Not long after Ann Savoy relocated to Eunice, Louisiana, following her marriage to musician and accordion builder Marc Savoy, the Richmond, Virginia native became so enraptured by Cajun and Creole music, that the only logical thing to do was document it. And thus, in 1980, a journey began that would last a lifetime.

Savoy visited and interviewed Cajun and Creole musicians in their homes, usually with young children in tow; she got to know them, obtained their stories, shared their music an...