"Jolly Boys Breakdown" - Jolly Boys of Lafayette

By the late 1930s, old-time string bands were being replaced by brother acts like the Delmores and the Sheltons.  There were also new sounds of the Western swing groups to attract the public's ear.  Cajun music on record also changed.   Out went the accordion and in came the western string bands.1   The Jolly Boys of Lafayette were just one of many that landed a recording session with Decca in 1937. 

Francis "Red"
Fabacher

The song was a cover of the Angelas Lejeune recording "Perrodin Two Step" originally recorded in 1929.  The song is most notably known as The Perrodin, allegedly named after two brothers who often requested it at dances.2  Here, the band named it after themselves, calling it the "Jolly Boys Breakdown" (#17032).  The Jolly Boys were Francis "Red" Fabacher and Leon "Crip" Credeur. 


The same melody would be used by Miller's Merrymakers called "Round Up Hop" in 1937.    Some refer to it as "Mamou Breakdown" as recorded by Wallace "Cheese" Read. By 1947, Decca re-issued the song on their black "script" label. 

Daily Advertiser
Sep 20, 1937

Courtesy of Katherine Prater
from Lake Charles

1. Cajun Country 2.  Pat Harrison.  Liner Notes.
2. MADE IN LOUISIANA.  VRCD 325.  MARC SAVOY - Accordion. DEWEY BALFA - Fiddle. D. L. MENARD - Guitar.  Liner notes.

Find:
Cajun Louisiane 1928-1939 (Fremeaux, 2003)
Cajun Country, Vol. 2, More Hits from the Swamp (JSP, 2005)
The Best Of Cajun & Zydeco (Not Now, 2010)