Oran "Doc" Guidry (April 28, 1918 – November 10, 1992)
was an American
Cajun and
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
fiddler. Some of his best known recordings include "Wondering", "Colinda", "Crowley Two Step", and "Chere Cherie".
Biography
Born April 28, 1918 in
Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234th- ...
, Oran Guidry learned to play the fiddle from his father, Cleopha.
Career
Early on, in 1936, he began recording with
Happy Fats
Leroy "Happy Fats" Leblanc (January 30, 1915 – February 23, 1988) was a Cajun swing musician that recorded with RCA Records in the 1930s and 1940s. He is known for his recordings with Harry Choates and his broadcasts on KVOL. Next to the Hackbe ...
' Rayne-Bo Ramblers and
Hackberry Ramblers
The Hackberry Ramblers (also known as the Riverside Ramblers), a Grammy Award-nominated Cajun music band based in Hackberry, Louisiana, formed in 1933. Since its heyday in the late 1930s it has become one of the most recognized names and influenti ...
' Joe Werner. There, they recorded a slew of recordings for Bluebird. By 1938, he had scored a chance to record with
David Kapp's Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
and formed the "Sons of Acadians" band.
After World War II, he would continue performing, recording and broadcasting with Happy Fats forming the group "Happy, Doc and the Boys" (or sometimes listed "
Hadacol
Hadacol was a patent medicine marketed as a vitamin supplement. Its principal attraction, however, was that it contained 12 percent alcohol (listed on the tonic bottle's label as a "preservative"), which made it quite popular in the dry counties o ...
Boys"). These would be featured on
J. D. "Jay" Miller's new Fais Do Do label.
However, other groups would also use Doc's fiddle and electric mandolin in their recordings. Bill Hutto had him playing on his recordings during the 1950s. He even toured the country with
Jimmie Davis
James Houston Davis (September 11, 1899 – November 5, 2000) was an American politician, singer and songwriter of both sacred and popular songs. Davis was elected for two nonconsecutive terms from 1944 to 1948 and from 1960 to 1964 as the ...
where he would make his signature 1953 recording of "Chere Cherie" with L. J. Blanc at a session in
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
, TN. Together, they played on the
Louisiana Hayride and the
Grand Ole Opry
The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...
. In May of that year,
Billboard Magazine
''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...
stated the song was a ''"pretty ballad, sung in English and French by the Cajun folk artist, is presented gracefully. Might earn some regional action"''.
In 1962,
Vin Bruce Ervin "Vin" Bruce (April 25, 1932 - June 8, 2018) was one of the first Cajun musicians to appear on the Louisiana Hayride and Grand Ole Opry.
Biography
Bruce was born in Cut Off, Louisiana. His father, Levy Bruce, worked as a trapper and fisherman, ...
had him recording at a session at the KLFT radio station. He jumped in with
Aldus Roger and his Lafayette Playboys at the La Louisianne studio in 1964 and 1965. In 1966, La Louisianne had him record a solo album. By 1968 in his last recordings, he joined Vin Bruce again in
at the
Cosimo Matassa
Cosimo Vincent Matassa (April 13, 1926 – September 11, 2014) was an American recording engineer and studio owner, responsible for many R&B and early rock and roll recordings.
Life and career
Matassa was born in New Orleans in 1926.Komorowsk ...
recording studio. In his later years, he would play blues, jazz and even some popular lounge music.
At some point in the early 1980s, he toured Asia with Cajun legend
D. L. Menard
Doris Leon Menard#François90, François 1990, p. 446. (April 14, 1932 – July 27, 2017) was an American songwriter, performer, and recording artist in contemporary Cajun music. He was called the "Cajun Hank Williams".
Biography
Menard was bor ...
.
*''Chere Cherie'' (1966)
Legacy
Guidry would eventually be entered into the Cajun French Music Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Discography
* ''Chere Cherie'' / ''The Little Fat Man'' (9-28678 Decca, 1953)
* ''Doc Guidry: King Of The Cajun Fiddlers'' (LL-115 LaLouisianne, ca.1966)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guidry, Oran
American folk musicians
Musicians from Louisiana
Cajun fiddlers
1918 births
1992 deaths
20th-century American violinists