b. June 27, 1913 in Gueyden, LA, d. May 13, 1981 in Basile, LA. The eldest of six children, Abshire became one of the major stars of Cajun music. Both his parents played accordion and he taught the instrument as a child, making his first public appearance at the age of eight in a dancehall in Mermentau Cove. In 1935, backed by the Rayne-Bo Ramblers, he recorded for Bluebird Records but spent the next decade in semi-obscurity when the accordion became less popular, although he then learned to play fiddle. Although illiterate and having some difficulty in speaking English, he was drafted for army service. Having never previously been beyond the bayous, he found the experience highly unsettling, but after breaking a leg he was soon discharged. He returned to Basile, where he established himself by playing weekly bookings at the Avalon Club. In 1949, he recorded his noted ‘Pine Grove Blues’ for Virgil Bozeman’s OT label. This song about a wrongdoing woman proved very popular and was recorded by Abshire several times during his career. In 1950, George Khoury persuaded him to join his Khoury’s and Lyric labels, where he achieved some local success with ‘La Valse De Holly Beach’ and ‘Shamrock Waltz’, but throughout the 50s he struggled to make a living playing dancehalls.
In the early 60s, with the Pine Grove Boys, Abshire recorded again, this time for the Kajun label. The recordings included a new version of ‘Pine Grove Blues’, with the vocal by Robert Bertrand. He then recorded with the Balfa Brothers for Swallow, producing well-regarded recordings, including his noted version of ‘Games People Play’. During the early 70s, he was in great demand at festivals and colleges, where he was dubbed the ‘Professor Longhair of Cajun Music’. In 1972, again with the Balfas, he recordedThe Cajuns, with his six-minute version of ‘Pine Grove Blues’ being hailed as his best ever. In the 70s, he also recorded for Folkways Records and La Louisianne (some of the La Louisianne recordings were released in 1993 by the UK’s Ace Records reissue label). Although one of the genre’s leading exponents, throughout his life Abshire struggled to make a living from his music. His lack of education confined him to menial tasks, and he spent his later working years as the watchman at the rubbish dump in Basile. He frequently played on his front porch for the benefit of lovers of the music who had often travelled miles to see him.
In his later years, as noted Cajun writer John Broven states, ‘Abshire was still pouring out his gutsy brand of bluesy Cajun music at local dances, smiling graciously, his enormous potbelly serving as a precarious support for his accordion’. In 1975, he was featured in a television documentary about Cajuns, The Good Times Are Killing Me. The title proved prophetic and even though recent years had seen his lifestyle improve, he was losing his battle against a chronic drink problem. After a long period of ill health, he finally died on 13 May 1981. He once stated that, after his death, he wished them to break all his records: ‘It just doesn’t feel right for the radios and everyone to keep playing a musician’s music after he’s gone’. His wishes were, nevertheless, disregarded.