"Point Clear Blues" - Columbus Fruge

In 1928, Victor successfully tried their hand at marketing and recording Cajun music to the country. With the success of selling these recordings to eager buyers in south Louisiana, they turned again in 1929 to Leo Soileau to bring in a new batch of old songs along with a few new accompanying musicians such as young St. Landry accordionists Moise Robin and Columbus "Boy" Fruge.  The trio, along with their sponsor and Opelousas jewelry store owner Frank Dietlein, left for Memphis, TN in 1929 by train and together they recorded several songs for Victor's Ralph Peer A&R representative. According to Deitlein*,

In the grand ballroom in the Claridge Hotel, where the Victor company did their recording, the four of us entered and were greeted by a fellow by the name of Ralph Peer. I believe that he was president of the Southern Music Publishing Co., which specialized in recording Southern folk songs.  When we walked in, we were introduced to the late Jimmy Rodgers, whose records at the time were selling by the thousands.  Blue Steel, a noted orchestra leader at the time, was leading his band while recording the favorite tune of the day, "Girl of My Dreams."*1  

Claridge Hotel
Memphis, TN

The group couldn't contain their excitement and memories of their shenanigans in the hotel remained with Robin:

Leo Soileau and "Boy" Columbus Fruge were the others on the trip. I'll never forget while we were in the hotel in Memphis, [Frank] told me that there was a long distance call for me from Mr. John Speyrer in Leonville. Latter, I found out that it was Leo Soileau in the next room who had disguised his voice by speaking with a towel over the phone mouth piece.4   

Mais, chère 'tite fille, mais, chère 'tite fille, comment ton nègre va faire,

L'hiver est là, l'hiver est là, ton nègre a pas de couverte.

Moi l'aime les filles, moi l'aime les femmes et moi l'aime les plus belles veuves.

Moi l'aime cousin, moi l'aime cousine et moi l'aime la bonne cuisine,

Moi mange des dattes, moi boire 'tit verre, tout ça, ça coute (pas) rien,

Moi, tout le monde, lundi matin, moi tout manière malade,

Va prendre le verre, mais, pauvre 'tit monde, l(u)i verse d'la limonade.

Ton nég(re) est malade!

Columbus "Boy" Fruge

Pointe Claire is a small community in St. Landry parish along HWY 347, between Leonville and Arnaudville, not far from where Fruge and Robin lived.  However, when Peer and the other Victor engineers heard the name of the song, they wrote down "Point Clear Blues" (#22206), sometimes known as "Chanson de Limonade" or "Mon Cher Cousin".  On his second attempt at recording the song, the three recording engineers got out some cotton which they put in their ears.  They, apparently thought that the stomping and the accordion music was too loud.2  By the 1940s, it became other tunes such as Jimmy Choates' "Petite Negress" and Leroy Broussard's "Lemonade Song".  For years, Leroy claimed he wrote the tune, however, Moise Robin, who was there during Fruge's session, knew better.

I went to Lafayette one night and met Leroy Broussard at a saloon while at the bar drinking a few beers. He came over and introduced himself. I was glad and we started a good conversation. He said, "you made some records?"  "Yes," I answered, "and you too?" Leroy said, "Yes, I made Passe Moi Le Verre De Lionade."  "Aw, " I said, "It's not you who made that; it's [Columbus] 'Boy' Fruge who made that in 1929."  But Leroy said, "I tell you it's me who made the record."  I told him, "You're wrong!"  He got angry.  I said, "Okay, but someday I might find 'Boy' Fruge's record , and even if I have to go to your home, I'll find out where you live and I will show you that it's not you who made that record.3  

Clarion News
Sep 12, 1929

Well, dear little girl, well, dear little girl, how will your man do this,

Winter is here, winter is here, your man doesn't have a blanket.

I like the girls, I like the women and I like the most beautiful widows.

I like my cousin, I like my other cousin and I like good food,

I eat dates (nuts), I drink a little glass, all that, it costs nothing,

I, with everyone, Monday morning, I'm sick all the way,

Go take the glass, well, poor little fellow, he'll pour the lemonade.

Your man is sick!

1. Daily World (Opelousas, Louisiana) 28 Oct 1965, Thu Page 4
2. Daily World (Opelousas, Louisiana) 13 May 1971
3. "Ye Yaille Chere, Traditional Cajun Dance Music" by Raymond E. Francois.
4. Daily World (Opelousas, Louisiana) 08 Nov 1967, Wed Page 4
5. Lyrics by Stephane F and 'Hormisdas'

*NOTE: Although Frank Dietlein's recollection of event details are conflicting with Victor recording session documentation, a decision was made to leave the interview quote in the article without corrections.

Release Info:
BVE-55541-2 Pleur Plus' (Don't Cry) | Victor 22206-A
BVE-55543-2 Point Clear Blues | Victor 22206-B

"Saut Crapaud (Jump, Frog)" - Columbus Fruge

In September 1929, Moise Robin and Leo Soileau left the prairies of Cajun country to record again, this time with accordionist Columbus "Boy" Fruge in tow.  The three musicians traveled to Victor's Memphis, TN field session with the promise of $50 per record.1  

Fruge recorded four sides, including a solo performance of the popular folk song "Saut Crapaud (Jump, Frog)" (#22184).  While in the studio, they trio along with sponsor Frank Dietlein met Jimmie Rodgers and Victor A&R representative Ralph Peer who was recording the Blue Steel orchestra.  According to Dietlein,

We stood on the sidelines listening to the lilting music of Steel's orchestra, and finally it became Fruge's turn to begin his recording.  He had chosen the old time Cajun tune, "Saute Crapaud".  Anyway, Columbus asked me to get Ralph Peer to bring him a heavy board of lumber.  This done, he placed the piece of wood on the floor in front of this chair.  As he sat playing the accordion he began stomping on the board with his feet in a kind of musical cadence which kept time with his accordion music and singing.5    

Columbus "Boy" Fruge

The accordionist earned $100 for his services, and specifically asked for his fee to be paid in $1 bills.  Upon his return, Columbus' wife, who according to Robin did not understand money, stared in awe at the wad of cash, believing the sum to be an enormous fortune.1  

Saute crapaud!

Ta queue va brûler!

Mais, prends courage,

Elle va repousser.

Va y donc, crapaud!

L'hiver après prendre!

Saute crapaud!

Ta queue va brûler!

Mettre chère Pauline,

Une tasse de café.

Oh, crapaud,

Qui q'as fait ton gilet?

C'est Rose Martin,

La fille à maman.

Crowley Daily Signal
Nov 23, 1929

It's an extremely old song in south Louisiana, with possible origins in Acadie or France. As a children's tune, many Cajun recall hearing the song sang by their parents for fun.  Others remember the song while attending grade school.   Today, if you ask the older generation about it, you'll hear the common response: "I remember my grandfather singing this song to me when I was little."  The lyrics, however, contain a double entendre, with the "tail" signifying the male sexual organ. According to Moise Robin:

Yes, me and "Boy" Fruge went to Memphis, Tennessee to make some records.  "Boy" had no musicians with him.  When we arrived there, he found a pop bottle case made of wood and turned it upside down and stomped on that for his drum effect while recording.  The first song he recorded was Saute, Crapaud.4

Jump, frog,

Your tail will burn,

But take heart,

It will grow back.

So get going, frog.

It's winter, soon.

Jump, frog,

Your tail will burn,

Pour dear Pauline,

A cup of coffee.

Oh, frog.

Who has made your vest?

It is Rose Martin,

Mom's little girl.

1. Cajun Breakdown: The Emergence of an American-Made Music By Ryan Andre Brasseaux
2. https://oldweirdamerica.wordpress.com/2010/06/06/37-saute-crapaud-by-columbus-fruge/
3. http://theanthologyofamericanfolkmusic.blogspot.com/2010/02/saut-crapaud-jump-frog-columbus-fruge.html 
4. Ye Yaille Chere by Raymond Francois
5. Daily World (Opelousas, Louisiana) 28 Oct 1965, Thu Page 4
6. Lyrics by Neal P

Find:
Anthology Of American Folk Music Volume Two: Social Music (Folkways, 1967)
Les Cajuns Best Of 2002 Les Triomphes De La Country Volume 12 (Habana, 2002)
Cajun Capers: Cajun Music 1928-1954 (Proper, 2005)
Cajun Country, Vol. 2, More Hits from the Swamp (JSP, 2005)
The Best Of Cajun & Zydeco (Not Now, 2010)
The Very Best of Cajun: La Stomp Creole, Vol. 1 (Viper, 2016)

"Bayou Teche" - Columbus Fruge

Columbus Fruge recorded with his accordion for RCA Victor in 1929.   There, he recorded a song as an ode to the the Bayou Teche.  Jimmie Rodgers, the Blue Steele orchestra, and other stars were present in the auditorium when Columbus was told that it was the time for his recording.  His method for recording preparation was unique.  He asked for a heavy board to be placed on the floor underneath his feet so he could keep time by pounding his foot on the wooden board.  Pretty soon, Columbus signaled that he was ready to begin, and when the recording machine's red light came on, he began playing and stomping his foot.4  

The Bayou Teche is an old river that runs alongside the swamps of the Atchafalaya and drains into the Gulf of Mexico. "Bayou Teche" (#222184) talks about misery of a lover asking his love interest to leave her parents, settle along the bayou and make a home.   Many Acadians eventually found their home along the bayou and made a way of life farming it's fertile banks. 

Si t'aurais volu m'écouter, chèrie, 

Toi tu s'rais, c'est là-bas, au Bayou Teche avec ton neg, cherie.

T'as écouté ton papa et ta maman, chère, 

Les embarase de ton papa et ta maman, chère.

C'est la cause, ye yaille, que t’es pas avec ton neg, 

Aujourd'hui, ye yaille.

Moi j'connais tu vas pleurer, t'lamenter, ye yaille,

Pour les miseres toi t'as après faire avec ton vieux neg, chere.

J'su parti m'en aller pour te quitter toi tout seule 

Dans les chemins à la traîne avec ta valise, ye yaille.

Battle of Bayou Teche

The Acadian people first settled along this stream when transported to Louisiana, navigating it in light boats called pirogues.  But the name is still shrouded in mystery.  Bayou Teche is described by Raymond Francois as a "long, sluggish meandering stream" whose name comes from a Choctaw Indian word meaning "big snake." However, Teche river historian Shane Bernard believes this myth is outdated, claiming the local Indian tribes had other words for 'snake'.  Since the early 18th century the word had taken root and changed spellings across maps of both the French and the Spanish.   In his book about the bayou, he states:

Noting the similarity of Techas (and its alternate spellings) to Teche (and its alternate spellings), I propose that Spanish explorers named Bayou Teche for the Mexican province of Texas. . . . [It] does not seem far-fetched to imagine the Spanish naming a major Louisiana bayou the Techas (Texas), which in time morphed into Teche. . . . [but] Barring discovery of a “smoking-gun” document, we may never know the actual origin of the word Teche.2

Columbus "Boy" Fruge

In Fruge's song, he uses the phrase "ye yaille".  "Yaille" is a word that doesn't translate well or at all.  It's possible origin is from the Spanish phrase "ah ya yaille" loosely meaning "Oh! Wow!"  Sometimes it comes out as an exuberant yell.  Other times, it conveyed a mixture of surprise, reproach, and resignation.  During the entire session, alongside Cajun musicians Leo Soileau, Moise Robin, country yodeler Jimmie Rodgers and Victor engineer Ralph Peer, Fruge belted out four songs, during which he accompanied himself by stomping on a wooden lumber boards scrapped from a Coca-Cola crate.3  

If you would have listened to me, dear, 

You are going over there, to the Bayou Teche with your old man, dear.

You heard your dad and your mom, dear,

The kisses of your dad and your mom, dear.

It's the reason, ye yaille, which you're not with your old man, 

Today, ye yaille,

I knew you were going to cry, you mourned, ye yaille,

For how miserable you are with your old man, dear.

I'm leaving to go to leave you all alone,

Along the road on the run with your suitcase, ye yaille.

Crowley Daily Signal
Nov 23, 1929

In the early part of the 18th century, Spain considered everything west of the Mississippi River to be Texas, including much of present-day southwest Louisiana.  It seems that many of the locals used the word 'Teche' as a marker for where Spanish lands were claimed.  However, the name lost it's meaning and by the 20th century, it had become a historic waterway for many of the Cajuns living along it's banks.   According to Fruge, who lived along the Bayou Teche, he continued living a simple life after the isolated recording session.

I made the record and with the money that Frank gave me, I came back to Arnaudville, got married and bought some furniture for my house. I've been living in Arnaudville ever since.4  

1. Ye Yaille Chere, Traditional Cajun Dance Music by Raymond E. François
2. Teche: A History of Louisiana's Most Famous Bayou
3. Cajun Breakdown: The Emergence of an American-Made Music By Ryan Andre Brasseaux
4. Daily World (Opelousas, Louisiana) 13 May 1971
5. Lyrics by Raymond F and Jordy A

Find:
Louisiana Cajun Music Volume 1: First Recordings - The 1920's (Old Timey, 1970)

Cajun Country, Vol. 2, More Hits from the Swamp (JSP, 2005)
The Harry Smith B-Sides (Dust-To-Digital, 2020)

"Pleur Plus' (Don't Cry)" - Columbus Fruge

Columbus Fruge (or Frugé) was from Arnaudville, Louisiana, a town in the St. Landry and St. Martin parishes in south-central portion of the state.  Virtually no details of his life exist, other than the fact that he began playing accordion as a child and was performing around his hometown by the age of eleven. 

Hé, yaille! chère 'tite fille, t'es la fille de la veuve que moi, j'aimais.

Moi (z) aujourd’hui, dans la traîne dans les chemins, chérie.

Chère, t'es partie de mourir moi tout seul là bas à la pointe noire.

Yé yaille, tu connais, toi tu me fais des misères, j'suis parti m'en aller.

Hé, toi tu marches pour ton nég', te connais ce ton nég' est parti, s'en aller si longtemps.

Hé, canaille.

Pourquoi tu me fais les misères!

Columbus "Boy" Fruge

In 1929, Frugé traveled along with Opelousas jewelry store owner Frank Dietlien, fiddler Leo Soileau, and accordionist Moise Robin to Memphis, Tennessee where he recorded four sides for Ralph Peer's Victor Records including "Pleur Plus' (Don't Cry)", (#22206).  It was a similar melody to Angelas Lejeune's "Valse De La Lousianne" and Bixy Guidry's "Qu'Est Que J'Ai Fait Pour Etre Peuni Si Longemps?".  In the song, he be referring to Pointe Noire, a locale not for from Fruge's home in Arnaudville, Louisiana.  For some of the Victor engineers working that day in the Claridge Hotel ballroom, the raw accordion sound and loud raucous of Fruge banging on Coca-Cola crate lumber was too much for them to bear.   According to Dietlein,

After listening to two or three of Fruge's practice runs of his accordion music, his singing and his stomping on the wooden board, I noticed that all of the engineers had placed wads of cotton in their ears.  Being the sensitive soul that I am, and disliking the thought of hurting any person's feelings, I asked the head engineer, what was the reason for the wads of cotton.  "Listen, friend," declared the fellow, "We've recorded the tom toms of tribal Africa and the tin pan music of China, but our ears have never listened to anything like this."2  

Hey, yaille! Dear little girl, you're the daughter of the widow I loved,

Today, I'm lagging behind down the road, honey,

Dear, you left me to die by myself over there in the black point.

Ye yaille, you know, you make me miserable, I'm going to go.

Hey, you're walking towards your old man, you know your old man left to go so long ago.

Hey, mischievous one.

Why do you make me miserable!

1. http://theanthologyofamericanfolkmusic.blogspot.com/2010/02/saut-crapaud-jump-frog-columbus-fruge.html
2. Daily World (Opelousas, Louisiana) 28 Oct 1965, Thu Page 4

Find:

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