"Bosco Stomp" - Lawrence Walker

Oh, c'est ça fait du mal!  It's one of the most recognized tunes in all of Lawrence Walker's discography: the Bosco Stomp.  Transcending both Cajun and Zydeco music, musicians since the 1950s have been playing and recording this tune.  Named after the community of Bosco, which in turn was named after a store owner, Fernest "Bosco" Prejean, it was located between Lafayette and Church Point.  The melody was originally recorded by Delin T. Guillory and Lewis Lafleur as the song "Quelqun est Jalous" ( or "Quelqu'un est Jaloux") for Victor in 1929.   According to writer Neal Pomea:

Bosco Stomp, a remake of Delin T. Guillory and Lewis Lafleur's "Quelq'un est Jaloux", is a well-loved standard showpiece, common to the repertoire of Walker's contemporary and rival, Octa Clark.2   

Crowley Daily Signal, Oct 1949

Ça, ça m'fait du mal.

Oh, bébé, ça m'fait du mal.

Oh, haha!

(Il) y a des 'tites blondes,

(il) y en a des 'tites brunes.

Il y en qu'est assez noires que moi j'peux pas aimer,

I(ls) vont t'faire des accroires,

I(ls) vont faire des promesses,

I(ls) vont t'faire ouais t'aimer et là ça te tourne le dos.

Ah, U.J., yeah, alright.

Ah yeah, oh, come on baby.

Ça, ça m'fait du mal.

Petite, rappelle-toi,

Tous les misères tu m'as fait,

Tu mens tout ce qui peux,

Que moi je peux p(l)us t'aimer.

Uray Jules "U.J." Meaux

Working with Lake Charles record producer, George Khoury, Lawrence gathered up his band Valmont "Jr." Benoit on steel guitar, Demus Comeaux on rhythm guitar, Lawrence Trahan on drums, and Uray Jules "U.J" Meaux on fiddle.  Together, they recorded "Bosco Stomp" (#616) in 1951.    A lively piece, you can clearly hear Lawrence call out "U.J." midway through the song.  A popular tune with his contemporary Aldus Roger, store owner Bosco Prejean was Aldus' wife's step-grandfather.  The entire family grew up in the area and recalled the drunken brawls and bloody fights that locals encountered in the rough and tumble Marais Bouleur side of Bosco. 

What's done is terrible.

Oh, baby, what's done is terrible.

Oh, haha.

There are little blondes,

There are little brunettes,

There are some dark haired ones, that I don't like,

They're going to make you believe falsely,

They will make promises,

They will make you, yeah, love them, and like that, turn on your back.

Ah, U.J. yeah, alright.

Ah yeah, oh, come on baby.

What's done is terrible.

Little one, remember,

All the miserable things you've done to me,

You lie all that you can,

Therefore, I can't love you anymore. 

As WWII wound down, Walker was one of the first accordionists to return the instrument to prominence--but not in the old style. His band, the Wandering Aces, fused the string band format with a heavy steel guitar sound with the drive of the accordion.  The result was a brash new sound that came to be labeled "dance-hall".2,3   Once Walker's recording his the jukeboxes, the popularity took off.  For decades, Cajun and zydeco bands found ways to incorporate the song into their repertoire in order to keep the audience dancing.  In 1963, Doug Kershaw reworked the melody into the "Cajun Stripper".  

1. Francois (Yé Yaille Chère!), 1990; pgs. 346-347
2. Discussion with Neal P
3. "Accordions, Fiddles, Two Step & Swing: A Cajun Music Reader" by Ron Brown, Ryan A. Brasseaux, and Kevin S. Fontenot 
4. Lyrics by Stephane F

Release Info:
Waltz Of Sorrow | Khoury's KH 616-A
Bosco Stomp | Khoury's KH 616-B

Find:
Cajun Honky Tonk: The Khoury Recordings, Volume 1 (Arhoolie, 1995)
Cajun Champs (Arhoolie, 2005)

"Johnny Can't Dance" - Lawrence Walker

As a Cajun bandleader, Lawrence Walker was a perfectionist. He carefully controlled and crafted the sound of his Wandering Aces band. He was also a gifted singer and composed several Cajun music classics such as "Johnny Can't Dance" (#615) on George Khoury's label.1

Author Raymond Francois said that his father told him the song entered the Cajun repertoire through a children's book called "The Rabbit Stole The Pumpkin", also a tune recorded earlier by John Bertrand.2  However, if you listen carefully to the intro, it sounds eerily close to the chorus of Jimmy Driftwood's song "Battle of New Orleans". 

Guitarist Sam Broussard explains some of the complexity in the song's chord changes:

Some Cajun songs are "crooked," meaning they drop and/or pick up beats. The opposite of crooked is square.  Country songs are almost always square.  Cajun music is vastly more organized, in that thee dropped beats and added pauses have become part of the song in many, many cases.  After a while you don't notice it.  A good example of a crooked song is Johnny Can't Dance.3

Khoury lined up Walker's group containing Uray Jules "U.J." Meaux on fiddle, Demus Comeaux on guitar, Valmont "Junior" Benoit on steel guitar, and Lawrence Trahan on drums.  Some had thought that since swamp pop singer Johnny Allan had played with Lawrence when Allan was young, he was the subject of the song.  However, during an interview, when asked, Johnny laughed saying:

Oh, while I am surely not a dancer, I have no idea where the song got the title.  That song was much older than me.  Lawrence could have gotten that title from anywhere.4

In 1989, Cajun rocker Wayne Toups took Walkers tune, added lyrics and created one of the most popular Cajun rock songs of the modern era: "Johnnie Can't Dance (Johnnie Peut Pas Dancer)".  

1. Cajun Music: Its Origins and Development by Barry Jean Ancelet
2. Ye Yaille Chere by Raymond Francois
3. Negotiating Difference in French Louisiana Music: Categories, Stereotypes ... By Sara Le Menestrel
4. Discussions with Johnny A

Release Info:
Evangeline Waltz | Khoury's KH 615-A
Johnny Can't Dance | Khoury's KH 615-B

Find:
A Legend At Last (Swallow, 1983)
Essential Collection of Lawrence Walker (Swallow, 2010)

"Evangeline Waltz" - Lawrence Walker

During the 1940s, the talented first cousins, Cleveland Leger and Lawrence Walker, rivaled each other at the bandstands. Patrons began to argue about which one was the best "accordion hand" in southwest Louisiana.  The rivalry between the closely kin musicians was finally settled in 1948 at Club La Lune near Bosco.  The stage was set. Tickets were printed with space for balloting for the best player.  Over 4,000 people crowded into witness for themselves who was the best accordion player. And Walker won, three to one.

To mention only a few places, Walker played for 17 years at the old O.S.T. dance-hall located at the outskirts of Rayne.  And he played for two and a half years at Landry's Palladium near Lafayette. He got the job by filling up a nearly bankrupt club the first night and kept it that way every Sunday night of his booking.  By 1951, George Khoury, record producer in Lake Charles, had Walker record "Evangeline Waltz" (#615). 

J'sus assis dans la port de ma maison, après pleurer,

J'sus après pleurer pour tu t'en reviens à rejoindre ton nègre,

Oui, chère 'tit monde, quand t'as quitter d'la maison,

Tu m'as dit tu pouvais, mais, p'us m'aimer,

Oh, yé yaille, mon cœur me fais mal.  

J'ai p'us personne à la maison, mais, pour m'aimer.

Oui, chère 'tit monde, si tu voudrais t'en revenir,

J'te pardonnerais pour tout ça que tu m'as fait,

C'est d'voir, aujourd'hui, j'ai p'us personne pour m'aimer

J'sus moi, tout seul, après mourir dedans l'chagrin.

Oh, bébé, mon chère 'tit bébé,

J'ai p'us personne à la maison, mais, pour m'aimer.

J'sus assis dans la porte de ma maison, après jongler,

J'sus après jongler si jamais tu va revenir,

Oui, chère 'tit monde, quand t'as quitter d'la maison,

Tu m'as dit tu pouvais, mais, p'us m'aimer.

 According to musician Chas Justus:

One of the great things the Cajuns did is the blues waltz.  "The Evangeline Waltz", that Lawrence Walker stuff, those are just blues to a waltz and I never heard that so much in other kinds of music. 

"Evangeline Waltz", that goes to that four chord, it's like the flat seven and the four chord, so it's got the blues in it. It's really bluesy.2 

Khoury lined up Walker's group containing Uray Jules "U.J." Meaux on fiddle, Demus Comeaux on guitar, Valmont "Junior" Benoit on steel guitar, and Lawrence Trahan on drums.  Musicians used their opportunity to boast, even exaggerate their careers. According to Walker, he made over 120 records.  "Evangeline Waltz" was his biggest seller.  "They are still asking for that record."1  

Daily Advertiser
Nov 4, 1949

When Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie records was slated to re-press some of Khoury's materials in 1969, George quickly responded:

Make this at once--will pay you for your trouble. Don't let no one have Evangeline Waltz!3  

I'm sitting in the door of my house, crying,

I'm crying for you to come back to your man,

Yes, my dear little everything, when you left the house,

You told me you couldn't, well, love me anymore,

Oh, yé yaille, my heart feels bad,

I have no one at home, well, to love me. 

Yes, my dear little everything, if you want to come back,

I would forgive you for all that you've done to me,

See, today, I have nobody to love me,

I'm by myself, all alone, dying in sorrow,

Oh baby, my dear little baby,

I have no one at home, well, to love me.

I'm sitting in the door of my house, reminiscing.

I'm reminiscing if you will ever come back,

Yes, my little everything, when you left the house,

You told me you couldn't, well, ever love me.

1. Interview by Mona Mel Mouton.  Rayne Acadian Tribune.  Jan 18, 1968.
2. Negotiating Difference in French Louisiana Music: Categories, Stereotypes ... By Sara Le Menestrel
3. Cajun Honky Tonk: The Khoury Recordings, Vol. 2.  Liner notes.

Release Info:
Evangeline Waltz | Khoury's KH 615-A
Johnny Can't Dance | Khoury's KH 615-B

Find:
Cajun Honky Tonk: The Khoury Recordings, Volume 1 (Arhoolie, 1995)
A Tribute to the Late, Great Lawrence Walker (La Louisianne, 1995, 2000)

Essential Collection of Lawrence Walker (Swallow, 2010)

"Waltz Of Regret" - Lawrence Walker

Lawrence Walker had built a recording career for 5 years under the direction of George Khoury, ending it during the mid 50s.  "Regret" seemed to be his last recording under Khoury's label.   After dabbling in country music the previous year, George reverted back to his original recording artists that he trusted and in 1955, released a string of tunes by Nathan Abshire and at least one session by Lawrence Walker's band.

Oh, promet-moi cher ‘tit cœur

De jamais m'avoir donner 

Comme t'as pris, oui, ton coeur

Tu m’as pris d’la maison, chèr ‘tit cœur

Tes bonnes paroles qui m’a fait

M’en aller (z) avec toi.

Crowley Daily Signal
Mar 31, 1956

Being a huge fan of Joe Falcon's music, he reworked his 1929 recording of "La Vie Malheureuse" into what he called the "Waltz of Regret" (#648).   Sadly, Khoury's session notes were nonexistent.  Identifying Lawrence's band during the Khoury sessions is difficult.  It possibly featured Al Forman on guitar, possibly Demux Comeaux on guitar, possibly Uray Jules "U.J" Meaux on fiddle, and possibly either Lawrence Trahan, Bhuel "Huffy" Hoffpauir or Shelton Manuel on drums.  

Oh, promise me, dear, little sweetheart,

Never have given to me,

How you've taken, yes, your heart.

You took me from home, dear little sweetheart,

Your good word which made me,

Go away with you.

By the end of 1955, the writing was on the wall.   The influence of rock and roll was taking a toll on Cajun music sales.   R&B and country music was on an up hill swing and Cajun music sales weren’t the same as they were almost 10 years earlier.   George began focusing on R&B and pop tunes, slowing moving away from Cajun all together.   The result was that Lawrence ceased recording completely, relegating himself to the dance hall circuit, until 1958, when he met record producer Floyd Soileau.

1. Lyrics by Marc C and Stephane F

Find:
Cajun Honky Tonk: Khoury Recordings (Arhoolie, 1995)