"One Step De Morse" - Nathan Abshire & Rayne-Bo Ramblers

Happy Fats kicked off his first recording session with 12 songs for Bluebird records, including six lead with an accordion.  Afterwards, he maintained a busy schedule of produce sales and late-night music performances.  Following his marriage, Happy Fats was employed by a local produce company buying frogs, chickens and eggs from farmers in the area. On the weekends, he and his band traveled about Southern Louisiana playing for dances.

During the first session in 1935, he took his group along with Cajun accordion player Nathan Abshire to record an instrumental about a small town in south Louisiana called "One Step De Morse" (#2174).   Morse is a railroad town in Acadia Parish not far from Nathan's childhood home.  Happy recalled:

We were contacted by [RCA] Victor through a fellow here in Rayne by the name of Hillman Bailey.  This fellow, Hillman Bailey, he had a radio shop here and a music store, and he had contact with the Werleins of New Orleans.  And we were brought to New Orleans for the first time, and we recorded there in the old St. Charles Hotel.3

Nathan Abshire

Happy had Nathan backed up with himself and Warnes Schexnyder on guitars, and Norris Savoy on fiddle. However, during the mid-1930s, the interest in Cajun accordion-led bands was waning.  Happy dropped the accordion from his lineup and watched his Cajun string band sound take off.

We finally booked enough dances to permit me to quit working, so I enlarged the band and we did seven or eight engagements a week.2 

Nathan himself felt the affect of losing out during the string band craze.  Dance-halls and recording companies were no longer interested in the old accordion sound.

There was one time the accordion went away.  There was no more accordion here in Louisiana. I started to play the fiddle. I'd walk about 20 miles to go play a dance for $3.  No electricity, nothing.   A guitar, a fiddle and some triangles. Home brewed beer.  Home brewed whiskey in them days.4 

Overtime, the name of Happy and Nathan's melody would be forgotten. Lawrence Walker would re-work the tune, into the well known "Mamou Two Step", adding it's signature bridge section.  Nathan also reworked his song into what he called the "Musical Five Special". 

1. Negotiating Difference in French Louisiana Music: Categories, Stereotypes ... By Sara Le Menestrel
2. Interview by John Uhler. 1954.  CDS
3. South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous By John Broven
4. "The Good Times Are Killing Me".  PBS, 1975.

Release Info:
BS-94409-1 La Valse De Riceville | Bluebird B-2174-A
BS-94410-1 One Step De Morse | Bluebird B-2174-B

Find:

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