{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2014}} {{notability|1=Biographies|date=December 2024}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Hadley Castille | image = Hadley J Castille & Sarah Jayde Williams - New Orleans Jazz Fest 2010.jpg | alt = | caption = Hadley J Castille & Sarah Jayde Williams | image_size = | birth_name = Hadley J. Castille | alias = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1933|03|03}} | death_date = {{Death date and age|2012|10|25 |1933|03|03}} | origin = Leonville, Louisiana | instrument = Fiddle | genre = Cajun | occupation = Musician, fiddler | associated_acts = Hadley J. Castille and the Sharecroppers<br />Hadley Castille & The Louisiana Cajun Band | website = {{url|hadleyjcastille.com/}} }}
'''Hadley J. Castille''' (March 3, 1933{{snd}}October 25, 2012)<ref name="yule09p49">Yule 2009, p. 49.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kplctv.com/story/19917179/louisiana-fiddling-legend-hadley-castille-dies|title=Louisiana Fiddling Legend Hadley Castille Dies|first=Elona|last=Weston|accessdate=October 30, 2012|date=October 25, 2012}}</ref> was a prominent Cajun fiddler.
==Early life== Castille was born to a Cajun French speaking family. His father was named François Castille. He learned to play the fiddle from his Uncle Cyprien Castille at around the age of 9.<ref name="yule09p49" /><ref name="AcadianMuseum">{{cite web|url=http://www.acadianmuseum.com/legends.php?viewID=56|title=Hadley J. Castille|accessdate=2010-06-08}}</ref> After moving around for a while, he ended up in Pecaniere – a small community near Leonville, LA. Here, he first heard "Jole Blon" by Harry Choates during a trip to the Silver Slipper, a grocery store and bar.<ref name="Brasseaux09p157">Brasseaux 2009, p.157.</ref> The song inspired him to take up a new style of playing.<ref name="yule09p50">Yule 2009, p. 50.</ref> In the early 1950s, he started playing at Roy's Bar in Port Barre, LA and local house parties.<ref name="yule09p51">Yule 2009, p. 51.</ref> Also, they played on the KSLO "Amateur Hour" segments on Saturday mornings.<ref name="yule09p51" /> After graduating, Castille moved to New Orleans to play in a country band. However, after four to five months he moved back to Leonville, and eventually enlisted in the US Army.<ref name="yule09p51" /> The Korean War ended soon after arriving in Fort Hood, Texas. He spent his entire service in Killeen, Texas, where he played in an on base band.<ref name="yule09p51" /> After service, he backed off from music to focus on family and his plumbing business.<ref name="yule09p52">Yule 2009, p. 52.</ref>
==Festival du Voyageur== In the early 1980s, Castille was invited to perform at Le Festival du Voyageur, Western Canada's largest winter festival. This experience caused him to relearn old Cajun tunes and focus on sharpening his skills.<ref name="yule09p52" /> He returned to the festival for the next 18 years.<ref name="yule09p52" /> He started recording music and playing many festivals during this time.<ref name="yule09p52" />
==Later life== In his later life, Castille continued to perform with his sharecropper band, and also lead many workshops at festivals.<ref name="yule09p52"/>
==Legacy== Castille's played Cajun music most his life. This earned Castille many awards over the years. He has been inducted into the Louisiana Hall of Fame.<ref name="AcadianMuseum" /> Also, he has received the Acadiana Folk Heritage Award from the Acadiana Arts Council. He has been inducted into the Northwestern University Hall of Master Folk Artists.<ref name="AcadianMuseum" /> His work with "200 Lines: I Must Not Speak French" has earned him a Cajun French Music Association Heritage Award.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Hadley-J.-Castille/e/B000AQ2XW2/|title=Hadley J. Castille: Albums, Songs, Bios, Photos|website=Amazon |accessdate=2010-06-08}}</ref> He received an honorable discharge from the United States Army having served during the Korean War.<ref name="AcadianMuseum" /> Also, his music has been heard in films, such as A Perfect World with Clint Eastwood.<ref name="AcadianMuseum" /> His granddaughter Sarah Jayde Williams is also a violinist.
==Discography== *200 Lines: I Must Not Speak French Swallow 6088 (1991) *Cajun Swamp Fiddler Swallow 6112 (1993) *Musique de Castille Swallow 6123 (1995) *Along the Bayou Teche Swallow 6078 (1997) *Cajun Christmas Delta Records (1997) *Quarante Acres et Deux Mulés (40 Acres and 2 Mules) MTE 5070-2 (2000)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.lsue.edu/acadgate/music/castille2.htm|title=Hadley Castille|accessdate=2010-06-08}}{{dead link|date=October 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> *Refrait Swallow 6191 (2005) *Hadley's Dream (Le Reve' a Hadley) Acadiana Sounds
==References== {{reflist}} *{{Cite book|title=Louisiana Fiddlers|last=Yule|first=Ron|isbn=978-1-60473-295-5|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|date=October 5, 2009|ref=Yule09}} *{{Cite book|title=Cajun breakdown: the emergence of an American-made music|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=June 4, 2009|last=Brasseaux|first=Ryan|isbn=978-0-19-534306-9|ref=Brasseaux09}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Castille, Hadley}} Category:1933 births Category:20th-century American fiddlers Category:21st-century American fiddlers Category:Cajun fiddlers Category:Musicians from Louisiana Category:People from St. Landry Parish, Louisiana Category:2012 deaths