"Apres Jengler A Toi" - Alley Boys of Abbeville

The Alley Boys represented one of the unique groups to come out of south Louisiana. Influenced by local jazz bands as well as Cajun instrumentation, their group formed when opportunities to play dances in Vermilion parish opened up.   As some of the musicians filled in with orchestras, these close friends decided they could create their own group.  All they needed was a name.  According to Lourse's daughter, Carolyn,

One of the Guidry's lived on a street called Franks Alley, and they'd practice at that location all the time.   Before long, they were calling themselves the Alley Boys.1  

Oh, chère, mais, quelle histoire, mais, ennuyante,

Après jongler, oui, z-à toi,

La vie est dure, mais, pas t'avoir, mais, c'est plus dur,

Mais, j'aimerais, oui, t'avoir, mais, avec moi.

D’après toi, quand je t'ai dis que je t'aimais,

Toi t'as dit, mais, la même chose,

Mais, aujourd'hui, t'es après écouter tous les conseils,

T'auras du regret pour tout ça, mais, toi tu fais.

Leleux Dancehall, 1938
Alley Boys of Abbeville
Lourse Touchet, Frankie Mailhes,
Murphy Guidry, Sidney Guidry
www.loc.gov

Together, the group consisted of Sidney Guidry on guitar, Murphy "Mule" Guidry on guitar, Lourse "Mockay" Touchet on steel guitar, and Frankie "Tee Tee" Mailhes on fiddle and vocals.   Although their guitarist Sabray Guidry helped form the band, they replaced him with Maxie Touchet on drums. They headed to Memphis, TN where the group recorded "Apres Jengler A Toi" (#05057), a tune based on J.B. Fuselier's "Chere Tu Tu". 

Oh, dearie, well, what a lonely story,

(I am) reminiscing, yeah, about you,

Life is hard, well, not having you, well, it's real hard,

Well, I'd like, yeah, to have you, well, with me.

According to you, when I told you that I loved you,

You told me, well, the same thing,

Well, today, you are listening to all the advice,

You'll regret all that, well, you've done.

Four months later, after their recordings came out, the interest must have been widespread with larger than expected sales.  The local paper claimed:

The records made by the Alley Boys are being sold like "hot cakes" in Southwest Louisiana.2  

1. Discussions with Carolyn T S
2. Abbeville Meridional.  Nov 18, 1939.
3. Lyrics by Stephane F

Release Info:
MEM-3-1 Apres Jengler A Toi |  Vocalion 05057
MEM-14-1 Te Bonne Pour Moi Estere | Vocalion 05057

Find:

Cajun Vol. 1 Abbeville Breakdown 1929-1939 (CBS, 1990)

Cajun Country, Vol. 2, More Hits from the Swamp (JSP, 2005)