Alphonse "Bois Sec" Ardoin was born on November 16, 1915, in Duralde, Louisiana. He began a musical career playing the triangle before transitioning to the accordion at age 12. In 1948, he performed with Canray Fontenot in the Duralde Ramblers, gaining local recognition. Their breakthrough came in 1966 with a performance at the Newport Jazz Festival and the recording of Les Blues Du Bayou (1966). Ardoin formed the Ardoin Family Orchestra in the early 1970s, appearing in films such as Dry Wood (1973). He received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1986. Ardoin died on May 16, 2007.
