It Was Like A Fantasy

Accordion-making was considered a hobby, but randy Falcon turned it into a business.

- HERMAN FUSELIER

Randy Falcon grew up in the French-speaking region of southwest Louisiana listening to the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Dave Clark Five. He had little interest in his family’s Cajun music royalty. A second cousin, Joe Falcon, had Cajun music’s first commercial recording, “Allons a Lafayette,” in 1928.

Still, Falcon was intrigued by the 10-button accordions that fueled Cajun songs. Early squeezeboxes that had made their way to Louisiana from Germany before World War II had the supply virtually cut off by the war. The drought created a tiny cottage industry of accordion builders in bayou country.

Falcon sought out one of those early makers, Shine Mouton. Falcon asked Mouton how to make an accordion and the builder replied, “One at a time.” But Mouton’s wise words and lessons turned into Falcon’s first accordion. Falcon quickly forgot about Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger.

“I was hooked,” said Falcon, who lives near Lafayette, Louisiana. “It was like a fantasy, I made something that was usable. Even if it was a copy of something, I made this instrument. It was a viable part of Cajun music. Just the idea of watching Mr. Mouton make accordions for so long made me think maybe I could do it. It made me want to do it.”