Joseph Falcon

by Mark A. HumphreyOne of the pioneers of Cajun music, Falcon made the first commercial Cajun recording, "Lafayette" ("Allons?Lafayette") with his wife Cleoma in 1928. Cleoma's simple guitar and emotive singing, driven by Joe's crying accordion, was an instant hit in Cajun country, foisting a regional stardom on the team, who recorded for Columbia, Decca, Bluebird, and Okeh in the '30s. Cleoma's death in 1941 and changes in listeners' taste (the accordion was out, the fiddle in) led Falcon away from performing, though he and his second wife, Theresa, fronted a band in the years before his death. Falcon's early recordings are among the enduring classics of the Cajun genre.