D.L. Menard | Cajun musician, 85

D.L. Menard, 85, the Cajun musician whose song "The Back Door" became an anthem for his culture and carried him to 38 countries on State Department tours, died Thursday at the home where he lived with his granddaughter Nelda Menard in Scott, La., according to the Louisiana Funeral Services & Crematory in Broussard website.

Including covers by other artists, the Cajun French song has sold more than a million copies over the decades, according to Floyd Solieau, whose Swallow Record Co. released "La Porte en Arriere" as a single in July 1962.

Mr. Menard became a goodwill ambassador for Cajun music and culture, the heritage of people who settled in the bayou country of south Louisiana after being expelled from Acadia in French Canada 250 years ago. Speaking with the Associated Press in late June, he said the resurgence of Cajun culture in the last few decades made him feel "terrific. Because that was us. It was us."

"The Back Door" is a jaunty ditty about a man who gets so drunk he sneaks home through the back door.

Mr. Menard performed for the last time in public at a July 2 tribute to him and the song's 55th anniversary in Erath, his hometown. Though he had to be helped across the stage and he performed from a wheelchair, his voice was still firm and strong.

Mr. Menard's albums were twice nominated for Grammy Awards. He's in the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame and the Cajun Music Hall of Fame, and in 1994 he was named a national heritage fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts. - AP