Music to celebrate Friday -- Amédé Ardoin

Amédé (or Amedee/Amedie) Ardoin was a startling man, a black Creole contemporary of Jelly Roll Morton and  Buddy Bolden. Morton and Bolden were rolling music in a new direction in metropolitan New Orleans, while Ardoin created his own new sounds in rural south Louisiana, Acadiana. His music influenced not only Creole music, eventually Zydeco, but also Cajun music. Playing his accordion and singing the lyrics he made up on the spot, Ardoin and his white friend, fiddler Dennis/Denus McGee, traveled around making music wherever they could -- in barns, yards, houses and dance halls. Ardoin, alone and with McGee, recorded 34 records, some with Columbia Records.

Ardoin was a contemporary of and played music with Canray Fontenot. Alphonse "Bois Sec" Ardoin was Amédé's younger cousin.

There is a tragic, and some say apocryphal, story about how Ardoin ended his days. It's too true to bigotry not to have some truth. You can read about it HERE if you like or watch a video HERE. I'd suggest you just enjoy the music.

See also:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amédé_Ardoin

his media file is in the public domain in the United States. This applies to U.S. works where the copyright has expired, often because its first publication occurred prior to January 1, 1923.

Louisiana governors

Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville,
the Father of Louisiana

I had always thought Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville (1680 - 1767 or 1768), was born in France, but I was wrong. The man who was the Louisiana territorial governor numbers 2, 4, 6, and 9 was born in what is now Montreal, Québec. His parents were from Normandy, and Bienville had thirteen siblings. He served under his older brother, Pierre LeMoyne, Sieur d'Iberville, in the French royal navy and explored the New World, including the regions at the Mississippi River mouth.

Why Bienville is notable:

He became governor or commandant of the Louisiana colony at 21, taking over after the first governor, Sieur de Sauvolle, died in 1701.

In 1702 Bienville transferred the fledgling colony from Fort Maurepas in the Biloxi area to Mobile Bay and established the town of Mobile. (Old Biloxi is now Ocean Springs, MS.)

He established New Orleans in 1718, and it became the colonial capital in 1722.

He brought the first African slaves into the colony and established the Code Noir in 1724 -- a black code indeed, though allegedly humane for its time.

He had a knack for getting along with the indigenous peoples, but the Natchez and Chickasaw Indians defeated him in various battles.

Bienville was responsible for the importing of 24 French women, called the Casket Girls, to marry French settlers and prevent them from fraternizing with the Indians.

Speaking of fraternizing, Bienville was accused of having affairs with French women in the colony. He never married.

Governor #3 was Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac -- yes, that Cadillac. More about him later.

The image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.




See also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Le_Moyne,_Sieur_de_Bienville
http://gatewayno.com/history/Bienville.html
http://www.knowla.org/entry.php?rec=814

Music to celebrate Friday -- Zachary Richard

Zachary Richard is a modern Cajun musician with roots in the past of Louisiana and Acadie (Nova Scotia). He sings in English and French with a unique, passionate style I find captivating. He sings rock, Cajun, Zydeco -- it's all good. 

In collaboration with Louisiana Public Broadcasting, he produced, narrated and scored Against the Tide, the story of the Cajun people of Louisiana which was awarded Best Historical Documentary by the National Educational Television Association (NETA) in 2000. (http://www.zacharyrichard.com/english/biography.php)

He has also published children's books and poetry. You can find out more about him and his work HERE.

Richard sings "Réveille" in the voice of Acadians beset by British soldiers -- Wake up! The [soldiers] are coming to burn our houses and destroy our crops. Wake up and fight! -- It's also a call to save the Cajun heritage. You don't have to understand French to hear the heart of the song.

On a lighter note, "Come On, Sheila" is one of my favorite songs of his. And it's in English!

Accepting the challenge and passing it on

Many thanks for DL Shackleford for nominating me for the Liebster Award. Stop over and visit DL, a fellow A to Z April blog challenge survivor. The word Liebster means "Dearest or Beloved" and is awarded to up-and-coming bloggers with fewer than 200 followers as a way to promote and recognize their blogs. There is no obligation to accept the Liebster, but those who do must do the following:

State 11 facts about yourself.

Answer 11 questions posed by the blogger who nominated you.

Nominate up to 11 new bloggers for the Liebster Award. Go to their blogs and let them know.

Ask them 11 new questions. 

Be sure to thank the blogger who nominates you with a link back to his or her blog. Easy!

Okay, here are 11 random facts about me:

I have a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in my back yard.

One of my favorite books is the dictionary.

I'm prone to dizzy spells and headaches.

I procrastinate.

I hate talking on the telephone.

There are too many trees in my back yard.

I like to cook and try to cook healthy -- but mostly I don't (cook or cook healthy).

I once rescued a baby squirrel and used to carry it around in my pocket.

I used to love horseback riding but haven't done it in years.

I have a very loose work ethic.

I've made my dream of editing a literary magazine come true with the help of a good friend.

Here are the answers to the questions posed by DL Shackeford:

Favorite children's story = Stella Luna. I read it for the first time after our first granddaughter was born, and it's so sweet.

My one major weakness = one! Oh, my stars, so many to choose from. Maybe I've already stated it:  I procrastinate. I read when I ought to be writing, put off returning calls, leave the cooking for later, then get too hungry to fix a good meal. 

Sunrises or sunsets? = Sunrises. But I see so few.

Words I struggle to spell correctly = Cemetery, genealogy.

Blue or black-inked pens = Blue. I love blue. 

The fictional character I wish were real = Jo March

Do I collect anything? = Besides books? Rocks and stones from various places I've been, little carved glass things, stuffed animals.

The most unusual thing I ever ate = rattlesnake at the Big Texan in Amarillo, TX. It was okay. I passed on the Rocky Mountain Oysters.

The horror fiction character that scares me most = It (Stephen King's)

What makes me nervous = meeting strangers and having to speak to them.

If I had to describe myself as an animal = a chameleon. Or a wolf. Depends on how intimidated I am by my environment. 

The blogs I'm nominating:

http://www.oddparticle.com

http://butteredtoastrocks.blogspot.com

http://tigermousetales.blogspot.com

http://henderson-jo.blogspot.com/

http://heidimannan.blogspot.com

http://bootsandbluestockings.blogspot.com

http://nfromn.blogspot.com

http://me-anders.blogspot.com

http://mjjoachimcatholiccatechism.blogspot.com

http://choicecitynative.blogspot.com

http://sidhelenareads.blogspot.com

11 things I want to know!:

What are your favorite flowers/plants?

What is the first book/author you remember reading or having read to you?

What book do you read over and over and over or what movie do you watch again and again?

In what place do you feel most at home?

What reality TV programs do you like?

If you had a chance, would you take a flight into outer space?

Tell us about your favorite bloggers.

Pizza or tandoori chicken?

Chocolate pie or fruit pie?

How do you motivate yourself to meet your goals?

What would you do on your ideal vacation?

Monday news and promises

Happy Monday, dear followers.

Don't use that shocking language! It's Monday, true, but you're awake, alive, and reading this. Can't be all bad, can it?

I will begin my Monday at the hospital, where my mother is a patient for the second time in two weeks -- if she and I can be cheerful, please try to be too! Thanks! That's better.

Thanks to everyone who dropped in, some of you repeatedly -- you know who you are -- during the A to Z April challenge. Thank you, Arlee Bird. Thank you, DL Shackleford, who nominated me for the Liebster award. I'll fulfill the rules when I get a chance and do some nominating of my own -- maybe I'll nominate you, dear reader. Who knows?

Please, do have a happy Monday and every day. You're special, and you deserve it.

Louisiana governors

Little is known about the first governor of the Louisiana territory other than his name, and not even his entire name:  sieur de Sauvolle or M. (for monsieur) de Sauvolle, or Sauvole. Spelling was uncertain in days long past. He was governor from 1699 or 1700 to 1701, and his capital was located at Fort Maurepas near Biloxi, Mississippi. In those days France had claimed most of the territory drained by the Mississippi River, east and west, and north to their Canadian territory.

Spain explored Louisiana first through the efforts of Panfilo de Narvaez and Hernando de Soto, but I guess the Mexico and Texas areas west of the Sabine River looked more promising. At any rate the French took possession of the Louisiana territory by the early 1680s. Robert Cavelier de la Salle named the territory after the French king and queen, Louis IV (the Sun King) and Anne. Pierre le Moyne d'Iberville and Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne d'Bienville were also early French explorers, brothers who set up the colony. Those names are probably familiar to you, if such things are still taught in school and if you were paying attention. ;)

I remember a lot of that from American and Louisiana history. Wikipedia reminded me of the rest.

Merry, merry month

My first year of Blogging A to Z is over, and today I'm grateful I met the challenge. Now I'm enjoying the beauty around me. Hope you enjoy my photos too.