"Five Foot Five" - Bill Hutto

Country artists commonly used Cajun musicians to fill in the ranks as their talent and popularity grew.  As Cajun musicians looked to other bands in order to keep playing, east Texas would provide country music stars looking to record songs around south Louisiana.  During the 1950s, George "Bill" Hutto landed in the J.D. Miller studio and recorded six country tunes, with many of Happy Fat's band members, including Oran "Doc" Guidry, a Cajun fiddle player.  One of his first tunes he recorded was a swingy number called "Five Foot Five" (#1021) for Feature records.   According to Ron Yule, the Sons of the South consisted of several Cajun musicians: Curtis DeLoach on drums, Sandy Lormand on guitar, Bradley Stutes on steel guitar, and Jack Richards on tenor sax.  The group lasted till 1951. 

She's my five foot five,

And boy oh boy, is she alive

She makes me blue, she makes me sad,

But she's the prettiest gal I've ever had,

She's my five foot five.

She can make my heart pitty pat,

She never wants a new dress or a new hat,

She just wants what I can give, baby,

She's my five foot five.

She's my number one,

The only gal for me beneath the sun,

Bill Hutto

And when we go out at night,

She cuddles up close and holds me tight,

She's my five foot five.

She can make my heart pitty pat,

She never wants a new dress or a new hat,

She just wants what I can give, baby,

She's my five foot five.

Rayne Tribune
July 20, 1951

Hillbilly music had always been Miller's favorite music and it was not a difficult decision in leaving his Fais Do Do label to promote his Feature label.  Happy Fats recalls how Bill was slated to play for the Louisiana Hayride one year, however, the owner of Shreveport Syrup, who was backing Happy and Doc's broadcast, had spent a lot of money on the duo and decided otherwise. He would eventually record with Eddie Shuler's Goldband label. Happy recalls:

We stayed on the show in place of poor Bill Hutto which I wasn't glad of because he was a nice boy and everything.  Be they invited us back and we went back several times.5 

Back in Orange, TX, he hosted a television show, in the 1950s, titled "The Bill Hutto Show". In the US Army, he became Personnel Management Specialist with the rank of Staff Sergeant. His assignments included tours of Greenland, Germany, and various posts in the United States.  He later retired from the US Army and was a member of the Disabled American Veterans. He was also a member of the Amateur Ham Radio Club. 

1. South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous By John Broven
2. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txorange/Vital/obits/huttogeorgebill.html
3. Negotiating Difference in French Louisiana Music: Categories, Stereotypes By Sara Le Menestrel
4. http://www.bopping.org/happy-fats-leroy-leblanc-his-rayne-bo-ramblers-louisiana-extraordinaire-1935-1967/
5. Cajun Breakdown: The Emergence of an American-Made Music By Ryan Andre Brasseaux

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