Nathan Abshire was born near Gueydan, Louisiana, on June 23, 1913. A traditional Cajun accordion player, Abshire learned the instrument when he was six years old. He began playing bals de maison--house dances-- at eight. Abshire was influenced by his mother and uncle, who played accordion, and the Creole accordion player, Amede Ardoin, with whom he sometimes performed. He recorded in the 1930s with Happy Fats & the Rayne-Bo Ramblers. After serving in World War II, he recorded his biggest hit in 1949, "Pine Grove Blues". His recordings helped repopularize the accordion in Cajun music, which had fallen out of favor because of the introduction of country-western music and the popularity of the fiddle. He never made a living as a musician, however, and continued to work at the Basile, Louisiana dump, holding the job for most of his life. World performances such as the Newport Folk Festival in 1967 with the Balfa Brothers exposed Cajun music to a wider audience. This led to the the revival of Cajun music in the 1970s and moved some Cajuns, who had been taught that their heritage was ignorant and shameful, to reimbrace and celebrate their culture. Abshire was featured in Les Blank's 1971 documentary Spend It All and the 1975 PBS documentary "The Good Times Are Killing Me". He died in Basile May 13, 1981.

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