Biography
Cajun musician Lesa Cormier began learning the accordion at age six from his father, Lionel Cormier, who helped establish the Sundown Playboys, a southern Louisiana dance band formed in 1947. Yet the guitar drew his stronger interest, prompting the enterprising youngster to peddle seeds until he could afford an instrument. As a teenager he joined his father’s group when it required a drummer; after just one week of rehearsal on the unfamiliar kit, he secured the position and remains the sole surviving original member, having assumed managerial duties following Lionel’s fatal heart attack in summer 1971.
During the early 1970s the Sundown Playboys gained modest worldwide notice when London’s Apple Records issued the single “Saturday Night Special,” which teenaged accordionist Pat Savant had submitted; the B-side was “La Valse de Soleil Couche.” Although the track later appeared in the 1988 film Sister, Sister, it received scant domestic airplay. Subsequent personnel included grandson and bassist Brian Cormier, steel guitarist Larry Miller, fiddler Frances Andrepont, and accordionist Milford Simon, while Lesa himself supplied both drumming and vocals.
Born in Lafayette, LA, Lesa grew up in Elton and eventually made his home in Lake Charles. In addition to singing and drumming, he composes, writing such pieces as “Waltz of My Heart” and “Louisiana Gumbo.” His drumming appears on numerous Sundown Playboys recordings, among them “La Valse a Rosie Mae,” “Mermentau Special,” “Last Year’s Waltz,” “Riceville Special,” “Cajun Cucaracha,” “Don’t Stop the Music,” “Sundown Playboy Special,” “La Valse a Gabriel,” “Poche Town Special,” “Big Boy Bounce,” “Lonesome Waltz,” “Cypress Inn Special,” “Black Bayou Special,” “You’re the Only One for Me,” and “Chère Bassette.”
With his wife, Hazel Mott Cormier, he raised a daughter and three sons, each of whom has performed with the band. The group has appeared at Chicago’s Folk Music Festival, Festival Acadienne, and the Calcasieu Cajun Festival, as well as at the 1984 World’s Fair in Louisiana.
During the early 1970s the Sundown Playboys gained modest worldwide notice when London’s Apple Records issued the single “Saturday Night Special,” which teenaged accordionist Pat Savant had submitted; the B-side was “La Valse de Soleil Couche.” Although the track later appeared in the 1988 film Sister, Sister, it received scant domestic airplay. Subsequent personnel included grandson and bassist Brian Cormier, steel guitarist Larry Miller, fiddler Frances Andrepont, and accordionist Milford Simon, while Lesa himself supplied both drumming and vocals.
Born in Lafayette, LA, Lesa grew up in Elton and eventually made his home in Lake Charles. In addition to singing and drumming, he composes, writing such pieces as “Waltz of My Heart” and “Louisiana Gumbo.” His drumming appears on numerous Sundown Playboys recordings, among them “La Valse a Rosie Mae,” “Mermentau Special,” “Last Year’s Waltz,” “Riceville Special,” “Cajun Cucaracha,” “Don’t Stop the Music,” “Sundown Playboy Special,” “La Valse a Gabriel,” “Poche Town Special,” “Big Boy Bounce,” “Lonesome Waltz,” “Cypress Inn Special,” “Black Bayou Special,” “You’re the Only One for Me,” and “Chère Bassette.”
With his wife, Hazel Mott Cormier, he raised a daughter and three sons, each of whom has performed with the band. The group has appeared at Chicago’s Folk Music Festival, Festival Acadienne, and the Calcasieu Cajun Festival, as well as at the 1984 World’s Fair in Louisiana.
Albums
