A unique window into the world of Cajun music between 1928 and 1965. Compiled histories from websites, books, news articles, liner notes, and interviews. Most come from my personal 78 collection. Also covering Creole, Cajun-Country, and Cajun swing.
Before the arrival of the Acadians in 1764, Louisiana had a fair share of Frenchmen that arrived and resided along the Mississippi River as explorers, either from New France provinces near the Great Lakes or as French soldiers stationed along the river in places such as Natchez, Pointe Coupee, and New Orleans. Many of these Frenchmen would travel westward, away from the flooded watershed and find farming opportunities in the prairies of present-day St. Landry and Evangeline Parishes. They carried with them the songs of French European life. By the end of the Napoleonic Era, more Frenchman would settle in south Louisiana, bringing with them other European melodies alongside Appalachian tunes pouring into the region. Accordionist John H. Bertrand, of St. Landry parish, grew up exposed to these songs by his daughter who learned them from his mother, Nora Boone. In 1929, he had the rare opportunity to record these seminal songs on wax alongside guitar player Roy Gonzales and his fiddling son, Anthony.
Un jour en me promenant dessus le pont de Nantes,
J'ai rencontré la belle et j'ai voulu l'embrasser,
Hélas, le tribunal m'a rendu prisonnier.
Et quand ma belle a eu de mes nouvelles,
Elle s'était habillée dedans une grande robe noire,
Et droit dans la prison, la belle est bien allée.
...
Crowley Daily Signal Jul 5, 1929
Bertrand's songs like "Le Pond de Nante" (#12776) is a loose interpretation of a classic classic old world French song from Brittany called "Dans les prisons de Nantes". According to Wikipedia, it's a song featuring the story of the jailer 's daughter who helps a prisoner escape from a prison in Nantes. It can be found almost everywhere in the French-speaking world thanks to the sailors going up the Loire or to the exiles who arrived in New France. This particular story is of a lost love that dressed as a page, in a dark robe, pretending to be a man. She begs the prison guards to let her in to see her lover. Once in, she hands her lover the clothes, directs him to her horse, and instructs him to escape to freedom.1
John Bertrand may have been one of the more obscure artists during the early Cajun recording era, but his music seems to have had earlier origins than many of the Cajun folk songs of the time. His mother, Nora Boone, recalled and recited many French folk songs her family had passed down from Europe. Each one possessed a different theme and melody in which Bertrand translated into an accordion-led melody.
Bonsoir mes bonnes gens,
Si c'eût été possible,
De me loger ce soir,
Pour moi soyez sensibles,
Pour moi soyez sensibles.
Puisque ne pouvant pas,
Ici vous satisfaire,
Voyez notre maison,
N'est qu'un lieu si petit,
N'est qu'un lieu si petit.
Allez dans un village,
Vous trouverez un logis,
Allez dans un village,
Vous trouverez un logis.
Comment vous refusez,
À un soldat fatigué,
Qui devient moi-même,
Qui devient moi-même.
Et votre fils enfin,
Se trouverait dans ses bras,
Où vos dures satisfactions,
Vos maudites satisfactions.
À tout moment que je finis,
Vous m'arrachez les âmes,
Je vois bien qui les mange,
Dans les années souffrantes,
Dans les années souffrantes.
Reconnaissez-moi ma main,
Si je viens chez moi mince,
La mort ne parle pour moi,
Mais j'aime toujours la vie,
Mais j'aime toujours la vie.
Mais mon bras c'est une méthode,
Et toi ma chère amie,
Je vis toujours pour toi,
Avec un espoir immense,
Avec un espoir immense.
19th century French soldier Image by Alexandr Sidorov
Having teamed up with Acadia Parish guitarist and yodeler Roy Gonzales, John brought along his son Anthony and the trio headed to Chicago in the winter of 1929 where they recorded "Le Soldat Fatigue" (#12763). Songs like this may have come from French nursery rhymes similar to "Pauvre Soldat" commonly sung in France. In this piece, the song describes an old soldier looking for a place to sleep. He is refused a the first place and told to go to another town. Many of these Old World songs have their origins during the Napoleon Era.
Release Info: 21248-2 La Fille Du Jolier (The Jailor's Daughter) | Paramount 12763-A 21251-2 Le Soldat Fatigue (The Tired Soldier) | Paramount 12763-B Find: John Bertrand / Blind Uncle Gaspard / Delma Lachney Early American Cajun Music (Yazoo, 1999)
In the summer of 1929, Opelousas jewelry store owner, Frank Dietlein2 negotiated a recording deal for Leo Soileau and Paramount Records. Crowley native Roy Gonzales, who sang French interpretations of Jimmie Rodgers songs, went along for the ride with an old four-string guitar. Paramount expected them to perform, having invested $700 to transport them on a fast mail train to Indiana.1 When Gonzales arrived at the studios in July of 1929, he had a change of heart and pleaded with the producers not to record. The record executives insisted , and the Louisiananian produced six Cajun adaptations of tunes popularized by Jimmie Rodgers, including "Anuiant Et Bleu" (#1456), better known as "Lonely and Blue".1
Ennuyé et bleu, et mon coeur cassé,
Personne pour me contenter, chère,
Tu m'as laissé seul, t'as parti chez toi,
Pourquoi tu voyages, ma chère fille?
T'as promis toi t'étais juste pour moi,
Et toi et moi t'aurais jamais laissé,
Tu m'as pas écouté, tu m'as laissé,
Peut être un jour tu viendras.
(yodel)
Tu crois tu saurais je m'ennuie de toi,
Que moi je t'aime pour toujours,
Peut être tu dirais "Un jour je m'en reviendrai",
Mais, j'ai laissé seul chez toi, chère.
T'as promis (que) t'aurais été que pour moi,
Et toi et moi t'aurais jamais laissé,
Tu m'as pas écouté et tu m'as laissé,
Peut être un jour tu reviendras.
(yodel)
Clarion News July 18, 1929
Gonzales approached the microphone, four-stringed guitar in hand and proceeded to strum through several familiar Rodgers-styled blues. The accomplished vocalist confidently swung his warm vibrato-laden baritone through the material, embellishing his vocal with yodeling.1
Lonely and blue, and my heart is broken,
Noone to make me happy, dear,
You left me alone, you went back home,
Why did you roam, my dear girl?
You promised you were just for me,
And you'd never leave me,
You didn't listen, you left me,
Maybe one day you will return.
(yodel)
You think you know that I will miss you,
That I'll love you forever,
Maybe you would say, "Someday I'll return"
Well, I left your house alone, dear.
You promised me you would have been only for me,
And you, you'd never leave me,
You did not listen to me and you left me,
Maybe one day you'll come back.
At the same session, Roy also sang a variation of Jimmie Rodgers' "Blue Yodel" entitled "Choctaw Beer Blues". It was a tune that he recorded earlier with John Bertrand, but it ended up becoming un-issued by Paramount. Named after the famed beer of Oklahoma's native Americans, a portion of the song was attributed to orchestra band leader and neighbor, Joe Rivet. Rivet was a trumpeter from Iberville Parish, and traveled with his band in places such as New Orleans, Shreveport, Lake Charles, Lafayette, and spots in east Texas such as Port Arthur, Longview, and Nacogdoches.5 After playing in Herman Scallan's group in the 1920s, he formed his own group. Even Harry James' saxophonist and trumpeter Claude Lakey filled in.4 Roy joined his group playing drums and eventually they settled in Alexandria. Known as Joe Rivet and his Castle Garden band, you could catch their show billed as "Swing and Sweat with Joe Rivet".3 Gonzales and Rivet remained playing until the 1950s.
Rayne Tribune Jul 26, 1935
If you're from Mobile, what are you doing down here,
If you're from Mobile, baby what you doing down here,
I'm just messing around, drinking good ole Choctaw beer.
(yodel)
I'm going up the country, but I sure can't take you,
I'm going up the country, but I sure can't take you,
There's nothing up there that an ugly woman can do.
(yodel)
Now, a dog run a rabbit, he run for a thousand miles,
Boy, a dog run a rabbit, run it for a thousand miles,
A rabbit broke down and busted our good time.
(yodel)
There's one thing in this world, I can't understand,
Well there's one thing in this world, baby I can't understand,
It's why an ugly woman always picks a bow-legged man.
(yodel)
Now, blues and trouble, they ramble hand in hand,
Oh, blues and trouble, they ramble hand in hand,
You ain't never had no trouble till you marry a no-good man.
NOTE: In Tony Russell's Paramount liner notes, he makes no mention of Frank Dietlein. Instead, he mentions Winter Lemoine of Opelousas as the agent in which Gonzales contacted Paramount
The Town Talk from Alexandria, Louisiana. January 1, 1987.
Some of the best Cajun music was inspired by artists of other genres. In 1929, Roy Gonzales recorded a series of memorable, though mostly long unavailable sides for Paramount that translated Jimmie Rodgers songs into Acadian French.1 Rodger's "T For Texas" was reworked into Roy's "Un Fussi Qui Brille" or "A Shiny Rifle" or "A Rifle That Shines" for Paramount records (#12807). It was a song he had previously recorded with John H. Bertrand earlier that year in Chicago called "Je Veux M'Ahete Un Fuse Qui Brille" or "I Want A Rifle That Shines".
Je veux m'acheter un fusil avec une canon qui brille,
oh j’veux m'acheter un fusil avec un canon qui brille,
et je vais, sûr, tuer un homme qui a volé ma fille. (yodel)
Garde-donc ici, chère, garde-donc ça t’as fais,
Oh, garde ici chère, garde-donc ça t’as fais,
Tu m’as fais t’aimer, là tu veux même plus. (yodel)
Quand je t’ai pris chez toi chère, tu marchais pieds nus,
Quand je t’ai pris chez toi chère, tu marchais pieds nus,
J’ai arrivé juste à temps pour pas tu m’as connu. (yodel)
J’suis parti dans le Texas et je peux sûr pas t’amener,
Oh j’suis parti dans le Texas et je peux sûr pas t’amener,
ça fait rien (de bon) pour une fille (qui vient).
(yodel)
La maison dedans, chère, c'est dur pas pour toi,
La maison dedans, chère, c'est dur pas pour toi,
Et l’homme qu’est devant moi, j'vas lui montrer que c'est pour moi.
(yodel)
Starr Piano Company
The plaintiveness of the vocals and the French yodels require no understanding of the language to provoke emotional involvement, the way many French speakers responded to hearing Jimmie's original records.1 It's a story about the singer protecting his love interest, even at the barrell of a gun. He states "c'est dur pas pour toi" meaning, "it's not hard for you", however, he wants his love interest to not fear living at the house while he holds back a man with his rifle. He arrived at the Gennett Recording Studio, Starr Piano Company Building, Whitewater Gorge Park, Richmond, Indiana on the same day while Leo Soileau and Moise Robin were gearing up for their own Cajun recording session. Roy sang, yodeled and played guitar and became friends with Leo. His fascination with Jimmie Rodgers may have been due to Leo having met Jimmie the previous year.
Clarion News July 18, 1929
I want to buy a gun with a barrel that shines,
Oh, I want to buy a gun with a barrel that shines,
And I will, surely, kill a man who stole my daughter.
(yodel)
So, look here, dear, look at what you've done,
Oh, look here, dear, look at what you've done,
You made me love you, now, I want you even more.
(yodel)
When I took you home, you walked barefoot,
When I took you home, you walked barefoot,
I arrived just in time, for you didn't remember me.
(yodel)
I have left for Texas and I surely can't bring you,
Oh, I left for Texas and I surely can't bring you,
It's nothing good for a girl who comes along.
(yodel)
In the house, dear, there's nothing to worry about,
In the house, dear, there's nothing to worry about,
And that man in front of me, I'll show him that (the gun), it's for me.
Roy's jazz-playing brother, Tony, would join Leo Soileau's Cajun string band as the first Cajun drummer. In his later years, Roy would end up gambling his money away through horse racing and died a very poor man.2
Meeting Jimmie Rodgers : How America's Original Roots Music Hero Changed the ... By Journalist Barry Mazor
John H. Bertrand was born in Prairie Ronde, a small district near Opelousas, Louisiana. He worked primarily as a blacksmith and taught himself the accordion while in his teens. After a spell away from the Opelousas area he and his family returned in 1924 and settled in a small community, L’Anse Aux Pailles. The young Milton Pitre lived next door and he would back Bertrand at his first session for Paramount in what is thought to have been January 1929. He traveled to Chicago twice in 1929 to record for Paramount Records; first time with guitarist Milton Pitre and the second time with guitarist Roy Gonzales and fiddle player Anthony Bertrand. At the time, Pitre would have been around twenty. In a macabre echo of the murder of Mayeus La Fleur, just a few weeks after this recording debut, Pitre was shot dead in an argument over a woman. John and Milton are most known for the song "The Rabbit Stole The Pumpkin" which would influence two more well-known songs in years to come: Iry Lejeune's "I Went To The Dance" and Lawrence Walker's "Johnny Can't Dance".
Tout autour des "tanks" d'eau après attend' pour un train,
De mille miles de chez moi dans une place qu'est bien vilain.
J'ai monté de voir le conducteur, j'lui ai fait deux ou trois pas,
Il m'a dit si tu as d'l'argent, je vois que tu marches pas.
J'ai pas cinq sous dans ma poche, j'ai rien que j'peux montrer,
Tu peux descendre mon vieux bougre, il m'a fait me dépêcher.
(Yodel)
Ils m'ont fait descendre dans l'Texas, une Etat que j'aime bien,
J'ai r'gardé autour de moi, mais j'voyais pas le train.
Personne ne voulait pas y me donner un coup d'main,
Tu t'en sors (?) mon vieux hobo, dépêche prend ton ch'min.
En poche mon livre était bien vide et mon cœur était en peine,
J'suis mille miles de chez moi pour attendre toujours un train.
(Yodel)
John Bertrand
The recording is extremely rough and any translation is bound to be a guess at best. Bertrand's style represents an unusual byway of Cajun music that is softer and more introspective than most other styles. In March or April 1929 Bertrand was invited back for another Paramount session. With the death of Pitre, he appointed Roy Gonzales as back-up guitarist. Gonzales' unique yodeling style would imitate Jimmie Rogers which was popular during the era. It's one of the few Cajun recordings containing yodeling.
All around the water tanks, I'm waiting for a train,
A thousand miles from home in a place that is very shabby.
I came up to see the driver who was two or three steps away,
He said "If you got money, boy, I'll see that you don't walk",
I don't have five cents in my pocket, I have nothing to show,
"Get off old chap!" He made me leave quickly.
(Yodel)
They made me go down to Texas, a state that I like,
I looked around me, but I could not see the train,
Nobody wanted to give me a helping hand,
You go away, old hobo, hurry along,
In my book bag was empty and my heart was in pain,
I'm a thousand miles from my house forever waiting for a train.
(Yodel)
How the two came to work together is unclear but from the two numbers included here, the partnership appears to have worked well. During this second and final recording session, John and Roy record the song "Attendre Pour Un Train" for Paramount (#12762). The song is a Cajun french verison of Jimmie Rogers' "Waiting For A Train". Roy, a native of Crowley, Louisiana, was good friends with fiddler Leo Soileau. It's possible the fiddle player on this song is Leo however, it's still unknown. They would later team up, travelling together with Moise Robin to record for Paramount in Richmond, Indiana during the summer of 1929. During this session, Roy would re-record "Attendre Pour Un Train" (#12807), this time, by himself.
