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Biography
Infobox musical artist |name = Dewey Balfa |image = Dewey_Balfa_Bordeaux_1977.jpg |caption = Dewey Balfa performing in 1977. |background = solo_singer |birth_date = birth date|1927|03|20|death_date = death date and age|1992|06|17|1927|03|20|origin = Grand Louis, Louisiana , USA |instrument = Fiddle |genre = Folk music|Folk , Cajun music|Cajun |occupation = Musician |years_active = 1948–1992 |associated_acts= The Balfa Brothers Dewey Balfa (March 20, 1927 – June 17, 1992) was an United States|American Cajun fiddler and singer who contributed significantly to the popularity of Cajun music . Balfa was born near Mamou, Louisiana . He is perhaps best known for his 1964 performance at the Newport Folk Festival with Gladius Thibodeaux and Vinus LeJeune, where the group received an enthusiastic response from over seventeen thousand audience members. He sang the song "Parlez Nous à Boire" in the 1981 cult film Southern Comfort (film)|Southern Comfort , in which he had a small role.
Early life
Dewey Balfa was born in Grand Louis, Louisiana, a small community west of Mamou. #Savoy84|Savoy 1984 , p. 236.cite web|title=Dewey Balfa and the Balfa Brothers|url= http://www.balfatoujours.com/brothers.html|accessdate=2009-10-16 He was the son of Amay (née Ardoin) and Charles Balfa who were sharecroppers. #Savoy84|Savoy 1984 , p. 237. Dewey had learned most of his songs from his grandmother and father who was a fiddle player.
Musical career
During World War II , Dewey worked in a shipyard in Orange, Texas . #Savoy84|Savoy 1984 , p. 239. After returning in 1948, he and his brothers formed the Musical Brothers. In 1965, he formed The Balfa Brothers after an enthusiastic response from a performance at the Newport Folk Festival .
Family
Dewey Balfa married Hilda Frugé when he was 22 in 1949. They had five children together: Nelda, Roberta, Norma, Dewey Jr., and Christine Balfa|Christine . #Savoy84|Savoy 1984 , p. 241. Many of whom became musicians. Christine founded the band Balfa Toujours to continue the family tradition.
Popularization of Cajun Music
Dewey Balfa appears in a documentary file entitled "Les Blues de Balfa" produced by Yasha Aginsky. In one scene, Balfa is shown with Nathan Abshire entertaining a group of school children. Balfa gives a short lecture concerning the origins of Cajun music:
"We are here to tell you a little bit about what a Cajun is. A Cajun is a person who his homeland was France. Went into Nova Scotia, at the time Acadia, and settled there and was there for about a hundred years, and afterwards the British took over the territory and then the French-speaking people, the French descendants, known as the Acadians, came down to the South-Western part of Louisiana, and that was back in 1755. So over all of these years, your language, and your music has been preserved from daddy to son or daddy to daughter or momma to daughter."
Musical Samples
''J'ai Passé devant ta Porte http://npmusic.org/Balfas_Jai_Passe_devant_ta_Porte.mp3 Listen
1976: http://folkways.si.edu/albumdetails.aspx? itemid=1432 Traditional Cajun Fiddle: Instruction (Smithsonian Folkways)
1977: http://folkways.si.edu/albumdetails.aspx? itemid=1433 Cajun Fiddle, Old and New: Instruction (Smithsonian Folkways)
1984: http://folkways.si.edu/albumdetails.aspx? itemid=411 Les Quatre Vieux Garçons (Smithsonian Folkways)
1993: http://folkways.si.edu/albumdetails.aspx? itemid=2282 Folk Masters: Great Performances Recorded Live at the Barns of Wolf Trap (Smithsonian Folkways)
Selected Filmography
1972: "Dedans le sud de la Louisiane" by Jean-Pierre Bruneau
1983: "Les Blues de Balfa" by Yasha Aginsky
See also
The Balfa Brothers
List of Cajun musicians
History of Cajun music
References
cite book |last1=Savoy|first1=Ann|authorlink1=Ann Savoy|title=Cajun Music a Reflection of a People |year= 1986|origyear=1984 |publisher=Bluebird Press|location=Eunice, Louisiana|isbn=978-0930169008|ref=Savoy84reflist
External links
http://www.balfatoujours.com/brothers.html Biography, Balfa Toujours website
http://folkways.si.edu/searchresults.aspx? sPhrase=dewey%20balfa& sType='phrase'/ Balfa Discography at Smithsonian Folkways
http://www.folkstreams.net/film,152 Documentary film about Dewey and Cajun music
Persondata | NAME =Balfa, Dewey | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =March 20, 1927 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH =June 17, 1992 | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Balfa, Dewey Category:National Heritage Fellowship winners Category:Cajun people Category:American fiddlers Category:1927 births Category:1992 deaths Category:Cajun fiddlers Category:Cajun musicians
fr:Dewey Balfa
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