By Michael Gray

The quiet library of the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville was recently transformed into a swinging, down-home Louisiana dancehall of sorts when the Hackberry Ramblers dropped by to donate historic instruments to the museum.

Original bandmembers Luderin Darbone, 86, and Edwin Duhon, 89, donated the fiddle and guitar they used when they formed the Hackberry Ramblers in 1933. The December 3rd private donation ceremony took place one day before the Hackberry Ramblers -- one of the longest-running bands in the country -- realized a lifelong dream by debuting on the Grand Ole Opry.

Fiddler Darbone, accordionist Duhon, electric guitarist Glen Croker, upright bassist Johnny Faulk and drummer Ben Sandmel performed their seamless blend of Cajun music, Western swing, blues and rockabilly during their afternoon visit to the Hall of Fame. Cajun dancers two-stepped as The Hackberry Ramblers swung their way through "Jolie Blon," "Old Pipeliner," "Proud Mary," "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," "Johnny B. Goode" and several other festive numbers in the library-turned-music joint.

Dancers two-step as the Hackberry Ramblers swing.

The Lake Charles, La.-based combo was joined by country star Rodney Crowell, who appears on both of the group's recent albums, Cajun Boogie from 1993 and the Grammy-nominated Deep Water from 1997.

"When I was asked to come and say something about the Hackberry Ramblers, all I had to do was think about my childhood," said Houston native Crowell. "The Texas and Louisiana coast is a culture all of its own. This music that the Hackberry Ramblers makes is really indicative of what that culture is and what it means. What it means is white cowboy hats that you're supposed to take off when you're in the house, it means white shirts rolled up three cuffs, it means clean black slacks and shined cowboy boots. Sometimes it means hangovers on Sunday morning, and you're in church anyway.

"I'm really grateful to the Hall of Fame for recognizing the crown jewel of that culture -- The Hackberry Ramblers."

Darbone and Duhon started the group in the small oil field town of Hackberry, La., and began performing for dances and radio broadcasts. The Hackberry Ramblers were one of the first Cajun bands to incorporate Anglo-American country music, especially the then-new Western swing sounds of Bob Wills.

The Ramblers also introduced amplification to the dancehalls of southwest Louisiana. Few of these remote nightclubs had electricity, so Darbone powered his Sears-Roebuck P.A. from the engine of his Model-A Ford, which idled outside the club all evening.

In 1935 the Hackberry Ramblers began recording for RCA-Bluebird. Their output included the first version of the Cajun classic "Jolie Blon," under that title. (The song was first recorded in 1929 as "Ma Blonde Est Parti.")


The 1927 fiddle The Hackberry Ramblers presented to the Hall of Fame is the same one used on that seminal recording session. Darbone shared some of the instrument's long, interesting history with those in attendance.

"My dad was working for an oil company near Beaumont, Texas, and for some reason they didn't find oil and the company ran short of funds, and they were unable to pay the employees," he began. "It so happened they owned a jewelry shop in Port Arthur, Texas. The fellow that owned the company came over to my dad and he said, 'We can't pay you in cash, but if you want to go to the jewelry store in Port Arthur and pick out what we owe you, we'll consider that as payment for working at the oil company.'

"Sure enough, one day my dad said, 'Let's go to Port Arthur -- I want to try to get you a new fiddle.' I walk in this store, and there was a fiddle hanging on the wall. I told my dad, 'That looks like a pretty good fiddle.' He said, 'OK, we're going to take it.' So, he asked the person behind the counter the cost of the fiddle, and it was $20. That was pretty expensive in those days -- with $20 you could buy a lot of groceries."

"In 1937 I bought the other fiddle that I'm using now," he continued, jumping ahead several years. "I put the (older) fiddle aside in the case and put it under the bed. I had a service station with a room in the back. I didn't check this fiddle at all, but after awhile I happened to open the case one day and it was all unglued. I guess the moisture on the concrete had caused it to come to pieces.

"So, instead of throwing it away, I put it up in my attic, and it stayed there until 1982. There was a fellow I knew who had just retired, and he was learning to make fiddles. He was a friend of Edwin Duhon, also, and they had talked about this fiddle being unglued. He told Edwin to bring the fiddle to him, and he would try to put it back together. Now it looks like a brand new factory-made fiddle."

"Jolie Blon" and many other historic Hackberry Rambler recordings have been reissued on CD by the Hall of Fame as part of a three-volume Cajun anthology including Le Gran Mamou (1990), Raise Your Window (1993) and Gran Prairie (1993).

"We came here about 15 years ago to be interviewed," said Darbone. "We sort of became attached to the Hall of Fame, but never thinking we would be honored like we've been honored today."