A history of the unique sounds of the Cajun Bayous.   Extensive research, fieldwork, and personal interviews combine to provide a fascinating look into the sounds of South Louisiana from early Cajun and Cajun-Country through Zydeco and Blues to the Cajun revival as the first comprehensive look into the history of this distinctive style of music. Included are the contributions of such legends as Joseph Falcon, whose “Allons a Lafayette” in 1928 was the first Cajun recording, Amadie Ardoin, Iry LeJune, and Nathan Abshire, and modern artists such as Doug Kershaw, Jimmy C. Newman, and the late Clifton “King” Chenier who have taken Cajun music to the national scene where the music of Louisiana is now heard around the world. “ South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous turned an international spotlight on our music that brought thousands of fans to our Louisiana nightclubs and restaurants that feature live performances every week, offering once-in-a-lifetime experiences to see and hear the artists playing in their hometowns and cities, plus enjoy the great food and friendliness of South Louisiana.” —Floyd Soileau,music producer and preservationist, ownerFlat Town Music “South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous has played an instrumental part in exposing our beloved Cajun music to the world since 1983. Thank you, John Broven, for helping to make ‘swamp-pop music’ a household term here in Louisiana and a defining term for this type of music in the rest of the world.” —Johnnie Allan, swamp-pop pioneer and author of Memories: A Pictorial History of South Louisiana Music “This book was a revelation thirty-five years ago. It introduced an international audience to the special musical styles and performers of Louisiana—whether based on blues, country, or folk music. It also explained the roles of record-label bosses such as J.D. Miller of Crowley, Floyd Soileau of Ville Platte, and Eddie Shuler of Lake Charles in helping create and preserve local swamp blues, swamp pop, Cajun, and zydeco. This much-updated edition contains even more valuable information and insights. No one knew more about Louisiana’s music than John Broven then, and the same is true now.” —Martin Hawkins, author of Slim Harpo: Blues King Bee of Baton Rouge “I was only twelve years old when I met John Broven, a British music researcher who came to South Louisiana to interview his musical heroes—including my father, Rod Bernard. During his sojourn, John introduced the region to a novel term, ‘swamp pop,’ which he used to describe our local rock ’n’ roll idiom. In fact, John was one of the first writers to take swamp pop seriously and thus helped to legitimize this often-overlooked sister genre of Cajun and zydeco music.” —Shane K. Bernard, author of Swamp Pop: Cajun and Creole Rhythm and Blues “John Broven’s book South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous is indispensable for Cajun historians and fans alike. In it he has thoroughly researched the stories of the lives and recordings of most of the greatest Cajun musicians. It is full of surprising facts and great photos, too. For me it is a constant resource, always kept close at hand when I work.” —Ann Allen Savoy, musician, author of Cajun Music: A Reflection of a People Praise for the first edition . . . “Thank you for caring so much about our music.” —Warren Storm, the Godfather of Swamp Pop “Perhaps the book’s most telling virtue is that it makes me want to go and listen to the music described in its chapters! Couple with this an effortless flow of prose, a profusely detailed appendix, and the many historic photographs, and you have a book destined to become a classic in the appreciation of vernacular North American music.” —Bez Turner , Blues Unlimited “A great book—informative, funny, thoroughly entertaining, but most important of all it is an absolutely ESSENTIAL reference work for anyone who’s interested in one of America’s last great overlooked ethnic musics.” — Houston Post The first edition of South to Louisiana helped popularize the term “swamp pop” throughout the world with its exploration of the origins of the distinctive swamp-pop sound. This revised and expanded second edition of John Broven’s groundbreaking study of South Louisiana music details the region’s unique genres, exploring early Cajun and Cajun-country through zydeco and blues to the current Cajun revival. A native of Great Britain now living on Long Island, New York, Broven has been an ardent fan and record collector of Louisiana music for decades. In recognition of his research into the history of music in this book and in Rhythm and Blues in New Orleans, Broven was named an honorary member of the Louisiana Music Commission and was subsequently elected into the Louisiana Hall of Fame. He has been co-editor of the British magazines Blues Unlimited and Juke Blues and for fifteen years he was a consultant for London’s Ace record label, including supervising many CD reissues of Cajun