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.
Traîne-la Aisée! Musical Four Plus One had been one of many Cajun music groups around the mid 1950s to play and record around the Lake Charles area. Their recording of "Tran La Ezy" (#609) was a cover of Leo Soileau and Moise Robin melody popularly known as "Easy Rider Blues" recorded in 1929. Leo recalls the song,
That was, that was popular down here, boy. Very, very good.1
Eh, chère, mais, quoi t'as fais avec moi hier au soir,
Eh, 'tite fille, mais, quoi t'as fais avec moi hier au soir,
Tu m'as quitté pour un autre, c'est pas la peine tu viens, je veux plus te voir,
C'est pas le peine jamais tu viens, je veux plus te voir, ah négresse.
Tu t'en vas avec un autre, cher bébé, c'est pas la peine, je p(l)us te voir,
C'est pas la peine, je p(l)us te voir, yaille.
Musical Four Plus One Sidney Brown, Mickey Peshoff, Eddie Duhon Crawford Vincent, and Cleadis Mott
By 1951, the group consisted of Ellias Thibodeaux on accordino, Eddie Duhon on vocals and fiddle, Cleadis Mott on electric guitar, Charles Delaney on rhythm guitar, Eldridge ‘Coon’ Guidry on bass, and Clifton Newman on drums. Some bigger names went through the band including Sidney Brown and Crawford Vincent, who replaced Thibodeaux and Newman respectively.2
Hey, dear, well, why did you do that to me, last night,
Hey, little girl, well, why did you do that to me, last night,
You left me for another, it's not worth you returning, I don't want to see you anymore,
It's not worth you returning, I don't want to see you anymore, ah naughty woman.
Hey, dear, well, remember your poor old man,
Hey, little girl, well, remember your poor old man,
You're going away with another, dear baby, it's not worth it, I'll never see you,
It's not worth it, I'll never see you, yaille.
Cleadis Mott, Charlie Delaney
The misspelled title of the French saying "traîne-la aisée" can be directly translated to "drag along easily" but leans more with the meaning of "take it easy", "ride easy", or to "casually ride along", hinting at the connection to the original melody. Although, Eddie Duhon, the vocalist, changed the lyrics considerably, his fiddle rides followed the exact pattern Leo had laid down back in 1928.
Leo Soileau interview with Chris Strachwitz
Cajun Honky Tonk: The Khoury Recordings, Volume 1. David Sax. Liner notes.
Lyrics by Stephane F
Release Info: Chere Ami Waltz | Khoury's 609-A Tran La Ezy | Khoury's 609-B Chere Ami Waltz | Lyric 609-A Tran La Ezy | Lyric 609-B
J.B. Fuselier was a slender and probably fairly shy
man, who had joined young guitarist,
Beethoven Miller by the mid-1930s, in the band
known as Miller's Merrymakers. Fuselier never gained the wide popularity of
Leo Soileau or Luderin Darbone (of the Hackberry
Ramblers) but his classic way of playing
Cajun fiddle and his emotional singing style
made him locally well liked. J.B. Fuselier influenced many of
the musicians who followed him and he continued
to play and record until after World War
II.1
Hier au soir, j'ai bu du bon whisky,
J'ai bu du bon tout(e) la nuit, oui, ça fait de la peine.
L’était criminelle, mais, (quant meilleur)* pour moi-même.
Oh, aujourd'hui, m'en vais la captiver,
Écoute, viens voir ton nég, malheureux.
Daily World Oct 8, 1944
"La Valse de Rebot" (#2055), sometimes referred to as the "Drunkard's Waltz", seems to be an alternate take to Joe Falcon's "Madame Sosthene". While Preston Manuel filled in on rhythm guitar, Beethoven Miller's banjo can be heard quite distinctly, filling out the melody in the same manner. Preston recalls:
We made four recordings per session. Bluebird record's Eli Oberstein from New York would call us. Then we'd go to the St. Charles Hotel in New Orleans. We'd make records there.2
A ribote (mis-spelled here as "Rebot") is a drunken spree. In Cajun French, the common words used for "drunkard" are usually either soûlard or bambocheur, however, a habitual drunkard is referred to as a riboteur.
Last night, I drank good whiskey,
I drank well all night, yes, it's been painful.
Oh, pretty girl, well, give me the best, dear sweetheart,
It was criminal, well, saving the best for myself.
Leo Soileau was one of the pioneer fiddlers of recorded Cajun music. His recordings with the remarkable accordionist, Mayuse Lafleur, sold well locally, but some very traditional fiddle duets made with a cousin, Alius Soileau, did not sell as well. He also recorded a lot of blues and some jazzy numbers. As American pop music began making inroads into the prairies and along the bayous of Louisiana, Leo Soileau began recording songs in English, as well as country and pop songs translated into French! He was one of the first Cajun artists, along with the Hackberry Ramblers, to cross over and reach a wider English-speaking market, while keeping his young audience at home happy and dancing to the latest music.1
Ouais, mais, personne pour m'aimer,
Moi, je connais, ouais, ça fait pas rien, ouais,
Oh, non, mais, personne m'aime pas,
Ouais, ça fait (rien), mon nègre, chère.
Moi j'suis orphelin, ni mère ni père,
P'us personne pour (m') soigner,
Hé oui, je prends ça dur, chère,
P'us personne, ouais, pour m'aimer.
Oui, oui, oui, mon nègre,
Oh, mais, 'garde-donc à moi-même, chère,
Oh, ouais, ça fait pitié, chère,
Oh, ouais, toujours, moi tout seul.
Leo Soileau and his Rhythm Boys, 1944. George T-Chalk Duhon, Crawford Vincent, Leo Soileau, D.W. Bollie Thibodeaux, Desbra Fontenot Courtesy of the Johnnie Allan Collection UL Lafayette Center of Louisiana Studies
Soileau's influences came from many different places. "Personne M'aime Pas" was a French take-off of the popular song "Nobody's Darling But Mine" It must have been quite a sensation since Cleoma recorded the tune as "Pas La Belle De Personne Que Moi" that same year. It was translated from the song by Jimmie Davis, "Nobody's Darlin' But Mine." His band consisted of Julius ‘Papa Cairo’ Lamperez on steel guitar, Floyd Shreve on guitar, Tony Gonzales on drums, and probably Harold ‘Popeye’ Broussard on piano. Together, they headed to Dallas, Texas in December of 1937 for one of his last recordings.
Port Arthur News Dec 3, 1944
Yeh well, nobody loves me,
I know, yeh, it doesn't matter, yeh,
Oh, non, well, nobody loves me,
Yeh, it doesn't matter, my friend, darling.
I am an orphan, neither a mother nor father,
No one, yeh, to look after me,
Hey yeh, I'm taking this hard, dear,
No one, yeah, to love me.
Yes, yes, yes my friend,
Oh well, look at myself, dear,
Oh yeah, it's pitiful, dear,
Oh yeh, always alone.
Soileau remained active in the early '40s, recording with Leo Soileau's Rhythm Boys. Dropped by Decca when the label decided to stop recording Cajun musicians at the beginning of World War II, the group continued to perform at the Silver Star Club in Lake Charles for eight years. Shifting to the Showboat Club in Orange, TX, the band continued to play together for another two years. Although Soileau and the group appeared frequently on the radio, they never recorded again. In the late '40s, Soileau left music to work with his brothers in a general contracting firm in Ville Platte. He died in August 1980.2
J'ai Ete Au Bal Vol. 1. ARhoolie CD 331. Liner notes.
It's the Cajun version of "La Cucaracha" with the famous Dewey Balfa on vocals singing this Tex-Mex standard. Although the term 'rhumba' began to be used by American record companies to label all kinds of Latin music between 1913 and 1915, the history of rhumba as a specific form of ballroom music can be traced back to May 1930, when Don Azpiazú and his Havana Casino Orchestra recorded their song "El manisero" (The Peanut Vendor) in New York. The film "Rumba", released in 1935, brought the style to the attention of the general public. Between 1954 and 1957, southern bands were getting introduced to sounds of Cuba, creating a short lived "country mambo" sub-genre. With artists such as Tex Williams, Hanks Snow and Bob Wills, they recorded tunes such as "They Were Doin' The Mambo ", "That Crazy Mambo Thing ", and "Too Much Mambo".2
La cucaracha, la cucaracha, 'gardez-donc les cheveux de cet animal là.
J'aurais jamais cru, j'aurais jamais vu que sa maman l'avait jamais peigné.
La cucaracha, la cucaracha, 'gardez-donc la gueule à cet animal là.
J'aurais jamais cru, j'aurais jamais vu que sa maman l'avait jamais lavé.
1950 Altas Fruge, J.B. Fuselier, Nathan Abshire, Jim Baker, Preston Manuel
By the beginning of 1956, the rhumba was all the rage around Nashville. Several artist wrote songs about the tango, including Jimmie Rodgers' and Hank Snow's "The Rhumba Boogie" and Ernest Tubb & Red Foley's "Too Old To Tango".3 In July of 1957, Nathan's "Boora Rhumba" (#649) hit the market, attempting to jump into the rhumba craze that swept through country music. It didn't last long and neither did the interest in this song, making this one of the most obscure recordings by Abshire. Abshire's band at the time consisted of Dewey Balfa on vocals and fiddle and Jake Mier or Darius Leblanc on steel guitar, Junior Benoit on guitar, and Thomas Langley on percussion. The "animal" referred to here as "la cucaracha" by Balfa could be a euphemism for an unkempt woman.
La cucaracha, la cucaracha, look at the hair of this animal over there,
I can't believe that I've ever seen that her mom ever combed it.
La cucaracha, la cucaracha, look at the mouth of this animal over there,
I can't believe that I've ever seen that her mom ever washed it.
Why a would the term 'rhumba' have anything to do with this traditional Spanish-Mexican folk ballad? It was clear the band wasn't versed in the culture to know the difference. It probably didn't matter to Khoury either who was only interested in selling records, waiting to capitalize on this short lived market. It was pressed very late in his Cajun discography and done in such a rush, the labels on each side of #649 are reversed. He even used a different label color, most likely signifying he used a different pressing plant.
Introducing Louisiana-based Cajun music to outsiders was a risky endeavor. It could have gotten you boo-ed off stage or worse. Texas-influenced string band music was all the rage in Louisiana and not much cultural exposure was headed the other way. This didn't stop Lawrence Walker from trying. By 1935 he was recording Cajun tunes like "La Valse De Louisiane" (#2198) for Bluebird records in New Orleans and quite often playing Texas hillbilly music in Dallas. While Walker enjoyed entertaining his Texas audiences with hillbilly music, he was determined to try to introduce Cajun music. He recalls his discussions with his father:
One night as we were packing our instruments to go play for a dance, I told daddy, "You know something. I want to bring my French accordion and play some old French music for those Texans." But daddy was doubtful. "They'll laugh at you" he told me. But I said "Let them laugh".1
Lawrence Walker, 1936
Songs like "La Valse de Louisiane", a simple instrumental of the Cajun favorite "Jolie Blonde", was ideal for Lawrence and his brother Elton Walker to introduce Texans to Cajun music. Backed by his brother, it's possible guitarists Junior Broussard and Norris Mire were at the session. His early stage performance in Texas must have gone over fairly well. He continues:
During Intermission, I announced that at the next dance I would have a "surprise" for them. A big crowd turned out that night and at 10 sharp, I strapped on my accordion and announced "I am going to play a French instrument and if you like it --applaud, and if you don't, I'll just change right back to my fiddle. No hard feelings". Well, they all clapped and clapped and hollered, too. And from then on I played straight French accordion.1
Interview by Mona Mel Mouton. Jan 18, 1968
Release Info:
BS-87612-1 La Valse De Louisiane | Bluebird B-2198-A
BS-87613-1 Pourquois Vous Etes Si Cannai | Bluebird B-2198-B
By the late 1940s, almost all commercially recorded Cajun music was little more than Texas swing music sing in French. But in 1948, Iry Lejeune recorded the "Love Bridge Waltz" and the pendulum began to swing back again. His cousin Angelas Lejeune, who had an accordion, recalled there was no money to buy Iry and accordion, so almost each day, Iry would come. Iry would play all morning while Angelas worked in his fields. His first accordion was a give from his uncle Stephen Lejuene.6 During Eddie Shuler's first session at Iry Lejeune's home, Eddie picked up his guitar and with Milton Vanicor on fiddle, they belted out six tunes in a session that lasted into the night. One of those tunes was "La Valse Du Grande Chemin (Waltz Of The Big Road)" for Shuler's Goldband records in 1952 (#103). The melody is essentially the same tune as "The Waltz That Carried Me To My Grave" recorded by Joe Falcon and Cleoma Breaux in 1928.
Oh, chère.
Dis "bye-bye" à ton pop,
Et ta mom, chère,
Pour t'en revenir à la maison,
Pour me rejoindre,
'Gardez-donc, quoi t'as fait,
Fait souffert, chère,
Un petit cœur qui t'aimaint,
Malheureuse.
Oh, bebe!
'Gardez-donc, chère 'tite fille,
Toi, t'es là, chère,
Après m'espérer,
Dans la porte de ma maison,
Moi, je croyais, chère 'tite fille,
Donc, jamais, chère,
'Garde voir mon cercueil là, après m'espérer.
Oh yé yaie, chère c'est dur, c'est dur.
Asa Vanicor, Iry Lejeune, Milton Vanicor
The husband or lover who has been abandoned is a common figure in Cajun music, and he often uses the image of the empty house to refer to his unhappy state, complaining that he is left alone there, suffering, as he hopes for his wife's return. His request for reconciliation likewise takes the form of asking her to return to his house, as Iry LeJeune suggestion in "La Valse De Grande Chemin". According to Linus Bertrand,
Every Saturday morning, Iry would walk the half-mile from his house out to the gravel road with accordion in a sack. From there, he would catch any ride he could, no matter where it was going., and go play his accordion for whomever would listen. Often he would sit in with Alphee Bergeron and the Veteran Playboys during their dances at the popular Dixie Club in Eunice.6
Milton was one of the Vanicor family members that played with Iry after his success with the Oklahoma Tornados. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, Vanicor and his brothers, Ellis and Ivy, along with nephew Orsy Vanicor and brother-in-law Asa Lejeune and Iry Lejeune, performed as the Lacassine Playboys. Vanicor recorded on many of Lejeune’s albums and hits, including "La Valse Du Grande Chemin". According to musician D.L. Menard:
"[Milton's] music and the way he played, it was one-of-a-kind...he played his own style."
Oh, dear.
Say "bye bye" to your dad,
And your mom, dear,
You're coming home,
To join me,
So, look what you've done,
Suffered, dear,
A little sweetheart that love you,
Oh my.
Oh, baby!
So, look, dear little girl,
You, you're there, dear,
Expecting me,
In the door of my home,
I couldn't believe it, dear little girl,
Never, dear,
See my coffin here, waiting for me.
Oh, ye yaille, dear, it's hard, it's hard.
Shuler re-issued the tune on 45RPM twice, once listed as G-1024 and then much later as G-1024-2 in which he labeled the pressing a "Collector's Item". The recording would become "Dis Bye Bye à Ton Pap" by Allie J. Young in 1975 for Gerard Dole. Eddie, who produced almost every recording he ever made, never understood Iry's popularity. He recalled,
He could go out-I've seen him do this-he'd go out there, get drunk, and start cussing all the people out in the club. Of course, it would be late at night and they're all half-looped anyway. They'd all get mad, go home, and threaten that they're never gonna come to his dances again. The next time they came to play, two weeks later, there they all were, right back in there. I didn't understand that at all. But that's the kind of following he had. He was bigger after that than he was before.7
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 15. 2015 Regular Session. Notes to commend Milton Vanicor for his passion, devotion, and his nearly eighty-year commitment to Cajun music.
Release Info: Grande Nuit Especial (Big Night Special) | Goldband G-F103-A La Valse Du Grande Chemin (The Waltz Of The Big Road) | Goldband G-F103-B Find: The Legendary Iry LeJeune (Goldband, 1991) Iry Lejeune: Cajun's Greatest: The Definitive Collection (Ace, 2003)
Les Cajuns Best Of 2002 Les Triomphes De La Country Volume 12 (Habana, 2002) J'ai Ete Au Bal - Vol. 1 (I Went To The Dance) (Arhoolie, 2011)
Murphy "Chuck" Guillory learned to play from his father, Mady Guillory. He first picked up the instrument at the age of seven in the 1930s.3
I picked up his violin when I was 7 and I was too little to tune it. He tuned it for me, and I started playing with one finger--I learned to play it own my own.3
Starting out small, like most Cajun musicians, he played in local establishments, country dances, and local musical contests. According to Guillory,
I'd rather play music than eat.2
Hé, p'tite fille, un jour à venir, mais, malheureuse,
Moi, j'connais tu vas pleurer tu sera trop tard,
Hé, un jour à venir chérie,
Moi, j'connais tu vas venir, mais, malheureuse.
Hé, mais, tu connais, chérie,
Tu connais, t'es jamais dernière* pour ça t'as fait.
Herman Durbin, Jimmy Newman, Chuck Guillory, Curzy "Pork Chop" Roy, R.R. Sagg (emcee), Julius "Papa Cairo" Lamperez
After the breakup of Harry Choates' Melody Boys, Guillory attracted two of his biggest sidemen in the industry, fiddler Curzy "Porkchop" Roy and steel guitar player Julius "Papa Cairo" Lamperez. Porkchop grew up learning from his father, in which he recalls "could play anything, accordion, fiddle, guitar, piano...".1 He explained his nickname from childhood,
When I was a kid, I chewed gum all the time. As soon as the flavor was gone, I'd spit the gum out and pop in another piece. So my father called me "cochon" (pig).1
Daily World May 2, 1950
At sixteen years old, Porkchop cut his teeth early on, playing the drums with Harry Choates and the Melody Boys and by the time Papa was filling in, the band, the two musicians found themselves in Eunice working alongside Guillory's group. Together, in 1950, they recorded a tune called "Chuck's Waltz" (#1015). It's a song most likely introduced to Guillory by his early sideman, Preston Manuel. Preston, who played with Chuck shortly after the war, had helped popularize this tune in the 1930s as "Chere Tu Tu" with J.B. Fuselier. Preston recalled playing with Guillory,
I had quite playing with J.B. for a few years, right after WWII, and we organized a band, me and Chuck, The Rhythm Boys. My main man is Chuck . I like to play with him and he's such a nice guy. He's a good fiddler too!4
Hey, little girl, one day will come, well, oh my,
I know you are going to cry, you'll be too late,
Hey, one day will come, dearie,
I know you're going to return, well, oh my.
Hey, well, you know, dearie,
You know, you'll never last*, for what you've done.
After working in the grocery business in Mamou for years, he brought back Preston and Porkchop for something he called a "re-comeback" in 1982, re-recording many of his old tunes including "Chuck's Waltz". Porkchop reminisced a harrowing night with the band and Papa Cairo,
One night, we played a dance at Tee Maurice. Afterward, we went riding around Bosco with Papa Cairo...just looking around. The fella driving the car jumped a canal and we ended up in the water. I came up with my hair hanging all over my face. Papa Cairo was laughing at me, but he changed his tune when he saw his six string steel-guitar floating down the canal. He started hollering for someone to grab it quick. He didn't mind being in the canal near as much as losing that steel.1
"Cajun Musician Curzey Roy Recalls the Robust Rhythms". Fannie Genin. DW. Sep 1984.
"Guillory Nominated". Candace Riley. VPG. Mar 5, 1989
"Fiddler Stands By Old Time Music". Robin Miller. TT Sep 26, 1993.
Release Info: Chuck's Waltz | Feature F-1015-A Teiyut Two Step | Feature F-1015-B Find: Grand Texas (Arhoolie, 1998) Jimmy C NEWMAN - The Original Cry, Cry, Darling (Jasmine, 2009)
