Dowell Lafleur was born on August 5th 1941, to parents Armand Lafleur and Willie Mae Vidrine of Cajun French ancestry in the farming community of L’anse Grise, located near Vidrine and Ville Platte, Louisiana. Dowell grew up on a farm having to help out at a very early age, picking cotton, planting , hoeing, and harvesting different crops and doing various farm duties that come with typical farming life. He did so until he finished high school. At a young age Dowell was interested in music, especially what was being played live and heard on radio stations around the local region. Cajun, Swamp Pop, Rock and Roll and Country. Dowell would learn to play the harmonica which he learned from Hersey Delafose, the drums, fiddle, but mainly the guitar. When he was a kid, Dowell made himself a makeshift handmade guitar with a box and bailing wire. At 12 years old, his father Armand seeing that his son was keeping his interest with playing the instrument, bought him an old flattop acoustic guitar from Sears and Roebuck for $10. Good money back in the early to mid 1950’s. Dowell had a cousin by the name of Bernell Odom who taught him to play a few tunes at the beginning. Shortly afterwards, Dowell got an electric guitar from Sears Roebuck also. In high school at the age of 14 he and classmates Donald Lafleur on bass then on drums and Carrol Fruge on guitar, formed a band called “Rockings” and played around the Ville Platte area. They played songs from Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and other 50’s rock and roll but mainly played Swamp Pop, a genre which had originated from the area which was started after WWII. They would perform at Vidrine High dances, house parties, and were regulars playing dances at the Rendezvous Club in Ville Platte on Friday nights and the French Casino owned by T-Ed Manuel in Mamou, Louisiana. They had one amplifier and plugged all their equipment into it. Dowell eventually met the love of his life Mary Elizabeth “Pinky” Fontenot and married in 1962. He had several jobs including TV and electronics technician, military surplus, genealogy book publisher, seller and shipper at his own shop and a school bus driver. They would have 3 children: Angie Vidrine, Bryan, and Cindy Fontenot. Dowell still managed to find time to play music and continued to play with his best friend, the late Roland Guillory through the years. Together, the two along with drummer Big John Deshotels would join in with regional legendary Cajun accordion player Harrison Fontenot when they were called upon to play Cajun music. Dowell is quoted : “Harrison was very talented, had a good beat, and was easy to play along with “. Dowell, along with Big John Deshotels, Roland Guillory and Elvin Bogard also had a band called “Country Swingers”. They played Cajun and Swamp Pop music and by then Dowell was a very accomplished lead guitarist. They played gigs at Lake Hope, Clento’s in Point Blue, The Holiday Inn Club off Hwy 13 near Mamou, a campground on Bayou Courtableau on the edge of the town of Washington, Louisiana, along with weddings and house parties. Other musicians Dowell has played with included Matt Vidrine , Milton Pitre, in a band called “Swampland Express “. Another interesting tidbit is Dowell’s recollection of playing Cajun music with Cheese Read and Ethel Tate at house parties and a lounge in Mamou in his early years. Interesting in the fact that I covered Cheese Reads biography on this page earlier not knowing a connection. In the later years as Dowell’s son Bryan learned to play the accordion, the two would often jam together along with friends and Dowell’s ex band mates. Bryan would not only learn to play the accordion but would also build his own handmade Cajun accordions, going by the brand name “ L’anse Grise”, named after their hometown community. Bryan was inspired to play the accordion by Harrison Fontenot but obviously got his musical gene from his talented father, who gave Bryan pointers from time to time. This November 6th, Harrison Fontenot will be inducted into the CFMA Lake Charles Chapter’s Cajun Music Hall of Fame. Dowell is one of a handful of other musicians who made important contributions to his induction. Thank You Mr. Dowell for your 40 years of contributing to the Acadiana music scene and thank you for graciously allowing me and Jerry Devillier into your home. Composed by Neal P Granger
