John Delafose

John I. Delafose (16 April 1939 – 17 September 1994) was an American Zydeco accordionist from Louisiana. As a child, Delafose fashioned fiddles and guitars out of old boards and cigar boxes fitted with window-screen wire. He eventually took up the harmonica, and at the age of 18 learned the button accordion. However, he soon turned to farming, and did not pursue music as a career until the early 1970s. He began serving as an accordionist and harpist with a variety of local Zydeco bands. Delafose began his career playing in the fais do-do of his area, a peculiar kind of Cajun dance party. Later he gained public recognition with albums like Joe Pete Got Two Women (Arhoolie) and Blues Stay Away from Me (Rounder). In the mid-1970s he formed the band John Delafose and The Eunice Playboys, with which he played until his death in 1994. The band continues under the direction of his son Geno Delafose. John Delafose is buried at Saint Mathilda Cemetery in Eunice, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Delafose had a dynamic style and strong rural roots, with a strong staccato rhythm on the accordion, which has influenced almost all current Zydeco musicians. Zydeco music is filled with families where the torch (or accordion) has been passed from generation to generation — families like the Ardoins, Broussards, Cheniers, and Delafoses. John Delafose comes from the first tier of zydeco accordionists, along with Clifton Chenier, Boozoo Chavis, Rockin’ Dopsie, and others. With his band, the Eunice Playboys, Delafose played strong syncopated rhythms on both button and piano accordion for packed dance floors throughout the Gulf Coast. He passed away in 1994, but his son Geno Delafose is currently one of zydeco’s most popular artists, having garnered one of the first-ever Cajun/Zydeco Grammy nominations last year. A brief history... John Delafose was born in the rural community of Duralde, Louisiana, April 16, 1939. Starting on fiddle as a child, Delafose moved to harmonica and eventually accordion, the instrument for which he is best known, leading his zydeco band, the Eunice Playboys. He played local dances in his younger days, but retired from music after his marriage. At the age of 30 Delafose began playing again, quickly establishing his music as some of the most distinctive in the black French idiom, firmly based in the older traditions but also with contemporary ingredients. John Delafose & the Eunice Playboys have often included his own sons on a variety of instruments. He has made a number of records, the most successful being "Joe Pitre A Deux Femmes," a local hit for him in the early '80s. John Delafose passed away in September of 1994 after a brief illness, during the aforementioned strong second wind of his musical career. He was succeeded as bandleader by his son, Geno, who carries on his father's unique style. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.