Sheryl Cormier

Sheryl Cormier (born March 15, 1945) is an American Cajun accordion musician. Cormier began playing the accordion at 7 years old. Cormier is "one of the few women to establish herself in Cajun music" and she is the first professional Cajun accordion female musician.

Sheryl Cormier
Birth nameSherly Guidreau
BornMarch 15, 1945
Grand Coteau, Louisiana
GenresCajun music
Occupation(s)Accordion player

Career

Cormier was a hair stylist before she became a professional musician.[1] She started her own group in 1990 which included her husband Russell singing and her son Russell Jr. playing the drums. The group recorded the album "Queen of Cajun Music" ("La Reine de Musique Cadjine").[2] She led an all-woman Cajun band.[1] In 1992, she released her second album titled Sheryl Cormier and Cajun Sounds.[1] Throughout the 1990s, Cormier performed in Europe. The Arcadian Museum named her a Living Legend in 2002.[2] In 2002, it was reported that Cormier released 45 recordings and that she performed in every major Cajun music festival.[3] Her band The Cajun Sound includes her husband, son, and more.[4] Cormier had a heart attack in 2004 that kept her from performing for close to a year. In 2005, Cormier and her husband traveled to England for a performance at the Gloucester International Music Festival and throughout Europe.[5]

Cormier is "one of the few women to establish herself in Cajun music" and she is the first professional Cajun accordion female musician.[6] She has been named the Cajun Queen in the United States and Europe.[5] In 1988, she was voted as Female Vocalist of the Year by The Times of Acadiana and she was given the title of Best Contemporary Artist. Her song "Mon Coeur et Mon Armour" won Best Song from the Cajun French Music Awards in 1989 and her band won Best Upcoming Band. Cormier was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1993. In 1997, Cormier was placed in the Cajun Music Hall of Fame.[3]

Personal life

Cormier was born as Sheryl Guidreau on March 15, 1945 in Grand Coteau, Louisiana.[4][3] She started playing music when was she 7 years old after taking her father's accordion. Cormier said, "I wanted to play his forbidden musical intrument. For a farmer, the accordion was a prized and costly possession, and the children weren't allowed to touch it. I quickly taught myself to play the Cajun music that I often heard my father and his band play."[4] She played the accordion with a group that was led by her parents when she was a teenager.[2]

References
  1. Harris, Craig. "Sheryl Cormier". AllMusic. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  2. Philip Andrepont, Patrick Morrow, and Warren A. Perrin (2013). St. Landry Parish. Arcadia Publishing. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-4671-1070-9.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. "Acadian Museum names Cormier a 'Living Legend'". Abbeville Meridional. Abbeville, Louisiana. March 6, 2002 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Stacey Comeaux Judice; Kathy Blanchard Higginbotham; Donna Sonnier Latiolais (November 10, 2014). Carencro. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. p. 92. ISBN 978-1-4396-4827-8.
  5. "Sheryl Cormier Launches Cajun Comeback". Daily World. Opelousas, Louisiana. January 23, 2005 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Johnson, William (November 2, 2012). "Music and Market welcomes Sherly Cormier". Daily World. Opelousas, Louisiana – via Newspapers.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.