John Irvin Delafose (April 16, 1939 – September 18, 1994) was an American French-speaking Creole Zydeco accordionist from Louisiana.
Early life Delafose was born in the unincorporated village of Duralde, Evangeline Parish, Louisiana, near Mamou. His parents were sharecroppers. As a child, Delafose fashioned fiddles and guitars out of old boards and cigar boxes fitted with window-screen wire. The fiddle was his first instrument. He eventually took up the harmonica, and at the age of 18 learned the button accordion. However, he turned to farming and did not pursue music as a career until the early 1970s.
Career He began as an accordionist and harmonicist with a variety of local Zydeco bands. In the mid-1970s, he formed the band The Eunice Playboys, with which he played until his death. Over its history, band members included three of his sons, as well as nephews and grandsons. The band continued under the direction of his son Geno Delafose.
A breakout hit for Delafose was "Joe Pitre a Deux Femmes" ("Joe Pitre has two women") on the Maison de Soul label in 1980, commercially reviving an older sound reminiscent of Amédé Ardoin. Buckwheat Zydeco followed up with his own "Madame Pitre a Deux Hommes" (Mrs. Pitre has two men) on his 1983 album Turning Point. Delafose gained wider public recognition with albums such as Joe Pete Got Two Women (Arhoolie, 1990) and Blues Stay Away from Me (Rounder, 1993).
He was seen in performance footage and his music was featured on the soundtrack of the 1992 John Sayles film Passion Fish. He was also a featured artist in the 1989 documentary film J'ai été au bal (I Went to the Dance).
Style 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.Herzhaft, Gérard: La gran enciclopedia del blues, Ed. RobinBook, Barcelona, 2003, , p. 382 (Encyclopedia of the Blues, University of Arkansas Press)This article incorporates information from the corresponding article in the Spanish Wikipedia Unlike some of the younger performers at the time, Delafose sang in both English and French, and his repertoire featured two-steps and waltzes in addition to the highly percussive Afro-Caribbean rhythms of Zydeco. He occasionally played fiddle with the band, which was rare in Zydeco music. He and his band packed audiences into dance halls in southwest Louisiana, east Texas and New Orleans for more than 20 years.
Delafose's hit version of the Canray Fontenot song "Joe Pitre a Deux Femmes" brought the single-row accordion back into favor among Zydeco musicians.
Death Delafose had a heart attack in 1993, while on the road headed toward a festival in Rhode Island. He later recovered, but experienced bouts of fatigue afterwards.
Delafose died after a short illness in the early morning hours of September 18, 1994 at the Opelousas General Hospital. He was buried in the cemetery of St. Mathilda Catholic Church in Eunice, Louisiana.
Discography Studio and live albums Album title Record label Stock number Release yearZydeco ManArhoolie10831981Uncle Bud ZydecoArhoolie10881983Zydeco ExcitementMaison de SoulMDS-10151985Zydeco Live!: Direct from Richard's Club, Lawtell, LouisianaRounderCD 20701989Heartaches and Hot StepsMaison de SoulMDS-LP-10351990Joe Pete Got Two WomenArhoolieCD-3351990Père et Garçon ZydecoRounderCD 21161992Blues Stay Away From MeRounderCD 21211993
Singles Song title(s) Album title Record label Stock number Release year Note(s)"Co-Fe? (Why?)" / "Joe Pitre A Deux Femmes"Zydeco ManArhoolie45-54119807", 45 RPM"Blues At Midnight" / "Baby, Scratch My Back"<unknown>Bad Weather RecordsBW 11319817", 45 RPM"Joe Pete Lost His Two Women" / "Mother's Day Blues"Uncle Bud ZydecoArhoolie45-5471983?7", 45 RPM"Blues At Midnight" / "Do The Mill"Zydeco Excitement / <unknown>Maison de Soul45-10191985?7", 45 RPM"Loan Me Your Handkerchief" / "Broken Hearted"Zydeco ExcitementMaison de Soul45-103419867", 45 RPM
Various artist compilation albums Album title Record label Stock number Release year Song title(s) Festival de Musique Acadienne '81 LiveSwallow RecordsLP-60461982"Nairobi Special"Zydeco FestivalMaison de SoulMDS LP-10241988"Broken Hearted"Kings of Zydeco: Black Creole Music from the Deep SouthTrikont (Germany)CD-0158-21989"Broken Hearted""Joe Pete Is Broke""Chokin Kind"101 Proof ZydecoMaison de SoulMDS 1030-21990"Broken Hearted"J'ai Eté au Bal = I Went to the Dance: the Cajun and Zydeco Music of LouisianaArhoolieCD-3311990"Joe Pitre a Deux Femmes"Alligator Stomp: Cajun & Zydeco Classics, Vol. 2RhinoR2 707401991"Ka-wann"Alligator Stomp: Cajun & Zydeco Classics, Vol. 3RhinoR2 703121992"Co-Fé? (Why?)"Cajun Music and ZydecoRounderCD 115721992"La misère m'a fait brailler"Stomp Down ZydecoRounder 115661992"Hold That Tiger""Cajun Two-Step""I'm Gone and I Won't Be Back""Broken Hearted""Onion Town"Zydeco ChampsArhoolieCD 3281992"Joe Pete Got Two Women""Mardi Gras Song"Zydeco PartyAce (UK)4301992"Loan Me Your Handkerchief"Zydeco PartyK-Tel International605921992"Mardi Gras Song"The Best of Louisiana MusicRounderCD AN 081993"Watch That Dog"Passion Fish: Original SoundtrackDaring RecordsCD-30081993"Oh, Negresse""Grand Mamou""Poor Man's Two-Step"Let's Go Zydeco!Ace (UK)CDCHD 5431994"Petite Et La Grosse""Crying in The Streets""Lonesome Road""Mardi Gras Song"Rockin' Zydeco Party!Maison de Soul10491994"John's Lonesome Waltz"Alligator Stomp: Cajun & Zydeco, The Next Generation, Vol. 5RhinoR2 718461995"Slow Motion Zydeco"Legends of Zydeco: The Old School Strikes BackTrikont (Germany)US-02031995"Loan Me Your Handkerchief""Outside Woman""Morning Train""Blues at Midnight""Mon Coeur Fait Mal""Joe Simien Special""John's Lonesome Waltz""Co-Fé?""Ma Femme m'a quitte" (with Geno Delafose)Louisiana Spice: 25 Years of Louisiana Music on Rounder RecordsRounderCD AN 25 Part 21995"Père et Garçon Zydeco"More Cajun Music and ZydecoRounderCD 115731995"Poor Man's Two-Step"The Real Music Box: 25 Years of Rounder RecordsRounderCD AN 251995"Père et Garçon Zydeco"The Royal Family of ZydecoRock 'n Bowl10011995"Watch That Dog"Bayou Dance PartyRounderCD 70141996"My Little Dog"It's What We Do, Vol. 1, 1995Daring Records30201996"Oh, Negresse"Let's Have a Blues BallArhoolie5901996"Rag Around Your Head"The Real LouisianaEasyDiscED 90021996"La misère m'a fait brailler"Zydeco's Greatest HitsEasyDiscED CD 70251996"Broken Hearted"15 Louisiana Zydeco ClassicsArhoolieCD 1051997"Rag Around Your Head""Oh, Negresse"Bayou BeatEasyDiscEDCD 70531997"Old Time Two Step"Bayou Hot SauceEasyDiscED 70441997"Père et Garçon Zydeco"Zydeco Dance HallEasyDiscED 70351997"I Don't Want Nobody Here But You""Gotta Find My Woman"Rough Guide to Cajun and ZydecoWorld Music Network (UK)RGNET 1028 CD 1998"La misère m'a fait brailler"Zydeco BarnyardEasyDisc12136-7070-21998"Watch That Dog"Zydeco PartyEasyDiscED CD 70451998"Oh 'Tit Fille"Zydeco Stomp: All InstrumentalRounderED CD 70651998"Two-Step Farouche"Cajun & Zydeco JamboreeEasyDiscED 12136-7076-21999"Midland Two-Step"Kings of Cajun: 15 Stomps from the SwampsMusic Collection International (UK)501051999"Broken Hearted"Zydeco EssentialsHip-O Records767 440161 21999"Joe Pete Got Two Women"40th Anniversary Collection, 1960–2000: The Journey of Chris StrachwitzArhoolieCD 4912000"Co-Fé?"Music from the Zydeco KingdomRounder Select115792000"Tu M'As Fait Brailler: You Made Me Cry"Cajun & Zydeco: Alligator WalkARC MusicEUCD 16572001"Old Time Two Step" (with Geno Delafose)Roots Music: An American JourneyRounder11661-0501-22001"Père et Garçon Zydeco" (with Geno Delafose)Dat's Zydeco: The Best Old-Skool ZydecoMaison de SoulMDS 10792002"Richard Two-Step"LouisianaWorld Music Network (UK)RGNET 1094 CD 2002"Slow Motion Zydeco"Southern Style: ZydecoSouthern Style (Netherlands)641920 2002"Joe Pete Is Broke""Lake Charles Two-Step"Zydeco: The Essential CollectionRounder1166-11605-22002"Friday Night Waltz"Rough Guide to ZydecoWorld Music Network (UK)RGNET 1145 CD2005"Joe Pete Got Two Women"Zydeco: The Essential Pulse SeriesMirana85022008"Loan Me Your Handkerchief"Good Music, Good Times: Spicy Bon Temps Cajun and Zydeco Music from Opelousas, LouisianaSwallow<unknown>2009"Broken Hearted"
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