Lee Benoit (born 1959) is an American Cajun musician from Rayne, Louisiana. Early life At the age of five, Benoit was given an electric organ by his grandmother (Cidalise), who raised him. He started to play Christmas songs on it, by ear. At the age of twelve, he started to play the electric guitar and formed a band. They played rock n' roll and were influenced by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Hank Williams and others. Benoit also learnt to play the bass guitar during his teenage years. In 1976, he joined the Marines as an Automated Data Processor. After leaving the Marines in 1979, he returned to education. In 1985, he became a nationally registered paramedic. He worked as a paramedic on an ambulance for seven years and then for another seven years on an oil platform. He continued to play rock and country music in his spare time. Inspiration and first recording At the age of 29, he was inspired to take up the accordion by hearing the Cajun performer Wayne Toups. Benoit fell in love with the instrument and playing Cajun music. He soon added Cajun songs to his set lists. In 1993, he signed to the Master-Trak label and in 1994 recorded his first CD (Avec Amis).: The album was nominated for "Best First Album" and "Valerie" was nominated for "Song of the Year" by the Cajun French Music Association. Performances, recordings and recognition After the success of his first album, he continued to record his own albums as well as contributing to several CDs by other musicians. In 1995, he recorded on Hadley J. Castille's "La Musique De Les Castilles". He also played on Hadley's "Forty Acres and Two Mules" album in 2000. He recorded with the group Les Amies Louisianaises on their La Musique Unique des Acadiens CD in 1997. Benoit played accordion and guitar on Doug Kershaw's "Two Step Fever" CD in 1999. He also co-produced and played guitar on Hunter Hayes "Through My Eyes" CD in 1999 and co-produced Hunter's second CD, "Make A Wish", in 2001. In 2002, he played accordion on Don Haynie & Sheryl Samuel's songs God Bless Louisiana and Country Tavern on Saturday Night. In 1998, he released his second album, "Live at Vermilionville" which was nominated in five categories by the Cajun French Music Association.: "Male Vocalist Of The Year", "Accordionist Of The Year", "Album Of The