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| State of the Ozarks General Store • Dedicated to the celebration and preservation of Ozark culture and history • © 2007, 2008 • Joshua Heston • Lucky13Studios © | ||||
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• HOME • GENERAL STORE • NATURAL HERITAGE • HISTORY, CULTURE & CRAFTSMANSHIP |
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History, Culture & Craftsmanship
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There's actually not a whole lot of difference between the musical styles of the Ozarks and that of Cajun Louisiana.
Being part of the Louisiana Purchase, there was a lot of French influences, especially with the trappers going up and down from New Orleans to St. Louis.
Missouri has an interesting diversity of music. Even to this day, you will find French-speaking people up around St. Louis. They play French-culture music and Cajun music. The funny thing is it has more of the Old World flavor than the Louisiana Cajun music.
I've met some colorful guys since coming up here — Ozark natives like Fred Stoneking of Springfield. He's a wonderful fiddle player and his daughter is extremely talented. We got together one day and played for three hours, non-stop.
We found we knew a lot of the same tunes and while there were differences in flair and style, there were just as many similarities.
Everybody says music transcends all cultures and territories and it's really true. But Ozark music is very interesting.
— Louis Darby, Branson, Missouri
Louis Darby, originally of Opelousas, Louisiana, has lived in the Branson area since 1987.
A two-time Louisiana State Fiddle Champion, Darby became well-known in the Ozarks-region as part of the Cajun Connection.
Today, he is a senior executive of Darby, Cooper and Associates real estate company. He also plays regularly at the Circle B Chuckwagon in Branson.
I still remember the first time I saw him fiddlin' up a storm at the Riverfront Playhouse one cold December afternoon over at Silver Dollar City.
And another afternoon, not so long ago, I sat down with Louis in his real estate office to talk about the Ozarks.
These new, editorial-style columns are the result. — Joshua Heston
December 23, 2007