"Abbeville Breakdown" - Alley Boys of Abbeville

One of the last Cajun string bands to record before the war was the Alley Boys of Abbeville.  Their band leader, Sidney Guidry, started playing music at eight years of age and became a self-taught rhythm guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. By the age of 13 he was a professional musician. During the 1930’s he worked with the Alley Boys in Abbeville, LA and later played with Doc Guidry and the Sons of the Acadians. 

The Alley Boys of Abbeville, an accordion-less group of youngsters who recorded once for Vocalion, composed of Frankie "Tee Tee" Mailhes on fiddle and vocals, Sidney Guidry on guitar, Lourse "Mockay" Touchet on guitar,  and Murphy "Mule" Guidry on guitar. Together, the group recorded a self-entitled instrumental, based on the small town of Abbeville, Louisiana, called "Abbeville Breakdown" (#05168) in 1939. 

Sidney Guidry

It was a rendition of a 1934 Joe Falcon tune entitled "Au Revoir Cherie" and resembled J.B. Fuselier's 1938 "Redell Breakdown" even closer.   It would later become one of Iry Lejeune's most iconic songs--the 1948 recording of "Evangeline Special".

Always pushing the envelope, Sidney developed a rudimentary sound system in 1939 powered by an automobile battery. Also in 1939 Sidney Guidry had a weekly radio show on KVOL in Lafayette, Louisiana, a larger city north of Abbeville. After serving in the Marine Corps during World War II, Sidney returned to full-time performing for a couple of years after the war.

Release Info:
MEM-12-1 Abbeville Breakdown | Vocalion 05168
MEM-15-1 Je Vous T'Aime Lessair Pleurer (I'll Never Let You Cry) | Vocalion 05168

Find:
Cajun Vol. 1 Abbeville Breakdown 1929-1939 (Columbia, 1990)
American Roots - A History Of American Folk Music (Disky, 1999)
Les Triomphes De La Country Music (Habana, 2002)
Cajun Country, Vol. 2, More Hits from the Swamp (JSP, 2005)
Music Inspired By Oh! Brother, Where Art Thou? (Not Now, 2007)