"Gabriel Waltz" - Happy, Doc And The Boys

From 1946 to 1959, J.D. Miller released all forms of French language records, from the beautiful fiddle and guitar records of Oran 'Doc' Guidry and Leroy 'Happy Fats' Leblanc to the raucous recordings of Robert Bertrand and the Lake Charles Playboys.  It was between 1946 and 1948, when Miller decided to work with Happy Fats and record some of the first Cajun-country music after WWII.  Miller recalls:

We founded the M&S Electric company and we were doing industrial work on the rice mills.  All of it was heavier-type work, industrial and commercial.  I rented a building to house our company, but it was such a large building it looked bare with what we had invested.  There was so much room, I took an idea to put a little music and record shop in it.3 

So we bought a few records and a guitar or two...strings.  We put in a few records and the jukebox owners started buying records from my store.  Many of the customers, because they were predominantly Cajun at the time, wanted Cajun records.  They had a couple of Harry Choates records on the market and few other things, but apart from that, try as hard as I could, I couldn't obtain any.  So I got the idea I'm gonna make some, and I didn't know where to turn to go to a studio. Then I found they had a studio in New Orleans, the only studio in Louisiana: Cosimo Matassa's.3

J.D. Miller

Miller went to Cosimo Matassa's fledgling J&M Recording studio in New Orleans between 1946 and 1947 and recorded singer Happy Fats with fiddler Doc Guidry and singer Louis Noel.  Happy told radio interviewer Dave Booth:

We did a French thing and a country thing.1 

Gabriel avais de mon parrain,

Madeleine, c’était ma marraine,

Gabriel, il était pas beau,

Madeleine, elle valait pas mieux.

Gabriel avait de beau chapeau,

Madeleine avait (z)un beaux souliers,

Gabriel avait de beau chapeau,

C’est dommage il avait pas de calotte.

Gabriel avait de beaux souliers,

Madeleine avait (z)un beau chapeau,

Madeleine avait (z)un beau chapeau,

C’est dommage il avait pas de calotte.

Gabriel avait de belle calotte,

Madeleine avait (z)un beau chaussette,

Madeleine avait (z)un belle chaussette,

C’est dommage il était déchiré.

Gabriel avait de beaux souliers,

Madeleine avait (z)un beau chapeau,

Madeleine avait (z)un beaux souliers,

C’est dommage c’était des "tennis shoes".

Louis Noel

It turns out they recorded six songs total, one of them being "Gabriel Waltz" (#1000).  It was an old French folk ballad, associated with children's nursery rhyme.  The 1947 melody has origins in Leo Soileau's 1937 "Valse D'Amour", with the smooth fiddle rides by Oran "Doc" Guidry.  In addition was Happy Fats on guitar, Jack Leblanc on guitar and Dalton Delcambre on steel guitar.  To round out the group, Happy picked up a budding guitarist from St. Landry parish known as Louis Noel.   Louis' daughter recalled: 

Louis decided to give up farming and try his luck as a musician.  He landed a spot at KSLO in Opelousas.  He did some "hand me down" songs like "La Cravat" and "Gabriel Waltz".4

Miller's early releases had the letter 'F' in the catalog number to signify a French recording, specifically Cajun French, while the letter 'E' signified and English recording, specifically a country song.   Therefore, Miller's early pressings contain multiple uses of numbers.

Crowley Daily Signal
Oct 13, 1949

Gabriel was my godfather,

Madeleine, she was my godmother,

Gabriel, he was not handsome,

Madeleine, she was no better.

Gabriel had a nice hat,

Madeleine had nice shoes,

Gabriel had a nice hat,

It's a shame, he had no overshoes.

Gabriel had beautiful shoes,

Madeleine had a nice hat,

Madeleine had a nice hat,

It's a shame, he had no overshoes.

Gabriel had a nice cap,

Madeleine had nice socks,

Madeleine had nice socks,

It's a shame, they were torn.

Gabriel had beautiful shoes,

Madeleine had a nice hat,

Madeleine had nice shoes,

It's a shame, it was tennis shoes.

In 1957, Bobby Bourke from Avery Island would record the tune during a field session for the Ethnic Folkways Library's I. Bonstein.   Later, Austin Pitre's "Valse d'Amour" would re-issue the melody and Nathan Abshire would rework the tune as "Gabriel Waltz" later.

1. Slim Harpo: Blues King Bee of Baton Rouge By Martin Hawkins
2. Yé Yaille Chère! by Raymond Francois
3. Record Makers and Breakers: Voices of the Independent Rock 'n' Roll Pioneers By John Broven
4. Discussions with Karl W
5. Lyrics by Marc C

Release Info:
La Cravat | Fais Do Do F-1000-A
Gabriel Waltz | Fais Do Do F-1000-B

Find:
Acadian All Star Special - The Pioneering Cajun Recordings Of J.D. Miller (Bear, 2011)

"Sugar Cane Festival" - Happy Fats

Leroy "Happy Fats" Leblanc recorded early in the Cajun music genre.  His band, the Raynebo Ramblers, had several releases in 1935 with RCA Victor.  Later, his music focused on hillbilly and country styles.  Occasionally, he'd have different people on vocals for different songs, including Bob Terry and Al Terry.  Leblanc recorded and played with many Cajun musicians and while he was influenced by Cajun culture, his music would more align with country hillbilly music which had gained popularity among southerners in Louisiana.

Happy Fats

The Bella label was created by John Pusateri out of San Jose, California.  John, a native of Franklin, Louisiana, had moved to San Jose in the 1920s but kept close contact with musicians in south Louisiana.  He produced and created a wealth of great music, mostly doo-wop in the 1950s. He was also a prolific writer and composer for other labels as well.  According to his John's grandson:

Sugar Cane Festival was one of John Pusateri's songs.  I have records of my mother singing that song when she was a teenager in the 1940s.

Hank Williams and John Pusateri

By 1952, he had met Pusateri and recorded 4 songs, one of them which was "Sugar Cane Festival" (#BPT-2).  Sugar cane is one of many strong, vibrant agricultural crops in the low lying marsh areas of south Louisiana.  The song refers to the annual Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival held in New Iberia, Louisiana located along the Bayou Teche near the town in which Pusateri grew up. Happy and John were good friends for many years.  John also wrote others for Happy's recordings, including "Bayou Man" and was currently working on Hank Williams' biography when he suddenly passed away. 

Although the recordings were slated to be recorded in California, they were done in Houston at the ACA studio to have them in time for the New Iberia sugar cane festival.  

Rayne Tribune
Sep 12, 1952

Down where the beautiful Bayou Teche flows,

There's a place I know I'm longing to go,

From far away, they all come down to see,

The fun and the frolic in the bayou country.

Oh, Sugar Cane Festival, Sugar Cane Festival,

Yonder way down the bayou,

Sugar Cane Festival, Sugar Cane Festival,

Yonder way down the bayou.

Sound of the cane ring clear on the air,

The folks are in laughter and heard everywhere,

Troubles are over and praises are high,

And even the sun seems to shine in the sky.

Queen as she reigns on her thrown for a day,

The boys in their vests are all dancing and gay,

Sugar is fine, molassis is flowing,

The whole bayou country's like a bird in the wind.

Father he blesses the fruits of land,

for friends, for all, there's a welcoming hand,

the fun and the frolic, for the cane that is grown,

as sweet as the beautiful queen on her thrown.

Oh, Sugar Cane Festival, Sugar Cane Festival,

Yonder way down the bayou,

Sugar Cane Festival, Sugar Cane Festival,

Yonder way down the bayou.

His musical groups contained many members, which came in and out, including names such as Happy Fats and the Southerners and Happy Fats and his Bayou Buckaroos. Happy Fats made personal appearances with Tex Ritter, Alan Lane and Hank Williams, and was featured several times on the world famous Louisiana Hayride.  This spontaneous Houston session had Happy Fats, Al Terry, Bobby Terry, Curley Doucet, Doc Guidry, and Jack Leblanc. 

In 1956, since recording companies were recording music elsewhere, Leblanc had to seek employment outside music, mostly due to the influence of rock n roll.  

1. South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous By John Broven
2. Billboard Magazine, May 23, 1953
3. http://www.hillbilly-music.com/artists/story/index.php?id=12840
4. Discussions with Billy D.