Dennis (Denus) McGee (born January 26, 1893,

Eunice, Louisiana Eunice is a city in Acadia and St. Landry parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The 2010 census placed the population at 10,398, a decrease of 1,101, or 9.5 percent, from the 2000 tabulation of 11,499. The St. Landry Parish portion of Eunic ...

, USA – October 3, 1989) was one of the earliest recorded Cajun musicians. A fiddle player, he recorded and performed with Creole accordionist and vocalist

Amédé Ardoin Amédé Ardoin (March 11, 1898 – November 3, 1942) was an American Creole musician, known for his high singing voice and virtuosity on the Cajun accordion. He is credited by Louisiana music scholars with laying the groundwork for both Creole a ...

, with accordionist Angelas LeJeune, and with fiddlers

Sady Courville Sady D. Courville Savoy 1984, p. 50. (November 15, 1905, Chataignier, Louisiana – January 3, 1988, Eunice, Louisiana) was a Cajun fiddler noted for his extensive collaboration with Dennis McGee. Early life Courville was the son of Erast ...

(McGee's brother-in-law) and Ernest Frugé. The recordings with Courville and Frugé are among the few surviving examples of Cajun music as it existed before the influence of the accordion became prominent. McGee's repertoire included not only the

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the w ...

and the two-step common to Cajun music but also such dances as the one-step, polka, mazurka,

reel A reel is an object around which a length of another material (usually long and flexible) is wound for storage (usually hose are wound around a reel). Generally a reel has a cylindrical core (known as a '' spool'') with flanges around the ends ...

cotillion The cotillion (also cotillon or French country dance) is a social dance, popular in 18th-century Europe and North America. Originally for four couples in square formation, it was a courtly version of an English country dance, the forerunner ...

, the

varsovienne The varsovienne, also known as the varsouvienne or varsoviana, is a slow, graceful dance in time with an accented downbeat in alternate measures. It combines elements of the waltz, mazurka, and polka. The dance originated around 1850 in Warsaw, ...

, and others.

Early life

Dennis McGee was the son of John McGee Sr. who was of Irish ancestry and Amelia, of French and Seminole Indian ancestry. Amelia died when Dennis was two years old. He received his first violin at the age of 14, and started playing dances within 6 months.

Legacy

In the 1970s and 80s, McGee continued to perform with

at festivals and special concerts and recorded for various American and French labels including Morningstar, Cinq Planetes, Swallow, and Music of the World. His records are contemporary with

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and Cléoma Falcon's. Also, his legacy includes his knowledge of playing older styles of Cajun music before the 1900s, when the accordion was introduced.

Notable recordings

* Chère Mama Creole (My Sweet Creole Mama,

Vocalion Vocalion Records is an American record company and label. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pianos and organs, as Aeolian-Vocalion; the company also sold phonographs under the Vocalion name. "Aeolian" was ...

5319) * Madame Young, Give Me Your Sweetest (aka Colinda, Vocalion 5319) * Courville and McGee Waltz (Vocalion 5315) * Happy One Step (Vocalion 5315) * Jeunes Gens Compagnard (Jeune Gens de la Campagne, Vocalion 15848) * Adieu Rosa (Vocalion 15840)

Discography

1929 New Orleans Session with

*''"Taunt Aline" / "Two Step de Mama"'' (40514-F Columbia, 90014 OKeh) *''"Madam Atchen" / "Two Step de Prarie Soileau"'' (40515-F Columbia, 90015 OKeh) *''"La Valse ah Abe" / "Two Step de Eunice"'' (40511-F Columbia, 90011 OKeh) 1930 New Orleans Session with

*''"Amadie Two Step" / "La Valse A Austin Ardoin"'' (576 Brunswick, Melotone M18050) *''"Blues de Basille" / "La Valse A Thomas Ardoin"'' (531 Brunswick) *''"Two Step D'Elton" / "La Valse de Gueydan"'' (513 Brunswick) *''"Valse des Opelousas" / "One Step Des Chameaux"'' (559 Brunswick, Melotone 80083) *''"Valse A Alcee Poulard" / "One Step D'Oberlin"'' (495 Brunswick) 1934 San Antonio Session with

*''"Les Blues De Voyage (Travel Blues)" / "La Valse De Amities (Love Waltz)"'' (B-2189 Bluebird) *''"Les Blues De Crowley (Crowley Blues)" / "Oberlin"'' (B-2190 Bluebird) *''"Sunset" / "Tout Wue Reste C'Est Mon Linge"'' (B-2192 Bluebird) 1929 New Orleans Session with

*''"Madame Young Donnez Moi Votre Plus Jole Blonde" / "Mon Chere Bebe Creole"'' (5319 Vocalion) *''"Myself" / "Vous M'Avez Donne Votre Parole"'' (5348 Vocalion) *''"Allon A Tassone" / "Disez Goodbye A Votre Mere"'' (5334 Vocalion) *''"Courville And McGee Waltz" / "Happy"'' (5315 Vocalion) 1929 New Orleans Session with Ernest Fruge *''"Valse Du Puit D'Huile" / "One Step De Mamou"'' (15846 Vocalion) *''"Valse Du La Penitencier" / "One Step De Chupic"'' (15851 Vocalion) *''"Valse Des Vachers" / "Jeunes Gens Campagnard"'' (15848 Vocalion) *''"La Valse Des Reid" / "Adieu Rosa"'' (15850 Vocalion) 1930 New Orleans First Session with Ernest Fruge *''"La Valse De Lange Au Paille" / "Two Step Du Grand Maraist"'' (496 Brunswick) 1930 New Orleans Second Session with Ernest Fruge *''"Lanse Des Belaire" / "Les Blues Du Texas"'' (557 Brunswick) *''"La Valse De Rosalie" / "One Step Des McGee"'' (590 Brunswick, M18051 Melotone) *''"Valse A Pap" / "Two Step De La Ville Platte"'' (532 Brunswick) 1930 New Orleans Session with Walter Coquille *''"La Rille Cajen" / "La Danse Carre"'' (512 Brunswick) Compilations *''The Traditional Cajun Fiddling Of Dennis McGee & S D Courville'' (16001 Morning Star, 1972) *''"The Early Recordings of Dennis McGee," by Dennis McGee, featuring Sady Courville and Ernest Fruge'' (45002 Morning Star, 1977) *''Sady Courville & Dennis McGee: La Vieille Musique Acadienne'' (LP-6030 Swallow, 1977) *''Cajun Home Music'' (FA 2620 Folkways Records, 1977) *''The Complete Early Recordings Of Dennis McGee (1929-1930)'' (YAZ2012 Yazoo, 1994) *''La Vieille Musique Acadienne by Sady Courville & Dennis McGee'' (SW3001 Swallow, 2003) *''Dennis McGee & Sady Courville'' (FRC308 Field Recorders' Collective, 2007) *''Himself by Dennis Mcgee'' (VAL-CD-0011 Valcour, 2010)

Family

McGee had three wives: Nita Rozas (1910–1911), Marie Young (after 1912), and Gladys Courville (1925). He stayed married to his final wife until she died in 1990. One of his sons, Gerry McGee, was a member of

The Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the ...

. Gerry McGee went to Hollywood, California, and recorded with numerous rock and pop stars, such as Elvis Presley "Girls, Girls, Girls"and "Trouble With Girls", Movie Soundtrack "Great Balls of Fire", and Rock Sensation, Ivy Lite Rocway and Country Superstar, Dwight Yoakam.

References

J'ai Été Au Bal
(documentary film) 1989 Brazos Films/Arhoolie Records, El Cerrito CA *"Dennis McGee" at

AllMusic.com AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...