"The Cameron Waltz" - Virgil Bozman

John Hardin “Virgel” Bozman and Floyd Leblanc were two musicians that helped kick off the popularity of post-war Cajun music in east Texas.   While stationed at a San Antonio military base near the end of WWII, Cajun fiddler Floyd Leblanc befriended Bozman. Together, they had joined Bennie Hess’ Oklahoma Tornadoes country hillbilly band as a guitar player but Virgil also dabbled in his own material as well. In mid 1948, Floyd had helped Iry Lejeune record two tunes with the band on Hess’ label “Opera” and they had him touring with the group for quite some time in 1948. Cajun music was well on it’s way back and while selling cow horns in Lake Charles, Virgil ended up moving from Texas to Louisiana in order to record it.

Tu m'as quitte, jolie, pour t'en aller, chérie,

Avec un autre, jolie, 'gardez-donc, mais, malheureuse, tu me fais pitié.

(Tu) m'as quitte, jolie, de me voir, chérie,

J'vais m'en aller, chérie, m'en aller, mais, moi tout seul à Cameron.

'Gardez-donc, jolie, mais, ça t'as fait, jolie,

(Il) y a pas longtemps, jolie, pas longtemps, ton pauvre vieux nègre, t'après m'quitté.

Virgil Bozman

He would often play the fool’s role in the band as the traditionally required comedian. He was also a fine Hillbilly artist in his own right and obviously loved South Louisiana music, working hard to make a success of his labels. By the outset of 1949, the enthusiastic Bozman actually moved his wife and five children to 349-A Route 1 at Westlake in South Louisiana and set up is own OT ‘Hits of Louisiana’ label to tap into the market directly.

That year, Virgil kicked off his label with his own recordings, one of them a Cajun tune entitled “The Cameron Waltz” (#101).  Using the popular 1937 melody of "La Nuit De Samedi (Saturday Night Waltz)" by Joe Falcon, the rarity of this recording adds to the mystery, reflecting his initial indecision. Backed with "Tell Me If You Love Me", the two songs were first recorded in English by Bozman but were cancelled and instead released with un-credited French vocals. The singer’s identity is still subject to speculation.

You left me, pretty one, to go away, dearie,

With another, my pretty one, so look, well, naughty woman, you made me pitiful.

You left me, pretty one, that I can see, dearie,

I'm going to go, dearie, i'm going, well, all alone to Cameron.

So look, pretty one, well, what you did, pretty one,

It won't be long, pretty one, won't be long, your poor old man, you're leaving me. 

Even though outsiders like Virgil didn't understand the future of Cajun music and the critical hand they played in it's resurgence, recordings like this one illustrate the earliest attempts of musicians trying, if not stumbling, to get Cajun music into the public spotlight after WWII.  

Like Bennie Hess, Bozman stories abound, including his siphoning gasoline out of customer’s cars while they were at the Hilltop Club near his home and at one point driving an old car without a floor. Fiddler Wilson Granger told author Andrew Brown:

He had been playing with Floyd LeBlanc. But something had happened and Floyd had quit there for awhile. So, on the weekend, here comes Virgil. He went and bought him a car that had been burnt.  It was a coupe. The floorboard was burnt out. You could see the road. He'd got it cheap, I guess. Man couldn't sell it to nobody else. So we went to play the dance in Iota in that old car.2   

They had this big night club not far from him, on the highway (Highway 90). It was called the Hilltop Club. On Saturday nights, cars would park all along the road, to go to that club. In front of his house, and past his house, and everywhere. And he had a siphon hose, and two, three five gallon cans…he’d go in there and take some gas out of those tanks, you know. He’d run his own car on that.2  

1. http://www.bopping.org/blues-for-oklahoma-virgel-bozman-o-t-and-hot-rod-records-1949-1952/
2. Wilson Granger interview. Andrew Brown.  2005.
3. Lyrics by Stephane F

Release Info:

The Cameron Waltz | O.T. OT-101-A

Tell Me If You Love Me | O.T. OT-101-B

Find:

Cajun Honky Tonk: The Khoury Recordings Vol. 2 (Arhoolie, 2013)