"Fais Do Do Two Step" - Jimmy Durbin

Some of the earliest Cajun string band music were still being recorded in the early 1950s.   Bands like Chuck Guillory and Jimmy Newman were latching onto the style, sometimes landing large recording contracts with MGM, Decca, and Columbia.   Around this same time, one would gather that a certain Jimmy Durbin lead a group of Cajun musicians backed by Chuck Guillory's band members and recorded "Fais Do Do Two Step" (#1008) for J.D. Miller's Fais Do Do label.  It was a version of Amede Ardoin's "One Step de Chameaux".   

Misspelled "fias", it was an ode to the common Cajun house dance event known as a "fais do-do".   Literally meaning "make sleep", the word "do" became a shorted form of the French word "domir" (to sleep).   In the same manner a mother was tell a child "beddie-bye" in English, legend has it that mothers who attended these dances with their children, tried to quickly get their babies to sleep in the back room, less their husbands be caught dancing with someone else!

Oh, ma jolie fille, 'tit fille, m'fais pas ça,

Cherie, ma jolie cœur, 'tit fille m'fais pitié,

Oh, ma malheureuse, tit fille, m'fais du mal, 

Eh, ma ça ta fais ton nègre, il y a pas longtemps.

Chérie, mais, j'vas mourir, 'tite fille, mais, ça me va pas,

Tite fille, auprès de toi, chérie, mais, que j'vas voir,

Eh, mais, malheureuse, m'j'connais te m'fais pitié,

Chérie, t'es, joli cœur, tite fille, tu me fais du mal.

Jimmy Newman, Curzy Porkchop Roy,
unknown, Papa Cairo, unknown,
Herman Durbin

Image courtesy of Johnnie Allan Collection, 

Center for Louisiana Studies, 

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

It would seem that Chuck's band had this recording led by a man named Jimmy Durbin.  Except, there's one problem: there was no such person as Jimmy Durbin!  In a strange identity crisis, no one has been able to determine who this person was, leading to several theories. The name is most likely Miller's attempt at listing Jimmy Newman and his regular piano-playing sidekick, Herman Durbin, together.  Instead of Benny Fruge on piano, it could very well be Herman with Miller attempting to list them as "Jimmy & Durbin". 

Author and producer of the Acadian All-Star box set, Lyle Ferbrache explains:

For some reason when JD released the record, he put the name "Jimmy Durbin" on the record.  Shelton Manuel had no idea why.  As far as I can tell there us no Jimmy Durbin.  J.D. did things that sometimes made no sense.1

Oh, my pretty girl, little girl, don't do that to me,

Dearie, my pretty sweetheart, little girl, make me pitiful,

Oh, my unfortunate little girl, that hurts me,

Hey, that was done to your man, over there not long ago.

Dearie, well, I'll die, little girl, well, I'm not going,

Little girl, with you, dearie, that I can see,

Hey, well, oh my, I know you made me pitiful,

Dearie, you are a pretty sweetheart, little girl, you've hurt me.

Regardless, the band was most of Chuck Guillory's backup group with Jimmy Newman on guitar, Shelton Manuel on vocals and fiddle, Francis "Red" Fabacher on steel guitar, Howard Thibodeaux on bass, Curzey "Pork Chop" Roy on drums, and either Herman Durbin or Benny Fruge on piano.   The record was recorded on a tape machine that J.D. had just started using and wanted to see if he could make a remote recording.  So, Miller and the band recorded the session at Benny's Fruge Piano House in Eunice about 1949.  It was recorded around the same time Nathan Abshire used the melody for his "Lake Charles Two Step".   Later, Chuck Guillory would record it as "One Step De Chameaux".   Generally, both songs are known as the same tune.  

1. Discussions with Lyle F
2. Lyrics by Stephane F

Release Info:

-A Drunkard Waltz | Fais-Do-Do F1008-A

-B Fais Do Do Two Step | Fais-Do-Do F1008-B

Find:

Acadian All Star Special - The Pioneering Cajun Recordings Of J.D. Miller (Bear, 2011)

"Drunkard Waltz" - Jimmy Durbin

Chuck Guillory's band was a very successful Cajun string group in the early 1950s.  Having a slew of musicians in his band, many went off to create their own solo careers, with Jimmy Newman becoming the most successful.   At some point, in 1949, Jimmy decided to leave the group, possibly due to Chuck's drinking but also because of his passion to have his own recording career.   Either way, Newman gathered some of Chuck's members in recording one of his earliest vocal performances, the "Drunkard's Waltz" (#1008).

The band was most of Chuck Guillory's backup band with Jimmy Newman on vocals and guitar, Shelton Manuel on fiddle, Francis "Red" Fabacher on steel, possibly Howard Thibodeaux on bass, Curzey "Pork Chop" Roy on drums, and Farrel "Benny" Fruge on piano.   The band recorded the session at Benny's Fruge Piano House in Eunice about 1949 after Miller decided to try out his new tape recorder for a remote session.  Author and producer of the Acadian All-Star box set, Lyle Ferbrache explains:  

The name could be a combination of Newman's first name and the amp he might have been using at the time, which was a Durbin brand.1

Eh, malheureuse, toi t'après m'quitté,

Eh, chère 'tit monde, quoi tu vas brailler?

Quoi tu m'a dis, tu voulais plus m'aimer,

Eh, malheureuse, mon j'suis parti m'soûler.  

Eh, jolie monde, toi jolie coeur,

Eh, malheurse, toi te m'fais du mal.

Quoi tu m'a dis, tu voulais plus m'aimer?

Eh, malheureuse, mon j'suis parti m'soûler.

Herman Durbin, Jimmy Newman,
Murphy "Chuck" Guillory

Another theory could be that Chuck's former piano player, Herman Durbin, could have influenced the name.  Maybe it was a combination of Jimmy Newman and Herman together?   Maybe Durbin is actually on the recording and was nicknamed "Jimmy"?  The source remains unknown.   It's most likely Miller's attempt to label the group as "Jimmy & Durbin". 

Hey, it's terrible, you have left me,

Hey, dear little everything, why are you crying?

Why didn't you say, you didn't love me anymore,

Hey, it's terrible, I left to get drunk.

Hey, pretty everything, you pretty sweetheart,

Hey, it's terrible, you made me sad,

Why didn't you say, you didn't love me anymore,

Hey, it's terrible, I left to get drunk.

Not to be confused with the Balfa's "Drunkard's Waltz" or Louis Cormier's "Drunkards Blues", it would find it's way into Belton Richard's version of "Drunkard's Waltz" around 1967.

1. Discussions with Lyle F
2. Lyrics by Jerry M and Jesse L

Release Info:

-A Drunkard Waltz F1008-A Fais Do Do

-B Fais Do Do Two Step F1008-B Fais Do Do

Find:
Jimmy C NEWMAN - The Original Cry, Cry, Darling (Jasmine, 2009)

Acadian All Star Special - The Pioneering Cajun Recordings Of J.D. Miller (Bear, 2011)

"Teiyut Two Step" - Chuck Guillory

A great post-war Cajun swing instrumental called Teiyut found it's roots in pre-war string band songs.  Old tunes which post-war musicians made into new songs helped launch J.D. Miller's Feature label throughout the local scene.  By 1937, J.D. Miller began realizing the interest in local Cajun music.  Miller recalls:

It was the first time I'd heard Cajun music and I loved it.  I mostly filled in with bands, playing guitar.2

Miller created his business in 1946 and his Feature label in 1947-148.  Having a passion for hillbilly music, it was no surprise that musician like Murphy "Chuck" Guillory would end up being recorded by Miller. Leaning heavily in the country direction was fiddler Chuck, who once beat both Harry Choates and Leo Soileau in a fiddling contest.  Born in Mamou, Guillory recorded with accordionist Milton Molitor.  Later Guillory founded and headed up a popular seven-piece Cajun country band, the Rhythm Boys, which included at various points Jimmy Newman and George Jones.1

Chuck Guillory

By 1949, Chuck recorded an instrumental version of the Leo Soileau classic "Blues de Port Arthur", naming it "Teiyut Two Step" (#1015), after a Cajun hound dog holler, taïaut. The recording was done with the unknown Jimmy Newman on guitar.  By this time, Papa Cairo had formed his own band and his friend Francis "Red" Fabacher, who played with Harry Choates for awhile, filled in on steel guitar.  The rest of the lineup was most likely Herman Durbin on piano, Pete Duhon or Howard Thibodeaux on bass, and Curzey Roy on drums. 

1. Louisiana Music: A Journey From R&b To Zydeco, Jazz To Country, Blues To ... By Rick Koster
2. Interview with J.D. Miller. By Stacey Courville. Crowley Post Signal. 1983.

Find:
Chuck Guillory ‎– Grand Texas (Arhoolie, 1998)
Jimmy C NEWMAN - The Original Cry, Cry, Darling (Jasmine, 2009)

Acadian All Star Special - The Pioneering Cajun Recordings Of J.D. Miller (Bear, 2011)

"Tolan Waltz" - Chuck Guillory

Murphy "Chuck" Guillory, originally from Mamou, was a good hillbilly, Cajun-swing singer and fluent fiddle player who recorded J.D. Miller's Feature and Folk-Lyric labels. He regularly performed alongside his father, playing fiddle duets at a local bar each Saturday afternoon. After WWII, he recorded with Cajun musician Milton Molitor with his band the Rhythm Boys (featuring a young singer from Beaumont named George Jones).   Miller had heard about Modern Records recording Chuck's group in New Orleans featuring Jimmy Newman and Papa Cairo in 1948.  The sessions had been part of an extensive southern field trip by Modern. By 1949, it's believed Miller brought them to his studio to record Guillory's "Tolan Waltz" and released it on Colonial.

Moi, j'connais, chérie, un jour à venir, chérie. 

Tu vas revenir, tu seras trop tard. 

Chuck Guillory

Tolan McCauley was a popular blacksmith, rice mill operator and saloon owner in Eunice, not far from Mamou. Chuck Guillory and Jimmy Newman composed this song in his honor. The song features a lengthy sample of Red Fabacher's playing style on steel guitar; the key person from whom Papa Cairo had borrowed the melody for "Allons Kooche Kooche" and "Grand Texas".  Similarly, Tolan was recorded as "The LeGrange Waltz" by Floyd Leblanc and "Chere Poulette" by Papa Cairo.

I know, dear, one day eventually, dear,

You'll return, you will be too late.

Colonial, a subsidiary of the Bihari brother's Modern Records, was a label out of Hollywood, California that released recordings between 1947 and 1952.  Les Bihari handled the sales and the other two brothers, Joe and Jules, supervised the production and distribution.  It focused on hillbilly, race, and gospel "spiritual" genres.  Sometimes confusion occurs with other labels with the same name in Monterey Park, North Carolina, Nashville, Berkeley Springs, Boston, and NYC.  It's possible J.D. Miller had outsourced his recordings and had Modern/Colonial press even more than he could back home.  Despite the popularity of the song, the market was too localized for this ambitious concern or its fellow independents.  Chuck retired in 1958.

Opelousas Daily World
May 20, 1949

In 1982, having been re-discovered, he re-recorded the tune in a new recording session, this time with band members Michael Doucet, David Doucet and guitarist Preston Manuel taking most of the vocals. In the late '80s, Guillory re-formed the Rhythm Boys to play dances and record for the Arhoolie label, with his 1987 sessions for the company later collected on the 1998 release Grand Texas. Later, Tolan would be covered by Dennis McGee and Sady Courville.

Chuck Guillory - Tolan Waltz - 1949

Chuck Guillory - Tolan Waltz - 1982

Chuck Guillory - Tolan Waltz - 1987

1. South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous By John Broven. p34.
2. MADE IN LOUISIANA.  VRCD 325.  MARC SAVOY - Accordion. DEWEY BALFA - Fiddle. D. L. MENARD - Guitar.  Liner notes.
3. Billboard Apr 23, 1949
4. Chuck Guillory: Grand Texas.  Liner notes.
5. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/chuck-guillory-mn0000099796/biography
6. Lyrics by Stephane F

Find:
Chuck Guillory: Grand Texas (Arhoolie, 1998)
Jimmy C NEWMAN - The Original Cry, Cry, Darling (Jasmine, 2009)