He learned to play the button accordion in the style of his cousin Amede Ardoin, who made pioneering recordings of French Creole music. Music remained a sideline until the 1940s, when Alphonse began working with fiddler Canray Fontenot, under the name "Duralde Ramblers". They played at dances and parties, and on a live radio show broadcast from Eunice.
2
He was a singer and accordion player who kept up the Creole music tradition in southern Louisiana. He worked on farms all of his life. As a child, he was nicknamed "Bois Sec" because he was the first to seek shelter during downpours.
3
In 1986, he and Fontenot received the National Heritage Fellowship, awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts. It is the highest US recognition for traditional arts.
$10 Million