"Te Petite" - Harry Choates

In the late 1940s, Jimmy Mercer of Paris, TX had created a new label called "Cajun Classic" in the hopes of getting Harry Choates to record for him.  By 1947, he made good on his promise and coaxed Harry to head there with his band and record several tunes, one of which was a traditional Cajun tune called "Tip-E-Te Tip-E-Ta Ameon" (#1006) for his Cajun Classics label.  The song known as "T'es Petite et T'es Mignonne" was an old Cajun tune, first recorded by the Fawvors in 1929.  Mercer and Harry had the song sung as a duet by his band members-- banjoist Joe Manuel and his guitarist Esmond "Eddie" Pursley.  The band rounded out with Ronald Ray "Pee Wee" Lyons on steel guitar, B.D. Williams on bass and Curzy "Porkchop" Roy on drums. 

Daily World
Aug 12, 1948

T’es petite et t’es mignonne,

Et galeuse, cherie, j’t’amie quand même,

Ah, mais ouais, la belle, chérie, se pas la belle, 

Ah, mais ouais, la belle, chérie, 

Vous allez et laver. 

T’es petite et t’es mignonne,

T'es trop galeuse, cherie, pour faire ma femme

Ah, mais ouais, la belle, chérie, se pas la belle, 

Ah, mais ouais, la belle, chérie, 

Vous allez et laver.

T’es petite et t’es mignonne,

Et galeuse, cherie, j’t’amie quand même,

Ah, mais ouais, la belle, chérie, se pas la belle, 

Ah, mais ouais, la belle, chérie, 

Vous allez et laver. 

T’es petite et t’es mignonne,

Et galeuse, cherie, j’t’amie quand même,

Ah, mais ouais, la belle, chérie, se pas la belle, 

Ah, mais ouais, la belle, chérie, 

Vous allez et laver.

After Gold Star's producer Bill Quinn accidentally found out about this session, the two producers settled on an arrangement.  Harry Choates had been playing with his Melody Boys for quite some time and the following year, in 1948, he and the Manuels were touring around east Texas and south Louisiana. That year, they re-recorded the tune "Te Petite" (#1343) for Gold Star records.   It featured a young pianist by the name of Johnnie Ruth Smyrle, sometimes listed as "Johnnie Mae", from San Angelo, Texas. 

This would be the last recording with his original group involving the Manuels. According to researcher Andrew Brown, rumor abound that Harry had an affection for Joe's wife Johnnie.  They had been touring through Texas and at some point, a band member caught the couple in the midst of "private relations".  This caused an immediate breakup of the band including, allegedly, the dissolving of Joe and Johnnie's marriage.  Many would never play with Harry again. 

Johnnie and Harry

To make matters worse, back in Louisiana, Choates’s wife was three months pregnant with their daughter, Linda. Despite the difficulties of his own making, in April 1947, Choates and Johnnie Manuel booked a month long engagement at Dessau Hall in Austin, Texas. By May or June, he had a show on KWBU in Corpus Christi. When Linda was born in September, Choates was still with Johnnie but it didn't last long.   According to bassist Grady "Tarzan" Mann, after a night of drinking, Choates grabbed the electric guitar and his dark side appeared:

One time we were playing at Dessau Hall.  [Choates] always liked for me to be right up there beside him with that upright bass.  Johnnie told him, "Are you gonna play for the people, or are you gonna play for Tarzan?"  And he turned around and knocked her clean off that piano stool!.1,2,5  

Choates turned to the crowd and stated, "That's all right, folks.  We just had to get some things straight around here."5  

You're small and you're cute,

And shabby, dearie, I like you anyways,

Ah, well yeah, pretty girl, dearie, she's not beautiful,

Ah, well yeah, pretty girl, dearie, 

You go and wash up.

You're small and you're cute,

You're too shabby, dearie, to be my wife,

Ah, well yeah, pretty girl, dearie, she's not beautiful,

Ah, well yeah, pretty girl, dearie, 

You go and wash up.

You're small and you're cute,

And shabby, dearie, I like you anyways,

Ah, well yeah, pretty girl, dearie, she's not beautiful,

Ah, well yeah, pretty girl, dearie, 

You go and wash up.

You're small and you're cute,

And shabby, dearie, I like you anyways,

Ah, well yeah, pretty girl, dearie, she's not beautiful,

Ah, well yeah, pretty girl, dearie, 

You go and wash up.

Harry Choates, Johnnie Ruth Smyrle Manual,
Joe Manuel

Other family members dispute the relationship rumors, stating Johnnie loved Harry like a brother and that they stayed friends until his death.   Choates didn’t worry too much about switching band members, as the Golden Triangle—the area of Texas just across the Sabine River from Louisiana where he spent most of his time—was jumping with musicians.   Eventually, he'd record with other groups and form other bands including one with tenor banjoist and Port Arthur resident Ivy Gaspard.   According to Gaspard,

This area was a hotbed of good musicians.  You had as many good musicians here as you had anywhere.4  

Often times when he found himself broke, Quinn would have him sit in for a session, regardless if he needed him or not.   Sadly, many of those impromptu session recordings never materialized. 

Te Petite (1947) - Gold Star

1. http://www.amoeba.com/harry-choates/artist/64745/bio
2. Devil In The Bayou - The Gold Star Recordings by Andrew Brown.  Liner notes.
3. Image by Museum of the Gulf Coast
4. http://www.offbeat.com/articles/harry-choates/
5. All Over the Map: True Heroes of Texas Music By Michael Corcoran

Release Info:
Je Pasa Durvant Ta Port | Cajun Classics 1005
Tip-E-Te-Tip-E-Ta Ameon | Cajun Classics 1006

Find:
Harry Choates ‎– The Fiddle King Of Cajun Swing (Arhoolie, 1982, 1993)
Devil In The Bayou - The Gold Star Recordings (Bear Family, 2002)