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Belton Richard the 13th of June. Ok. Ok. The 14th, whatever it is that good? Ok. Um, this is something I wanted to ask you because I'm putting your songs in my book. Did you, um, the songs I'm using? Are you start a, I'll ask you about

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that one. First. You, did you write that song or was that a song that was already in English that you translated or what you did? Where did you get the idea? I don't know. I just, I used to write a lot, you know, and, and, uh,

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I, I just, some, I do from English songs but some just came out of my, my mind because they're really, I just think they're great. They're just great poetry, you know. And I think it's real neat. You just, you just make that up out of your

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head. Where do you get the tunes? You usually know the tune. If you, if you write a song I used to write, like I said, I used to write a lot and, and these, if you get words, it, it looks like there's a song that comes

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in automatic for the words. If you're a natural at it or vice versa. You know, you, you can, you can hear a song and then the first thing, you know, these words come automatic. Not for me. I mean, not for most people, it just, you just

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must have a knack for that. All your, all your songwriters, it just comes natural. That's really neat. Well, so you just, it was just an idea. You got in your head. It wasn't anything you'd actually been through. You didn't really dream that. Right? You made it

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up. Yeah. It just something that came up. I wanted to write some songs. My first songs I wrote with, I, with the August, I didn't have a band at the time. Like what, uh, just I am with one of them, but I recorded that and, uh,

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The Lonely Waltz LA. That's another one I love. That's in the book a long time. Let me see. I, I don't want you anymore about that one you wrote that? Is that, was that a song in English that you translated or did you make that one?

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Was Adam Hebert? Right. Adam Hebert, right. Yeah, that's a beauty too. Let's see what other one is in my book. Uh, there's four of them, shoot. She said I don't want you anymore. They all ST we and another one, name, another one that's real, real big.

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Like, no, it, it wasn't a modern one. I, one you just made up. That's the one that's it. The one with no return. That's a beauty. That's from a fast English number. II, I cut it down. They made the most out of it. What song was

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that? Let me see. I remember at the time you remember opera to Johnny. Johnny can't come home. Oh, I see. That was from the English. So I can give a copyright on that because it's totally, you can cut it down and then you, you made your

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whole new set of words and it doesn't even, unless, you know, you can't tell. Yeah, I sure wouldn't have recognized it because I know that. But now, you know, it sounds like all you do is give it a little depth and it's, it's a fact song.

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Yeah, I see what you're saying. And now I recognize that's, oh, I wish I had more time. I like to write a little bit. You don't write that much anymore. I don't have the time. Yeah, I know. It takes time to write songs and then you

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have to keep up with it just like racism. When, when you go to the races you're gonna lose if you don't keep up with it and music is the same way you have to, especially if you're right. You have to be, like I said, it comes

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natural if you keep at it. But now if I have to write a song, I really have to work at it. Really? So, while you were at it though. But, you know, you've got not enough, you know, I, I could write a song in 15 minutes

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but now it is longer. Well, um, a lot of people imitate your singing style is something I've noticed. Like, so many people just imitate your singing. Why do you think that I'm proud of that? I don't know why. What, what is that when I went back

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to finish? Oh, yeah, I said 20 years ago, at least I didn't like and, and it really, it was all dying up, fresh music was dying out because of that old fashioned stuff. You know, all, all your song that was made. You left me to go

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one another, all that stuff, you know, and I figured I wanted to do so I wanted to write like country music I could see was still coming up rock and roll was strong, but they had stories and our British music was, didn't have any. I mean,

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it was just, it was always the same words, man. It was always the same thing. I figured I would do something about it and it worked fresh music came back strong and, and, and then everybody started saying, well, hell, man, if you sat in record, I

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think we can. And they started writing good song too. Everybody did not just me, you know, there were some other people you thought were writing good songs. I haven't heard that many people that wrote songs. You know, you think Adam and be well. Is that at

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the same time? I think that was before, I think. Oh, I love him and I love Shirley Berger. Um, because Lawrence has always been a favorite of mine, Lawrence Walker. Oh, yeah, he did. Were you connected with him in some way in your career? He just

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love his music. I just like him when I started doing recording and I used to like his style and also, uh I just write the song. He just, he just played it, but he was great. He was great. We play a, of course J Lawrence is

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one of the biggest. What did you love so much about him? Would you just like her to you? Like his style? That what everybody said it's real smooth. Like you could dance to it really? Well, that, that's what I hear. He is wonderful. Well, so they

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were your heroes. So Lawrence Walker and Aldis Roger and they were your heroes. Your accordion. Your parents play the music. My dad play. Oh, really? What was your name? I know. I know you play with Adam. A see, I love, I love Adam. He too. So

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that was your dad on the accordion? Did your dad write songs too? Just he was a player. Did he teach you or you just pick out? He did? So did your mom play music too? No. But uh I can remember her yelling at me when I

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practiced in, she was inspired. She didn't want to hear it anymore. But I, I practiced day and night whenever I had a chance. You just played a lot. What was your, what was your mom's name? What was your maiden name? Eva Gary. So, what did you

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say you were 11 years old when you started playing? I was 12. I started playing when I was seven. Good night with no fans. The house with no fans because it wasn't that hot in them days actually. Oh, I guess it was just as hard. We

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just used to it. But then it would, and we, uh, we moved in the, in the city when I was eight and that's when I really started, I started practicing when I was 12. I play my, my first job at, uh, the Western bar in Lavia.

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I was 12 years old. I was playing three nights a week to go to school with Friday, Saturday. So you don't have any tapes that you played back then in those days? No, nobody had, no, not, not that I'm old, you know, I know, but things

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started late then. I know because Mark says he remembers when they, he didn't think they even had electricity in his grandma's house, you know, which is pretty weird. Somebody as young as y'all, you know, to not having that. Most people in other parts of America can't

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remember that your age, you know, people as young as y'all like, because down here it was late coming a lot of it was electric. What kind of a band did you have when you were 12? Well, it wasn't my band. I was playing with somebody else.

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Calvin Hollywood, Kevin Holloway. And I play with him 15, I guess, you know, I play with my dad, I play drums with my dad. When I got 18 I had a rock and roll band. I kept that for three years and everybody had a rock and

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roll band is in English. Yeah, I just to, but I had, I had a pretty good advanced then I quit that and still out of music for about three months. And that's when I went back to French Rodney Miller. You remember his man up here? I

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just saw a picture of it and uh, yeah, man was, I'm talking about, no, John's been with me for years. 40 years. Who is my man? What's his name? Johnny Green Crater? Oh, I don't know her. So, what did he play the drums? I played the

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drum with my dad. But I mean, in this band, what did Johnny Crater play, man? Plays the drum and Tony Thibodeau, Phil. And you're playing the accordion in those days? You didn't have a bass? Yeah. Right. Well, was that kind of the peak of your success?

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Right. There was that I started and French music and I started, I was the first man to have the first man to have a, what do you know, when did you, when did you start that? Uh, about 20 a, about 24 years ago, 24 years ago.

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I was about 20 yeah, I was about 20 years old. It's all right about my age. Well, I know you, you know, you're young but, uh, yeah, I say about 24 years you started having these, I think it did a lot for, well, I think it

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does a lot for any kind of music, but it did a lot for it still in an empty spot that people were getting tired of. You mean adding the twin fiddle in the bass and the, well, you know, you, um, why do you think your singing

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style just appeals to people so much? You think it's because you were so popular with the songs you wrote? And so they imitated you? But do you think it's because it's something about? I think so. II I started this new style of music and, uh I'm

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proud to see a lot of people follow this and, uh, it, it worked out good and, and, and people are buying more French records now than ever because of that. And I don't care what they say. Traditional friends will never come back. You don't think so.

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No, they're trying, they're trying, they're hard to do it. But uh uh it's just not there and especially with your generation, they're not, they will not buy, they won't buy it. Just don't sound right because it's not full, it's not, you need full music for people

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to enjoy and, and, uh, just with these little trang, an open guitar and a record, they're not selling records. I know that for a fact they're buying the full, full, full song so I wouldn't go back to it. Never. So, you feel like the future, what

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do you think about Cajun music? What's gonna happen? Do you think it's gonna keep on? Um, and stuff? You, music is a funny kind of music it comes and goes, it never died, you know, you know, your rock and roll music but you can't go to

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rock and roll. It died out. This is dead except for a few, you know. But, uh, French music comes and go, well, our rock and roll music now is not what it used to be. I mean, everybody's got a rock and roll band play 50% country

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or, or even hard rock. But, uh, French music comes and goes. It's hard to say I, I wouldn't just, I wouldn't go out there and see it. Uh, yes, they'll die out or no, it won't because it's hard to see. I hope it, don't. You think

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the style is gonna pretty much keep like it is? What's next? I wonder what's gonna happen next. I don't think you can change any better because if you change any better then you have some other guy in another kind of music. Right. Yeah, I was thinking

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that too because I have a band right now. I can play country music and, and John, uh, 20 years ago we play it but it didn't sound like country music, you know, it sounded like French. French and English and English. Yeah. Right. Yeah, I hope it

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does and I like it. Well, that, that's all the questions.