Though he’s not the most active accordionist on the crawfish circuit these days, Pat Savant has indelibly etched his initials in the annals of Cajun music. In 1972, the teenage accordionist of the Lake Charles Sundown Playboys wondered what the Beatles’ reaction would be to their regional hit, “Saturday Night Special,” and mailed a 45 to Apple Records. The UK imprint not only dug it but licensed the rousing instrumental from Swallow Records, and it became a hit of sorts across Europe.

By 1980, Savant found himself helming the crackerjack Louisiana Playboys that included such notables as former Iry LeJeune sideman Orsy Vanicor, Randy Falcon and Joe Turner, the singing drummer. During their five-year run, they released their only domestic LP in 1982, now re-released on a CD that still sizzles. It’s classic Cajun dancehall fare at its finest with selections culled from the canon of LeJeune, Sidney Brown and Aldus Roger. The musicianship led by Savant’s sterling playing and steel ace Vanicor’s riveting rides is nothing less than top notch. In between Falcon’s walking bass lines, the Savant-Turner rhythm section kicks the first beat of every measure so hard and deep into your chest, you begin to wonder if you really do need a pacemaker. Whether it’s lung-wheezing two-steps or stately mid-tempo waltzes, Savant’s Louisiana’s Playboys maintain a solid, even flow with one ride melding into the next.