"Le Grande Texas" - The Singing Frenchman

East Texas and south Louisiana music have always had a close relationship even during the earliest years.  The first U.S. census in Texas in 1850 found 600 "Franco-Louisianans" between Orange and Houston.  In the late 19th century, two factors brought an increased movement of Cajuns into Texas. One was the need for workers to cultivate rice in Southeast Texas. Another was the labor force needed on the Southern Pacific Railroad line that ran from the Sabine River to Houston. The discovery of the massive oilfield in Southeast Texas forever changed the ethnic makeup of the area as Louisiana Cajuns streamed into Texas to work in the burgeoning oil industry.2   It was this influx of Cajuns and their accompanying music that influenced a very young accordion player from Beaumont, Texas named Johnny William “J. W.” Billiot.  

Tu m'as quitté pour t'en aller à le Grand Texas,

Tu m'as quitté toi tout seul (z)à Grand Texas,

Criminelle comment je va faire, mais, moi tout seul ?

Tu m'as quitté pour t'en aller, pour t'en aller.

Tu m'as quitté pour t'en aller,

Pour t'en aller, toi tout seul, (z)à Grand Texas.

Criminelle comment je va faire, mais, moi tout seul ?

Tu m'as quitté pour t'en aller, pour t'en aller.

You left me to go,

To go to big Texas by yourself,

Oh please, come back here, to me, my darling,

Oh, I'm so lonesome by myself.

KTRM, Beaumont, 1950
Nick Guidry, Bessie "Grace" Billiot,
Johnny Billiot, Joe Trum, Lloyd Gilbert
Courtesy of Billiot Family

Johnny's mother died in the pneumonia epidemic of 1916 when he was 14 months old and for several of his early years, the father and son lived on a houseboat while his dad was a trapper, moonshine runner, and alligator hunter.   Over the years, he'd borrow his godfather's accordion and learn to play Cajun tunes, eventually earning a living in the dance-halls1  His daughter recalled, 

As children we were at dance-halls with him every weekend because he was playing music. He played music at many home parties. Johnny had a very large presence, known to be a great showman. Music was his life-long love. He would play for anyone that asked him and many times for a cause.1 

As lead accordionist and vocalist, Johnny assembled a group with his wife Grace on backup vocals, Bill Guillory on fiddle, Billy Rayon on guitar, Nick Guidry on fiddle, Lloyd Gilbert on guitar and Bill Guidry on guitar. He played throughout the Golden Triangle and Louisiana at numerous clubs including Yvonne's, the Hayseed, Breezeway Inn (High Island), and Pine Tree Lodge in Texas, and the Big Oaks and a club in St. Martinsville in Louisiana. 

You left me to go away to big Texas,

You left me, you're all alone in big Texas,

It's terrible, how am I going to do this, well, all by myself?

You left me to go away, to go away.

You left me to go away,

We went away, you're all alone, in big Texas,

It's terrible, how am I going to do this, well, all by myself?

You left me to go away, to go away.

From about 1948 into the '50s, he played a daily 15 minute radio show with announcer Joe Trum on KTRM in Beaumont. Daughter Johnnie Mae thinks it was during this time when Johnny got the moniker "The Singing Frenchman".1   By 1949, the group occasionally found themselves playing gigs further east in Sulphur. There, his band covered a recently popular swing tune by Chuck Guillory's band called "Le Grand Texas" (#6042) during a DeLuxe session with Joe Lieberwitz.  Originally recorded as "Big Texas" by Papa Cairo in 1948, it has a long history dating back to an old melody first recorded in 1929.

1. Cajun Dancehall Heyday by Ron Yule
2. http://texasalmanac.com/topics/culture/cajun-texans

Release Info:

D 997 Valse De Beaumont | DeLuxe 6043

D 998 Le Grande Texas | DeLuxe 6042

"Valse De Beaumont" - Singing Frenchman

With the success of licensing the re-release of Harry Choates' Jole Blon, the New Jersey label DeLuxe found themselves curious about future of Cajun music and the possibilities it had for it's struggling label.   On a tour of the area, company A&R scout Joe Lieberwitz discovered the Hackberry Ramblers, Happy Fats and a relatively unknown Texan billed as the "Singing Frenchman".1   

Named Johnny William “J. W.” Billiot, he and his wife Bessie "Grace" lived in the Beaumont area.  Born in Hamshire, Texas, he and his father moved to Louisiana for about a year where Johnny attended school.  He had a “larger than life” personality, and is described by relatives as a showman who loved the music and had a lot of rhythm in his music. He played the fiddle and piano in addition to the accordion. His nephew Joseph recalls, 

“He bought an accordion at a hock shop on Pearl (Street) in downtown Beaumont. He and my father (Antone) added another leaf (bellow) where he could pull it out real far. They did this to all his accordions.”1 

Hé, petite, moi j'connais, chère,

J’ai parti de la belle pour m’en (aller) à grand Texas.

Hé, chère, j’ai pleuré, petite,

(Qui) t’as fait à ton vieux nègre, c’est pas longtemps.

Hé, petite, j'ai parti, chère,

Parti de la belle pour m’en (aller) à grand Texas.

The Singing Frenchman
Johnny Billiot, George Jones (behind),
Billy Rayon, Bill Guillory

After the oil economy boomed in the 1930s, Beaumont was a hotbed of Cajun influence and activity.  So many of the Cajuns have settled in the southeastern corner of Texas known as the "Golden Triangle" of Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange that the area has been referred to as the "Lapland", where Cajun culture overlaps into Texas.2  As lead accordionist and vocalist, Johnny assembled a group with his wife Grace on backup vocals, Bill Guillory on fiddle, Billy Rayon on guitar, Nick Guidry on fiddle, Lloyd Gilbert on guitar and Bill Guidry on guitar.  By 1949, the group occasionally found themselves playing gigs further east in Sulphur.  Once, a radio show announcer, Joe Trum of KTRM, discovered his talents. It's believed he contacted DeLuxe records executive Joe Lieberwitz for this recording session.1  There, his band recorded "Valse de Beaumont" (#6045) as an ode to the town he was living in.

Hey, little girl, I know, dear,

I have left the beautiful one to go to big Texas.

Hey, dear, I've cried, little one,

Who, you've done this to your old man, it wasn't long ago.

Hey, little one, I've left, dear,

Left the beautiful one to go to big Texas.

1. Cajun Dancehall Heyday by Ron Yule
2. http://texasalmanac.com/topics/culture/cajun-texans
3. Lyrics by Jordy A