Adolph "Bixy" Guidry

Adolph "Bixy" Guidry for his pioneering work in the early recording of Cajun music. Born in November 1904 in Cankton, LA, Adolph "Bixy" Guidry was the son of Arthur Guidry and Marcelite Arceneaux. Raised with his 14 siblings, Bixy showed a strong affinity for music at an early age. As a young boy, he built an "accordion" with a board, nails and a strap. A short time later his mother bought him an accordion and he quickly learned to play it. By his late teens he was playing bals de maison (house dances) in the Cankton area. In 1930 Bixy married Beulah Duhon and they had one son Raymond. In the 1920s Bixy meant a young fiddler named Percy Babineaux and they began playing local dances. With Bixy's accordion sighing mournfully and Percy's keen fiddling, they were an intoxicating, loose and ragged pair. Bixy and Percy traveled to New Orleans on 6 November 1929 and recorded eight songs for the Victor Talking Machine Company. Bixy was on the accordion and sang while Percy played fiddle. Six of the songs were released in 1929 by Victor and two were released in 1941 on the Bluebird label. With the Great Depression of 1929 and the scarcity of money, their records sold poorly and their recording career ended abruptly. After sitting in the vaults over 50 years before being rediscovered, their songs recently have been reproduced and exhibit a rare mix of beauty, eloquence, intensity and originality - a true characteristic of their music. In 1938 Bixy died of an uncertain cause - likely an allergic reaction. A true pioneer of the early Cajun music recording sessions and a self-taught Cajun musician, Bixy led the way for scores of other Cajun musicians.