CAJUN: Nathan Abshire & his Pine Grove Boys / Lemonade Song / Swallow / 1966

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Nathan Abshire (1913-1981) was a Cajun accordion player who, along with Iry LeJeune, carried the torch of the accordion in Cajun music during the 1940s and 1950s. His mother, Marie Broussard, and her brother, Olivier, both played accordion, and Nathan followed in their footsteps, playing his first dance at the age of 8. Fiddler Lionel LeLeux and accordionist Amédé Ardoin were early influences. In August of 1935, Nathan went to New Orleans and recorded half a dozen sides for Bluebird, accompanied by Happy Fats and his Rayne-Bo Ramblers (Leroy "Happy Fats" Leblanc, guitar; Norris Savoy, fiddle; and Warnest Schexnyder, guitar). Over the next six years, Happy Fats and the changing personnel of the Rayne-Bo Ramblers recorded some three dozen more tunes on their own without Nathan.

Nathan joined the Pine Grove Boys band in the 1940s, and played the Avalon Club in Basile for a number of years. In 1949 he recorded his regional hit, “Pine Grove Blues,” with Earl DeMary and his Musical Aces. During the 1950s, he accompanied various musicians on their recordings, and made his own on the Khoury label. In the 60s and 70s, Nathan recorded for J. D. Miller, as well as the Swallow, Arhoolie and La Louisianne labels. The revival of Cajun music in the 60s also brought invitations to folk festivals, appearances in documentary films, and touring with the Balfa Brothers.

Throughout his playing days after WWII, Nathan worked as overseer of the town dump in Basile, and gave accordion lessons at the local nightclub. Nathan Abshire passed away on May 13, 1981.

[Lemonade Song, Nathan Abshire & his Pine Grove Boys, Swallow 10173, recorded 1966, matrix LH-2541]
The flip side of this disk is I Don't Hurt Anymore: https://youtu.be/kTyV5jgvios