-waltzes'—fusing blues tonalities, jazz improvisation, and Cajun scales—defined their innovative sound.[1][2][3][5]

In 1986, both received National Heritage Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and were appointed adjunct professors at the University of Southwestern Louisiana. Fontenot, who died of cancer on July 29, 1995, in Welsh, Louisiana, appeared in documentaries like J'ai Ete au Bal (1989) and PBS's American Patchwork. Ardoin, born in the 1920s in Prien Noir, Louisiana, and passing on May 16, 2007, in Eunice, shared a partnership spanning over 40 years, preserving Creole culture amid poverty and labor hardships.[1][2][5][7]

Fun Facts

• Canray Fontenot built his first fiddle at age 9 from a cigar box, screen-door strings, and a bow made from pear tree branches and sewing thread.[1][3][4]
• In 1934, Amédé Ardoin invited the young Canray to record in New York, but his parents refused to let him travel.[1]
• The duo felt 'downright funny' about performing at the 1966 Newport Folk Festival, having not played publicly for years before folklorist Ralph Rinzler persuaded them.[1][2]
• Bois Sec Ardoin declined to travel as much as Fontenot, who performed in California while Ardoin stayed closer to home.[6]

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Adam Fontenot - father and accordionist who taught Canray and played with Amédé Ardoin (local dances and weddings) [1920s-1930s]
• Amédé Ardoin - influential accordionist; Canray played second fiddle with him and his father; cousin to Bois Sec (local performances; wanted Canray for 1934 NY recording) [early 1930s]
• Douglas Belair - cousin and early recorded black fiddle player who inspired Canray to build his cigar box fiddle (N/A) [childhood, age 9]

Key Collaborators

• Alphonse 'Bois Sec' Ardoin - primary long-term partner as accordionist and singer in duo and Duralde Ramblers (Duralde Ramblers (house dances, radio KEUN); Les Blues Du Bayou (1966); Arhoolie Records releases; Newport Folk Festival) [late 1930s/1948-1990s]
• George Lenard - guitarist in early string band (string band playing boogie woogie, western swing, jazz) [late 1930s]
• Paul Frank - band member in early string band (string band) [late 1930s]
• George Linnis - guitarist who sang hillbilly music in short-term group (local performances) [post-father's death, short time]

Artists Influenced

• Michael Doucet - hailed Canray as 'the greatest Black Louisiana Fiddler of our time' (N/A) [1990s]

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia