Harry Lafleur was born on October 23rd, 1933, in the farming community of Swords located near the town of Eunice, Louisiana to parents Doza and Emily Brown LaFleur. French music was firmly entrenched within the family as Harry's grandfather Frank Brown (cousin of Dennis McGee) played the fiddle, who inspired Harry to play around the age of six or seven. Harry also watched and listened to his older brother Raymond who played with Iry Lejuene. As a teen, Harry was a good athlete and was a standout on the gridiron at Eunice High, but music was his passion. He started out playing the guitar but switched to playing fiddle. He was interested in starting a music group and soon enlisted his cousin Eston Bellow into playing. The two then recruited one of Harry's fellow classmates, Joseph "Cabri" Menier to join them. Cabri had great vocals and Harry encouraged him to learn to play a guitar. Cabri didn't have the money so Harry bought him one. They started out playing at local house dances with Harry on the fiddle, Eston switching from guitar to the drums and Cabri on guitar. It wasn't long that Harry felt they were ready to play a dancehall gig so in 1949, they recruited one of the area's best accordion player's, Amar "T-Frere" Devillier from the community of Lanse Maigre to not only play but also act as their legal guardian, since they were still teenagers and were considered underage to play in a bar without adult supervision. The newly formed group naming themselves "Harry and the Louisiana Aces" journeyed to Port Barre to play a booking which Harry arranged at the Courtableau Inn, aka the "Bloody Bucket", for a sum of $12.50. The club was infamously known for stabbings and fights but the band was well received (especially attracting the young women) and was repeatedly invited back to play. The group would play together for several years and garnered a reputation for being one of the better bands in the region until it came to a sudden halt in 1951, when Amar sustained a serious head injury from an automobile accident that would put his playing career on hold for several years. During that same time frame, Harry also played guitar with a band featuring Atlas Fruge, Will Kegley, Nathan Abshire, Tee Joe Abshire, Zael Kegley and Harry's brother Raymond on occasions. The group, which called themselves "The Pine Grove Boys" appeared at the Cajun Outdoor Operaeux (a play on the word Opera) in Houma and several other venues but the group would eventually go through different changes in personnel over the years before eventually disbanding. Harry would re-join with Eston and Cabri to play with accordion player Whitney Doucet from Eunice, step brother of Iry Lejuene. They even played gigs with Iry at the popular Blue Goose Club in Eunice. According to Eston, Iry asked the group if they would be interested in playing a gig with him if he could get one and they said yes, so Iry approached the owner of the Blue Goose with the idea of playing on a Sunday. The owner laughed at the idea and told Iry he didn't think it was a good idea because there was no way that people would show up on a Sunday, but he relented to letting Iry play a one time performance. Eston goes on to say, "By the time word got out and we had arrived at the Blue Goose to play there was a long line outside the door, it was standing room only and the club was having to turn people away ". The owner naturally asked them to continue playing more Sundays, which they did for two more until Iry decided to leave for Lake Charles. In 1958, Harry, Eston and Cabri would join Austin Pitre and The Evangeline Playboys to play and record for Floyd Soileau and his Swallow recording label. They played several years together before eventually parting ways. Harry would also host a radio show in his spare time on KSLO radio in both French and English. Harry, Eston ,and Cabri continued to play at different clubs, bars, and dancehalls but after several more years Harry decided to step away from playing music to concentrate on his own family run business, called LaFleur & Sons, which was located off Mamou Road. It was a combination Paint and Body Shop/Cash and Carry featuring a grocery store, meat market, bait shop and salvage yard. After several years had passed, there was a renewed interest in Cajun music and with the urging of his wife Kathleen, Harry returned to playing and formed a band called Harry and the Cajuns which featured members: Mark Meir, Vincent Fontenot, Eston Bellow, Claudia Wood and Ricky Duhon. Perhaps Harry's biggest contribution to Cajun music happened in 1983/84 when he approached Eston in his home with the idea of forming an organization similar to what country music had in place. With the help of Eston and few other notable Cajun musicians, he set up a series of meetings in Basile to garner support for his idea. In 1984, he was successful in officially starting up the new organization called the Cajun French Music Association (CFMA), with its mission to not only promote and preserve Cajun music but also various aspects of its heritage. Harry was also instrumental in instituting a Hall of Fame for Cajun Musicians just like its country music counterpart. The organization began with humble beginnings with around 30 members and has grown to a membership of approximately 2,000 families in both Louisiana and Texas with multiple Chapters. Harry was installed as the first Chairman of the Association. He always performed each year at the start of the CFMA'S annual festival in Lafayette. In 1986, Harry appeared with a group of musicians: J.W. Pelsia, Claudia Wood, Vincent Fontenot, Eston Bellow, and Weston Bergeaux on an inaugural compilation album sponsored by the CFMA as "Harry LaFleur and Friends". He was also a songwriter as well, even contributing two songs: "La Contre Danse A Perepere" and "La Vie Est Pas Donne" for a film called Aly Bain Meets The Cajuns which was recorded in 1988 in Louisiana on DVD format. In 1992, Harry's song "The Prairie Cajun" appeared on a compilation album featuring various Cajun artist called "Les Sacalaits Sont Pas Sale" He not only continued to operate the CFMA, but still found time to play at many events and even had his own recording studio in his home called Cajun String Studio in Eunice. In 2002, he recorded a CD titled "Kathleen's Crown of Roses" that included Bubba Frey, Claudia Wood, Eugene Segura, Donna Segura, Bryan LaFleur, and Dale Savoie, Barbera Savoie, and Vincent Fontenot. He also appeared with Bubba Frey and played twin fiddles at a restaurant that Bubba owned. His band Harry and the Cajun Strings made appearances at the popular Rendez-Vous Des Cajuns Cajun Radio & TV Show live at the Liberty Theater in Eunice. Harry was also instrumental in getting with the city of Eunice to form a family music festival and a Cajun Music Museum. Harry played with many notable musicians such as including Wallace "Cheese" Read, Marc Savoy, Dennis McGee, Nunc Allie Young, etc. Harry passed away April 30th, 2020, at the age of 86, but left a lasting legacy. There is no telling what the state of Cajun music would be like today without his vision and action. Cajun music owes him a great debt of gratitude. Thanks to those who helped contribute to this story including Jerry Devillier, Eston Bellow, Cajun French Music Association , Evangeline News archives, Eunice News archives, Opelousas Daily World archives, Cajun historian Wade Falcon, Jimmy Higginbothem, and Tim Savoy. Composed by Neal P Granger.
