"Hackberry Hop" - Harry Choates

Perhaps the name most linked with the Cajun swing sound was Harry Choates.  He was an outstanding fiddle player, equally at home with traditional Cajun material or western swing.  He was also a wild and eccentric character, a heavy drinker who would appear on stage in a formerly white cowboy hat, which, in the words of a band member, "looked like a hundred horses had stomped on it when it had been stuck in a grease barrel".   

As well as being a great fiddler, he also played guitar, accordion, and steel guitar, yet probably never owned an instrument, preferring to borrow whatever he needed.3    Not to interfere with his Gold Star contract, he quietly traveled to Paris, TX in 1947 and recorded an old Leo Soileau tune called "Hackberry Hop" (#1007) for Jimmy Mercer's label.  

Hé le Hip et Taïau, ouais, 

Qu’a volé mon traineau, chérie,

Quand ç’a vu j’étais chaud, ouais, 

Il a ramené mon traîneau.

C'est le Pitre et Bosco, ouais,

Qu'a volé mon gilet, chérie,

Quand il a vu j'suis d'venu chaud, ouais,

T'as ramené mon gilet.

Hé le Hip et Taïau, ouais, 

Qu’a volé mon chariot, chérie,

Quand il a vu j’étais devenu chaud, ouais,

Il a ramené mon chariot.

C'est le Pitre et Bosco, ouais,

Qu'a volé mon gilet, chérie,

Quand il a vu j'suis d'venu chaud, ouais,

T'as ramené mon gilet.

Amos Comeaux, Harry Choates, Wally Bryant
Courtesy Andrew Brown4

Since Harry had played with Leo, covering his version of "Hackberry Hop" for quite some time in the 1930s and 40s, it's probably where he got the title for this tune.   Sung by his banjo player Joe Manuel, it was a cover of the well-known Cleoma Breaux song "Ils La Volet Mon Trancas", better known as "Hippy Ti Yo".  Manuel and Choates was backed by Ronald Ray "Pee Wee" Lyons on steel guitar, Eddie Pursley on guitar, B.D. Williams on bass, Johnnie Ruth Manuel, and Curzy "Pork Chop" Roy on drums.  

It's Hip and Taïaut, yeah,

That stole my sled, dearie,

When they saw I had become hot, yeah,

They brought my sled back.

This is Pitre and Bosco, yeah,

That stole my vest, dearie,

When they saw I had become hot, yeah,

They brought my jacket back.

It's Hip and Taïaut, yeah,

That stole my cart, dearie,

When they saw I had become hot, yeah,

They brought my cart back.

This is Pitre and Bosco, yeah,

That stole my vest, dearie,

When they saw I had become hot, yeah,

They brought my jacket back.

Daily Advertiser
Sep 10, 1948

Although some speculate this session was done at a radio station in Lake Charles, it's quite possible, the recordings for this session were done at Mercer's studio located in his store called Melody Lane Record Shop.  According to collector Jared Mariconi:

I've looked into the Cajun Classics and Jimmy Mercer and it seems like he was pressing them in a small pressing facility that he built himself in Paris, Tx in 1947. He had a record store called Melody Lane, which he shut down at the end of '46 to open the factory. They said that he recorded [musicians] in the music shop.2

By 1950, Mercer had moved the location of the plant to Main St. and changed the name to Southern Plastics1.  Joe Manuel would eventually reform a new band in 1949 and re-record the tune as "Creole Hop" on Deluxe Records. 

1. The Paris News, Sunday Nov 24th. 1946
2. http://wired-for-sound.blogspot.com/2010_12_17_archive.html
3. The Fiddle Handbook By Chris Haigh
4. Devil In The Bayou by Andrew Brown.  Liner notes.

Release Info:
1005 Hackberry Hop | Series 1007 Cajun Classics
1009 Jole Brun | Series 1009 Cajun Classics

1005 Hackberry Hop | Cajun Classics CC1007
1010 Yes I Love You | Cajun Classics CC1010

Find:

Harry Choates ‎– The Fiddle King Of Cajun Swing (Arhoolie, 1982, 1993)
Cajun Fiddle King (AIM, 1999)