Cajun music has a rich tradition going back with recordings from the 1920s with some of the most important songs that built the foundation of what Louisiana Cajun music is today, from early artists like Iry LeJeune, Joe Falcon, Amedee Ardoin, and Nathan Abshire to today's contemporary artists like Wayne Toups, Richard Lebouef, and Steve Riley.

The other day, I decided to see how Cajun music was represented on a national scale so I went to Amazon just to see how many of the legendary albums are out there for sale for the world to experience.

I typed in Cajun Music CDs on Amazon, and I was pleasantly surprised to see how many were available. Here are my top five Cajun music albums that you should add to your collection.

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In my opinion, this is one of the best Cajun music records ever released. Some people call this record the White Album. It's chock-full of traditional Cajun music delivered in only the way Wayne Toups can do it, with songs like the Belizaire Waltz, Take Care Of My Kids, My Friend, and the legendary Going Back To Big Mamou.


Johnny Janot, a former Cajun music radio DJ in Beaumont, Texas on KLVI radio, was the pioneer of taking great Cajun stories and setting them to music. His iconic songs I'm Proud To Be A Cajun, Cajun True Or False, My Dog Named Sex, and Mr. Iry Lejuene will stand the test of time as Janot talks about the hardships of growing up in the Cajun culture. A must have!


Iry, to me, is one of the most important Cajun music artists who ever lived. I would call Iry the Hank Willaims Sr. of Cajun Music.

Iry recorded some of the most iconic songs that are still played today. What is neat is back then, Iry would record his music on his back porch on a reel-to-reel.

One of his songs he recorded was called the Durald Waltz which, if you listen closely, you will hear his dog barking in the song.


Jo-El Sonnier is not only a Grammy award winner, Cajun music Hall of Famer, and former RCA Nashville country music recording artist, but he is also known in the industry as one of the most influential artists who has ever lived.

One special song on this record is Jo-El's version of Jolie Blon, which is one of the most popular songs in Cajun music history. Most are familiar with this version but the original version of the song was recorded by Harry Choates many years before this one.
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When you talk legendary Cajun musicians, Nathan Abshire has to be in the conversation. Cajun music lovers immediately know Nathan Abshire songs as soon as they hear the sound of his accordion and voice.

Pine Grove Blues and the Kaplan Watltz are two of the most recognizable songs in Cajun music and are among most recorded by other artists.

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