Iry LeJeune

Celebrated Cajun accordion king Iry LeJeune led the charge of what was known as the “Cajun renaissance” in the late 1940s and '50s, when he helped bring about the return of the accordion's dominance of the style after a long period of focus on the fiddle. His 1948 recordings “Love Bridge Waltz” and “Evangeline Special” were the tunes that put LeJeune on the map and set the aforementioned renaissance in motion. For several years, LeJeune was one of the most successful artists on the Cajun scene, but he was killed in a tragic accident in 1955 at the age of 27.