Louis Beaudoin was a very special fiddler, but even more, he was a very special man. A touchstone for Franco fiddling, Louis was very generous with his music, welcoming many young musicians to his home and inspiring and encouraging them to play French-Canadian fiddle tunes.

Some of those fiddlers have begun playing music with Beaudoin family members and will be performing with them at the Lowell Folk Festival July 28-9 and at the Champlain Valley Festival in VT Aug. 4-5 2007. For more about the Beaudoin family's musical rebirth, check out The Beaudoin Project.

Here are two short pieces about Louis Beaudoin. The first is from the liner notes to "Louis Beaudoin" (Philo 2000) and "La Famille Beaudoin" (Philo 2022). The second is the euology for Mr. Beaudoin by the Northeast Fiddlers' Association following his death in 1980.

Some of Louis Beaudoin's earliest memories are of his father playing fiddle t home and for parties and weddings in the French-Canadian community of Lowell, Mass. His father would frequently play music until late at night at friends' houses. When Louis was fifteen, he decided that he too would play the fiddle. His father would paly tunes for him on the fiddle and his mother would sing melodies to him until he learned them. Many of the tunes his family knew were those popular in the French-Canadian community. They also listened to broadcasts on CKAC Canada and to 78 recordings of Isidore Soucy, Joseph Allard and Tommy Duchesne.

Louis' grandparents immigrated from the Laurentian region of Canada to the United States like many other French-Canadians of their generation who left their farms around the turn of the century to find work in the factory towns of New England. They brought with them a rich musical heritage. Louis was born in 1921 in Lowell Mass. In 1937, when the economy was recovering from the Depression, Louis' father thought he could find work in Vermont and so moved his family to Burlington. During World War II, Louis served in Africa and Europe with General Patton's tank corps. He married the former Julie Lacourse and is the father of five daughters: Louise Brown, Carmen Bombardier, Sylvia Blaise, Nina Lacourse Beaudoin and Lisa Therrien. For many years Louis was a member of the Burlington VT police force, and later operated an automobile radiator repair shop adjacent to his home.

(excerpt by David Green, Burlington VT, 1973, © Philo Records)

Northeast Fiddlers' Association - Euology

To be extremely popular, a great fiddler, and claim the friendship of a vast following of people is in itself an achievement attained by few. Of the few, none have soared to greater heights in this respect than Louis Beaudoin.

Louis was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, and moved to Vermont in 1937. Shortly afterward, destiny placed him in contact with the gifted Canadian fiddler, Joe Danis, who, acting as tutor, soon had Louis oriented to the Canadian type of fiddling that he loved so well.

In 1946, Louis and Julie LaCourse were married, with five children to arrive in the forthcoming years. He became a member of the Burlington VT Police Department in 1953, and served the community for eleven years before retiring in 1964 to open his own business - an automotive radiator shop. Over the years, this shop became a well-known and productive institution, and was the focal point for repeated visits from friends and fellow fiddlers, with many a radiator repair being capped off by rendering a few fiddle tunes.

He has been classified as a professional fiddler, but his real dedication to the fiddle was not professionalism. It was a public-sharing talent, and a deep-seated love for the French-Canadian style, played as only Louis could. He was very active in the Council of Arts, where many have received real benefits from his participation.

One of the outstanding accomplishments which helped to expand his popularity was being selected to play at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. for President Jimmy Carter's Inauguration Eve Square Dance. His brother, Wilfred played guitar with him, and his daughter Lisa danced Canadian-style clogging and also played the piano.

This accomplishment not only made Louis' fiddling ability more widely known; it made his friends and fellow fiddlers keenly aware of his ability and popularity. Thus, he had the best wishes of the entire community behind him.

Louis served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Northeast Fiddlers' Association, a position he held for eleven years until his untimely death. Every member of the organization feels the deepest sorrow knowing that this tribute to Louis must be given posthumously, as he passed away in February of 1980. There is now a void in the fiddling world that will never be replaced . . .

At fiddle meets both near and far,
His vibrant fiddle sounded
And all who heard those joyous notes
Had happiness compounded
- Louis was there

When fiddle tunes of cheerful vein
Were played with pleasing rhythm
All it took was a pleasant smile
And more of the same would be given
- Louis was there

With friendly gatherings at his home
By neighbors, friends and brothers
Enjoyed by all who mingled there
Each welcoming the other
- Louis was there

If strife of any kind should fall
On family or friend
It merely took a beck or call
He'd cheer and comfort them
- Louis was there

Though he has left in body
His spirit still is near
And the echo of his fiddle
Will be sounding through the years
- Louis is here

© 1980 - Northeast Fiddlers' Association