Milton J. Adams Cajun Musician

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Milton J. Adams Cajun Musician Cajun Accordion player Milton Adams was born October 26, 1918 in Kaplan where he lived with his wife Marie, a traditional ballad singer. He started playing music when he was only about ten years old, learning from his father Elty Polite Adams and from the great Cajun accordionist Lawrence Walker. By the time he was twelve, he was playing at house dances, but he did not begin performing in dancehalls until he was about twenty- five. Like almost all Cajun musicians from his era, he also had a regular job, working in the outfields as a carpenter. He was generous in sharing his musical skills with younger musicians such as Wayne Toups. When Wayne was very young, he would come to the Adams' home to play traditional Cajun music with Mr. Adams. On the night Adams performed at the library theater in spring 2000, he was accompanied on the stage by a young accordion player whom he had been helping. Mr. Adams band was Milton Adams' Midnight Playboys. They played at festivals and other events in Washington, D.C., Wisconsin, Georgia, Florida, and Illinois. The band was named best band by the Wall of Fame Cajun Days. As he grew older, Milton Adams ' and the Midnight Playboys no longer performed in dance halls, but in recent years up until his illness Adams on occasion played at festivals around the country. The cassette Milton Adams Plays Traditional Cajun Music was recorded live at the University of Chicago Folk Festival in 1992. It also Features Hubert Matte on guitar and Leo Abshire on fiddle. The notes on the cassette 'Milton Adams Plays Traditional Cajun Music', released by Swallow Records, mentions that he had eight uncles who played music, including seven who played accordion. An old time traditional Cajun singer and accordion player, Milton Adams continued to perform Occasionally until suffering a stroke. He passed away in early July 2002. .

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