Donny Broussard
   and the Louisiana Stars

Donny Broussard et Les Étoiles de La Louisiane have been a favorite with dancers for some two decades. They perform at clubs and festivals, and they always receive a warm reception at the Liberty Theater in Eunice.

According to the liner notes by William Hogeland to the1993 CD, Under the Louisiana Moon, Broussard was born in 1964 in Forked Island in Vermilion Parish. He was reared by his grandparents. His grandfather, Will Marceaux, who spoke only French, was an accomplished accordionist and fiddler and the leader of the Louisiana Stars. His grandfather did not want Broussard to play with his valuable accordion, so, like many aspiring young Cajun musicians, Broussard would practice on the sly when his grandfather was away.

In 1977, Broussard joined his grandfather’s band on bass, subsequently moving over to steel guitar. He never played accordion with the band until 1987 when Will Marceaux suffered a fatal heart attack one night after performing at a dance. The other members of the Louisiana Stars asked Donny to become the group’s accordionist, and the group's name became Donny Boussard and the Louisiana Stars.

In addition to playing the accordion, Broussard provides clear, direct vocals that glide through waltzes as smoothly as the Cajun dancers circle around the floor, and he also can rev things up to get the dancers moving with lively two-steps. In 2000, Broussard was named to the Lake Charles Chapter Cajun French Music Association Hall of Fame.

The band’s first recording was in 1988. The second CD, which was re-released in 1995 on the Cajun Sound label, features all original songs written by Donny Broussard and Bob Moore (familiar to everyone as a host on KLFY-TV’s Passe Partout early morning program, among his many activities).

Songs include “En bas la lune de la Louisiane,” “Élevé comme un Cajun,” “Mom et pop parler juste en français,” “Avec son coeur,” “Ouvrir la porte” (a plea by a rejected lover), “Mom, la plus belle rose” (an often requested song, especially around Mother’s Day), “Valse des pauvre parents” (sung by their son, who is imprisoned for life), “Bal de maison,” “La musique en français” (about dancing to French music), and “Les larmes tombes comme la pluit.” Eight of the eleven cuts are waltzes.

In addition to Broussard, the other musicians on the CD are Stanley Benoit on steel guitar; Syl Harrington on drums; Dalton Delcambre on bass; and Ray Guidry on fiddle. Hugh Johnson now plays fiddle with the Louisiana Stars, and Syl Harrington’s powerful vocals on some songs add another dimension to the band’s repertoire.

For more information, go to the Offical Web Page of Donny Broussard and the Louisiana Stars. Contact information on the web site is Donny Broussard, 17820 W Highway 82, Abbeville, LA 70510-0274 ;(337) 642-9506.
 

Posted 7-30-07.

All photographs and text by David Simpson.

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