Dennis (Denus) McGee (January 26, 1893 – October 3, 1989) was one of the earliest recorded Cajun musicians.
A fiddle player, he recorded and performed with Creole accordionist and vocalist Amédé Ardoin, with accordionist Angelas LeJeune, and with fiddlers Sady Courville (McGee's brother-in-law)[2] and Ernest Frugé. The recordings with Courville and Frugé are among the few surviving examples of Cajun music as it existed before the influence of the accordion became prominent.
Dennis McGee was the son of John McGee Sr. who was of Irish ancestry and Amelia, of French and Seminole Indian ancestry.[3] Amelia died when Dennis was two years old.[3] His first language was French.[4] He received his first violin at the age of 14, and started playing dances within 6 months.[3]
As a young man, McGee met fellow sharecropper Amédé Ardoin. The two started playing music together, soon playing at dancehalls up to five nights per week. They recorded together starting in 1929 in New Orleans, producing some of the earliest recordings of Cajun and Creole music, alongside Joe and Cléoma Falcon, Leo Soileau, Mayeus Lafleur, Douglas Bellard, and Kirby Riley.[4]
Legacy
Linzay Young sings with Chris Stafford, Joel Savoy, and Tony Davoren at a Courir de Mardi Gras by Dennis McGee's grave.
In the 1970s and 80s, McGee continued to perform with Sady Courville at festivals and special concerts and recorded for various American and French labels including Morningstar, Cinq Planetes, Swallow, and Music of the World.
His records are contemporary with Joe and Cléoma Falcon's. Also, his legacy includes his knowledge of playing older styles of Cajun music before the 1900s, when the accordion was introduced.
Notable recordings
Chère Mama Creole (My Sweet Creole Mama, Vocalion 5319)
Madame Young, Give Me Your Sweetest (aka Colinda, Vocalion 5319)
Courville and McGee Waltz (Vocalion 5315)
Happy One Step (Vocalion 5315)
Jeunes Gens Compagnard (Jeune Gens de la Campagne, Vocalion 15848)
"La Rille Cajen" / "La Danse Carre" (512 Brunswick)
Compilations
The Traditional Cajun Fiddling Of Dennis McGee & S D Courville (16001 Morning Star, 1972)
"The Early Recordings of Dennis McGee," by Dennis McGee, featuring Sady Courville and Ernest Fruge (45002 Morning Star, 1977)
Sady Courville & Dennis McGee: La Vieille Musique Acadienne (LP-6030 Swallow, 1977)
Cajun Home Music (FA 2620 Folkways Records, 1977)
The Complete Early Recordings Of Dennis McGee (1929-1930) (YAZ2012 Yazoo, 1994)
La Vieille Musique Acadienne by Sady Courville & Dennis McGee (SW3001 Swallow, 2003)
Dennis McGee & Sady Courville (FRC308 Field Recorders' Collective, 2007)
Himself by Dennis Mcgee (VAL-CD-0011 Valcour, 2010)
Family
McGee had three wives: Nita Rozas (1910–1911), Marie Young (after 1912), and Gladys Courville (1925).[3] He stayed married to his final wife until she died in 1990.[3] One of his sons, Gerry McGee, was a member of The Ventures.[5] Gerry McGee went to Hollywood, California, and recorded with numerous rock and pop stars, such as Elvis Presley "Girls, Girls, Girls"and "Trouble With Girls", Movie Soundtrack "Great Balls of Fire", and Rock Sensation, Ivy Lite Rocway and Country Superstar, Dwight Yoakam.
Brasseaux, Ryan A.; Fontenot, Kevin S., eds. (2006-10-15). Accordions, Fiddles, Two Step & Swing: A Cajun Music Reader. University of Louisiana at Lafayette. ISBN978-1-887366-71-7.
Ancelet, Barry; Morgan, Elemore; Rinzler, Ralph (1999). Musiciens Cadiens et Créoles (2nd ed.). University Press of Mississippi. ISBN978-1-57806-170-9.
