"La Valse De Jennings" - John Oliver

One of the more obscure Cajun accordion players of the post-war honky-tonk era was John Oliver.  Born north of Crowley, he spent his time playing house dances with his brothers around the area.  Soon, afterwards, he formed his own band, the Louisiana Playboys.

Although originally from Jennings, he played in places east of Jeff Davis Parish such as Fruge's Bar in Midland, the Welcome Club in Crowley and the Martinez Bar in Morse.    His performing career lasted from 1949 to 1952, which during this time, he traveled to New Orleans to recording for Meladee Records with the song "La Valse De Jennings" (#116).  The melody caries some similarities to Nathan Abshire's "New Orleans Waltz".  The Meladee label was owned and operated by Mel and Lou Mallory in New Orleans, where the famous Cosimo Matassa served as his studio producer.

Crowley Daily Signal
Oct 6, 1949

His band consisted of several musicians throughout the years, including Buddy Myles on fiddle, Jake Mier on steel guitar, and Thomas Langley on drums. Soon after, band members such as Jake and Thomas joined the Pine Grove Boys with Nathan Abshire and his guitarist August Broussard left to form his own accordion-led band.   By the 1970s, John eventually made his way to Eddie Shuler's Goldband studios in Lake Charles and continued his recording career alongside Robert Bertrand.

1. "Cajun Dancehall Heyday" by Ron Yule

Release Info:

John Oliver Special | Meladee DB115

La Valse de Jennings | Meladee DB116