Before the dawn of rock 'n' roll, the accordion ranked among North America's most popular instruments. Nearly every ethnicity on the continent played the squeezebox— Irish, Scottish, French, German, Eastern European, Jewish, and Latino. The instrument packed barn dances, jazz clubs, and recital halls. It was heard in cantinas on the Mexican frontier, Creole string bands in New Orleans, and Inuit square dances above the Arctic Circle. Portable, cheap, and loud, accordions became the soundtr...