by Charles Ray

Created on: December 11, 2011   Last Updated: December 17, 2011

When the Acadians who were expelled from Nova Scotia (Acadie) in 1755, they ended up in central Louisiana in 1755.  Known as Cajuns, a bastardization of the word ‘Acadians,’ they brought with them music that had its origins in France, but which had been influenced by their contact with British settlers and Native Americans.

Creole music, which gave birth to Creole music, which morphed into Zydeco music, in Louisiana was further transformed by African rhythms, blues and singing styles of Native Americans in the region, with some input from the Spanish as well.

Creole music is a genre with talking stories, some of European origin changed to refer to life in Louisiana, and some invented in their new home.  The fiddle was the main instrument, and balladeers often sing solo at family gatherings or other events.  Later, the accordion, an instrument that played loudly enough for a crowded dance floor, was added, and this changed Creole music, since the accordion didn’t have the same range as a fiddle.

At the same time, Cajun music was being changed by the new influences, descendants of slaves were developing their own unique form of music, and the two had significant influence on each other.  Many of the African-Americans were products of unions of French and African in Louisiana, giving rise to the Creole culture, which is centered in New Orleans. 

For over 150 years, the Cajun and Creole cultures of Louisiana intermingled in the isolated bayou areas in the state’s southwest, but the music styles that developed are actually quite different.  The Cajun music is primarily fiddle-based, but in the late 1800s, with the introduction of the accordion, they took different paths.  Even though bands were often comprised of player of mixed races, the dances themselves remained segregated.  Cajun music became oriented more toward country and western sounds, while Creole music leaned more toward the popular black music, after World War I, swing, jazz, and rhythm and blues.  Cajun music began adopting the piano accordion and the steel guitar along with the fiddle, while Creoles often dropped the fiddle from the band entirely.

Creole music tends to bluesy, syncopated sounds, different from the twangy sounds of Cajun music.  During the early 20th century, Creole music moved to the church, mainly the Catholic Church, the rural dance halls and night clubs, or honky tonks, where Creoles and non-Creole blacks

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