"Rosetta" - Sons of Acadians

Jazz influenced plenty of swing tunes in Louisiana.   This was one of many.  

In the 1930s, the string band Happy Fats and the Rayne-Bo Ramblers had recorded several western swing tunes for Bluebird.  Their fiddle player, Oran "Doc" Guidry would influence their sound in a 1936 recording session.

By September 5, 1939, Guidry left the group and decided to record for David Kapp, Decca's A&R man. Decca wanted them to take hillbilly songs and convert them to french songs. There, his group, Sons of Acadians, recorded 12 tunes, one of the songs entitled "Rosetta" (#17052).   Many of the members had also left Happy Fats' Rayne Bo Ramblers.  The song (pronounced "rose EE ta") was a cover originally recorded by jazz pianist Earl Hines in 1933 with his orchestra.

Daily Advertiser
Nov 1, 1939

Rosetta, ma rosetta,

Dans mon cœur, chère, y a personne autre que toi.

Tu m'as dit que tu m'aimais,

Quand même quitté pour t'en aller avec un autre.

T'as fait tout ma vie un rêve,

Près tu fais ça venir tout vrai.

Rosetta, ma rosetta,

Dis donc, chère, que moi j'suis le  seul pour toi.

T'as fait tout ma vie un rêve,

Près, tu fais ça venir tout vrai.

Rosetta, ma rosetta,

Dis donc, chère, que moi j'suis le  seul pour toi.

Warren Storm and Doc Guidry

Doc's version, sung in French, is a typical western swing tune backed by musicians, Roscoe Whitlow, distant cousin Sidney Guidry of the Alley Boys of Abbeville, and Nathan Guidry.  At some point, his brother Nason and cousin Ray joined the group.  Doc's swinging fiddle style really shines on this tune.  Listed as Dallas, TX, Doc's son would later explain the recording was actually done in Houston, Texas at the Rice Hotel.  

Rosetta, my Rosetta, 

In my heart, dear, there is noone other than you. 

You told me you loved me, 

Still, you went away with another. 

You've made my life a dream 

In almost everything you do, it comes true. 

Rosetta, my Rosetta, 

Tell me, dear, that I'm the only one for you. 

You've made my life a dream 

In almost everything you do, it comes true. 

Rosetta, my Rosetta, 

Tell me, dear, that I'm the only one for you. 

During his campaign, Jimmie Davis had Doc play music at his campaign rallies, including the 1959 and 1971 primaries.   Because of Doc's popularity, he used his music as a representative of the local area, even playing on the Louisiana Hayride and Grand Ole Opry during the 1950s.   Later, he joined the group Happy, Doc and the Boys and they would be the first to record for J.D. Miller's Fais Do Do label at Cosimo Matassa’s New Orleans studio.  

In the 1960s, Doc played with Vin Bruce for Swallow Records and then with Dewey Balfa and Rufus Thibodeaux in the 1970s. 

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