Cleoma Breaux Falcon

Cléoma Falcon
Cléoma Falcon in 1934
Background information
Born	(1906-05-27)May 27, 1906 Crowley, Louisiana, United States
Died	April 8, 1941(1941-04-08) (aged 34)
Genres	Cajun
Occupation(s)	Musician, guitarist, vocalist
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Labels	Columbia, Decca
Associated acts	Joe Falcon, The Falcon Trio

Cléoma Falcon (née Breaux) (May 27, 1906 – April 8, 1941) was an American guitarist and vocalist who, along with her husband Joe Falcon, recorded one of the first known examples of Cajun music. The recording, "Allons à Lafayette" was released in 1928, and opened the way for other commercial releases of Cajun music. Aside from being a ground-breaking recording artist, Cleoma Breaux also was one of the few women to perform live, despite the social standards of the era.

Cléoma Breaux was born on May 27, 1906, in Crowley, Louisiana, to an accomplished accordion player, Auguste Breaux, and his wife Mathilde Breaux. Cléoma Breaux and her brothers Amedée, Orphy, and Clifford Breaux were all taught as multi-instrumentalists, and began performing for the family's entertainment. Cléoma Breaux was capable of playing a "hard" rhythm guitar style, which was closely related to the preferred technique of later bluegrass guitarists. In addition, Breaux was trained to play the fiddle and accordion, though she never recorded with the two instruments. In 1917, Breaux's father abandoned the family, driving them into poverty, with the result that for the majority of their income, the family depended on performances at dance halls. In 1921, Breaux married to a local musician, Oliver Hall; however, it was a relatively short marriage and the two divorced within a year.

In the mid-1920s, Breaux was joined in performing by accordion player Joe Falcon. The two also began a relationship with each other and would later marry in 1931, while adopting a child named Loula. In 1928, politician and music enthusiast George Burrs hoped to capitalize on the group's popularity on the dance-hall circuit, and negotiated a deal with Columbia Records to record the trio which included vocalist Leon Meche. On April 27, 1928, the musical trio arrived at the recording company's satellite studio in New Orleans. Initially, record executives withdrew the offer because, as Falcon recalled, "They used to record with big orchestras. They looked at us and said that is not enough music to make a record". Nonetheless, Burrs convinced them otherwise and Breaux and Falcon, without Meche who was too nervous to perform, recorded a test of "Lafayette (Allons à Luafette)". The song was redone and released along with "The Waltz That Carried Me to My Grave". Not only did the recordings mark the first time Cajun music entered the music marketplace, but it was one of the few instances where a woman took part in the process.