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Artist
John Delafose
12+ albums
zydecoNew OrleansAccordeonlouisianaAll
about
John I. Delafose (16 April 1939 – 17 September 1994) was an American Zydeco accordionist from Louisiana. As a child, Delafose fashioned fiddles and guitars out of old boards and cigar boxes fitted with window-screen wire. He eventually took up the harmonica, and at the age of 18 learned the button accordion. However, he soon turned to farming, and did not pursue music as a career until the early 1970s. He began serving as an accordionist and harpist with a variety of local Zydeco bands. Delafose began his career playing in the fais do-do of his area, a peculiar kind of Cajun dance party. Later he gained public recognition with albums like Joe Pete Got Two Women (Arhoolie) and Blues Stay Away from Me (Rounder). In the mid-1970s he formed the band John Delafose and The Eunice Playboys, with which he played until his death in 1994. The band continues under the direction of his son Geno Delafose. John Delafose is buried at Saint Mathilda Cemetery in Eunice, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Delafose had a dynamic style and strong rural roots, with a strong staccato rhythm on the accordion, which has influenced almost all current Zydeco musicians. Zydeco music is filled with families where the torch (or accordion) has been passed from generation to generation — families like the Ardoins, Broussards, Cheniers, and Delafoses. John Delafose comes from the first tier of zydeco accordionists, along with Clifton Chenier, Boozoo Chavis, Rockin’ Dopsie, and others. With
