"Saturday Night Waltz" - Harry Choates

Raised in a Cajun household at a time when many young Acadians didn’t learn English until they reached adulthood, those who knew Harry Choates have often stated that he spoke very little French, if any at all. When it came to singing it convincingly, however, he was a natural, and in the wake of “Jole Blon’s” success, most of the music he recorded was in the French style. For this reason, Choates is remembered primarily as a Cajun musician, when in fact, the music that he featured on dance jobs was almost exclusively western swing.1  Ivy Gaspard who had sung with the band in 1950 recalled,

Our band, during the time I played with Harry, was a western swing band that played French music. We played a lot more country and western than we did French.4  

Quoi t'as fais, mais-z avec moi, chérie,

Qui m'as laissé pour t'en aller avec un autre,

Oh, ça fait d'la peine, 

Ça fait d'la peine, tu m'as laissé, mais, pour un autre.

Moi j'connais, mais, quoi t'as fais,

Oh, quoi t'as fais, ça fais pitié,

Oh, mignonne, quoi t'as fais, mais, z-avec moi, 

Il y a pas longtemps, j'mérite pas ça.

Austin American
Jun 12, 1951

By this point, Harry was filling in as a side-show fiddler in the Austin-based band Jesse James and All The Boys.  But the relationship didn't last long.  Harry's carefree demeanor clashed with Jesse's clean cut stage presence and he left the group.  The Bob Tanner 1951 session at KCOR radio station in San Antonio seems to be done last minute, impromptu, not long before his death.  His Texas-based band consisted of Lucky Ford on guitar, Lloyd Baker on steel guitar, and Junior Keelan on bass. According to Baker, 

It was some of the worst playing I ever did, but Harry really liked what I did.  He drank a fifth of liquor, he said to keep his vocal cords open.  He was really hoarse. He drank that whole fifth of liquor, but it didn't faze him. He was a nice guy.  I really liked Harry.4  

Jesse James and All The Boys

His band remaining inconsistent during these later years, with long periods of time between recording sessions and performances.  Although he managed to re-join Jesse James' band again, there were several occasions when Harry would simply show up at at beer joint, and the house band would oblige and let him sit in.  It was during one of these appearances in Austin that Harry's amplifier caught fire.  Harry continued to play, sing and put out the fire on his amp all at the same time it did not seem to distract him as it would other musicians.  Harry was obsessed with his music; equipment failures and fires did not seem to faze him.2  

What have you done, well, with me, dearie,

Who has left me to go away with another,

Oh, that hurts,

That hurts, you left me, well, for another.

I know, well what you've done,

Oh, what you've done, that's pitiful,

Oh, cutie, what you've done, well, with me,

Over there, it won't be long, I don't deserve that.

By the time Tanner had gotten around to releasing the records, Harry had already passed away.  The label Allied was a name associated with Tanner that was most likely created just for Harry's pressings.  There's no surviving information on where the label name came from, other than Tanner using his address.   Given the label design, the iconic "waves" across the logo, it's clear they weren't pressed at his San Antonio plant but rather in Cincinnati.  According to researcher and author Kevin Coffey:

Allied, like several other labels that listed Tanner's address, was an independent with nothing to do with Tanner's own labels (Tanner, TNT). For example, Everstate, a label owned by John Currie/The Texas Top Hands, used the address. It was just Tanner's habit or policy or whatever to use the address for the labels he pressed (and in most cases, though probably not all, recorded).3

Saturday Night Special - 1951 - Allied

1. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/xdd03
2. "Poor Hobo: The Tragic Life of Harry Choates: A Cajun Legend" by Tim Knight
3. Discussions with Kevin Coffey
4. Devil In The Bayou by Andrew Brown.  Liner notes.

Release Info:

101-1 Austin Special | Allied AL-101-A

101-2 Saturday Night Waltz | Allied AL-101-B

Find:
Louisiana Cajun Music Volume 4: From The 30s To The 50s (Old Timey, 1972)

Harry Choates: Five-Time Loser 1940-1951 (Krazy Kat, 1990)
Cajun Fiddle King (AIM, 1999)
NOTE: Krazy Kat #KK-CD 22 lists "Saturday Night Waltz" and "Austin Special" in reverse.

"Lawtell Waltz" - Harry Choates

One of the earliest independent labels to appear on the Texas and Louisiana music scene was Gold Star records.  Owner and producer Bill Quinn knew how to get talent: pay them well and they'll come to you.  He paid $100 and $200 per side and of course this was a great attraction for many a wandering minstrel.1   Harry Choates' band was no exception.  After recording successfully with Bill Quinn at his studio, he was invited again in 1947 with his band.  Although Harry got paid handsomely, his band members recall getting paid with a Mexican dinner.  With Reagan Parchman on steel guitar, possibly Junior Keelan on bass, Amos Comeaux on drums, and Johnnie Manuel on piano, they recorded the tune "Lawtell Waltz" (#1335), named after the small town of Lawtell, Louisiana. 

Oh malheurese, moi j'connais, mais, m'a soûler,

Oh, mais, chère 'tit fille, mérite pas ça, pour quoi, 'tit fille.

Oh, malheurese, tu connais, tu même-toi, chere,

Oh, mais, moi j'connais-z, (a) pauvre vieux nègre, a pas longtemps.

Amos Comeaux, Junior Keelan, 
Harry Choates, Johnnie Manuel, 
Ronald Ray "Pee Wee" Lyons, poss. W.M. Floyd
Bear Family Records

Like most small companies, Bill could not afford much publicity and promotion and all his shipments went out C.O.D. which explains the relatively poor distribution of the label.   It was a real "down home" operation, often even some of the acetate masters would not come out of the electroplating tank, something went wrong, and Bill explains many of the missing numbers in his catalog by this electro-chemical fail. 

Oh my, I know, well, I'm getting drunk,

Oh, well, dear little girl, don't deserve that, oh why, little girl?

Oh, my, you know, yourself, dear,

Oh, well, I know, (your) poor old man, not long ago.

The Shreveport Times
Aug 1, 1951

In later years, Bill would record other blues artists around the Texas area, but many were small-time musicians.  In the case of a record by a new artist, Bill would press maybe 100-300 copies and include a few with each shipment to distributors, but if there was not such of a response, he would never press any more.  Many specific Gold Star discs are almost impossible to find for this reason.1

1. http://arhoolie.org/the-houston-record-men/

Release Info:
1335-A Bayou Pon Pon | Gold Star 1335-A
1335-B Lawtell Waltz | Gold Star 1335-B

Find:
Harry Choates ‎– The Fiddle King Of Cajun Swing (Arhoolie, 1982, 1993)
Devil In The Bayou - The Gold Star Recordings (Bear Family, 2002)

"Austin Special" - Harry Choates

Considered his last recording session ever, in the spring of 1951, Harry Choates had put together a string of musicians containing Lucky Ford, Lloyd Baker and Junior Keelan.  By this point, he had gotten kicked out of the union and his old band members had enough of his alcoholism affecting their performances. His habit of missing concerts led him to be blacklisted by the musicians union in San Antonio and resulted in his band breaking up. He recorded four more tunes and Bob Tanner used his San Antonio pressing plant to distribute them on his Allied label.

Allons, aller dans Austin, Texas, oh mais, chère chérie,

On va avoir un bon temps, moi et toi,

Eh, petite, oh mais, quoi ta fais,

Te ma laisse, pour t'en aller, en grosse, grand Austin, Texas.

Moi, j't'aime toi te meme moi, oh mais, chère chérie,

Eh, petite, moi, j'connais ça pas longtemps,

Quoi ta fais, z-avec moi, mais, moi, j'connais, petite,

Te ma laisse, mais, moi tout seul, les autre on s'entend(?) que ça,

Eh, chere, chere cherie, quoi ta fais, comme ça,

Moi, j'connais ca fais pitie, mais, chère chérie, petite.

The Town Talk
Jul 18, 1951

What happened next is shrouded in mystery.  From various press accounts around Austin, TX, according to Bob Pinson of the Country Music Foundation Library, the following is probably what took place.  In July of 1951, Harry was performing at several dance halls in the Austin area, including the Dessau Hall with Jesse James and All The Boys. It was an old hall, built in 1876 by German immigrants in the area whom originated from Dessau, Germany.  It featured many music artists such as Elvis Presley, Hank Williams, Bob Wills, Loretta Lynn, and Patsy Cline.2  

Choates and his wife consistently broke up and reconciled throughout the year, but he eventually convinced her to move into an apartment in Austin.  But night after night of drinking and apologizing the next morning, she took the kids, filed for divorce, and fled to Beaumont.  After she left, he slept where ever he could find a place to rest, sometimes in the back of the Dessau Hall.4  She issued a court order for monthly child support thinking he would clean up.  On Saturday, July 14, he was scheduled to play at Dessau Hall near Austin. However, he was arrested that day and held without bail on a warrant from Jefferson County, where he was charged with contempt of court in a wife and child desertion case.  

Harry Choates at Dessau Hall
Austin, TX

Let's go, going to big Texas, oh well, dear darling,

We're going to have a good time, me and you,

Eh, little one, oh well, what you've done,

You left me, to go away, into big, big, Texas.

I love you, same with me, oh well, dear darling,

Eh, little girl, I know that it won't be long.

What you've done, with me, well, I know, little girl,

You left me, well, all alone, the others agree with that,

Eh, dear, dear darling, what you've done, like that,

I know that it's pitiful, well, dear darling, little girl.

The Shreveport Times
Aug 1, 1951

He stayed in jail for three days. According to steel guitarist Jimmy Grabowske, 

He was shaking uncontrollably, stumbling around his jail cell in a stupor, with a big cut on his forehead.4  

He died on July 17th in a Travis County jail cell, only 30 minutes before the arrival of Chief Deputy Sherriff T.O. Grant of Jefferson County, who was to return Choates to Beaumont.  The Travis County Sheriff's office reported that Choates had been extremely nervous since his arrest and fellow prisoners reported that he got very ill.  It seemed Harry was losing his mind.  According to fiddler Junior Burrow,

He didn't know us.  He didn't know anything. We went to one of the guards and told him that Choates needed a doctor, badly, but he said there was nothing he could do about it.4  

Three of the musicians in James' group went to look for help but it was too late.  By the time an ambulance arrived, he was dead.3   Based on an autopsy, rumors abound of guards or inmates beating him to death, but Grabowske dismissed them. According to Grabowske,

He was an absolute alcoholic suffering from delirium tremens.  Why was he left alone in a cell, staggering around and hitting his head on everything?4   

Austin American Statesman
Jul 30, 1951

Austin Special - 1951 - Allied

1. http://www.offbeat.com/articles/harry-choates/
2. Image by Museum of the Gulf Coast
3. Harry Choates: Fiddle King of Cajun Swing. Liner notes.
4. All Over the Map: True Heroes of Texas Music By Michael Corcoran
5. NOTE: Krazy Kat #KK-CD 22 lists "Saturday Night Waltz" and "Austin Special" in reverse.
6. Lyrics by Jordy D and Stephane F

Find:
Louisiana Cajun Music Volume 4: From The 30s To The 50s (Old Timey, 1972)

Harry Choates: Five-Time Loser 1940-1951 (Krazy Kat, 1990)

Cajun Fiddle King (AIM, 1999)

"Beaumont Waltz" - Harry Choates

In the spring of 1951, Harry Choates was struggling to make payments and alcoholism was taking it's toll.  He was already getting banned from some places but still was recording and many of his former musicians bailed.   Familiar with the recording scene throughout Texas and after re-connecting with his good Virgil Bozman, together they set out to San Antonio to record again.

Hé, petite, tu m’as laissé pour t’en aller,

Hé, chérie mais, mais, quoi t’as fait avec ton pauv’ vieux nég,

Oh, meon, quoi t’as fait, ça a pas fait bien,

Oh mais, moi j'connais, mais, ca ta fais ton pauv’ vieux nég.

Hé, meon, oh, moi j'connais,

Hé qui t'en me quand t’as fais ton pauv’ vieux nég, 

Hé, chérie, oh, mais, moi j'connais,

Oh, mais, moi j'connais t’as pas fais bien, ton pauv’ vieux nég.

Hé, ha ha, hé, chérie, 

Hé petite, quoi t’as fais ton pauv' vieux chien.

Virgil Bozman, who had gave up on his O.T. label, left Lake Charles and headed to meet with Bob Tanner, who had started his T.N.T. and Hot Rod label earlier.  Together, they either decided to create their own label called Allied or partially lease the name from the much larger Allied Recording Company.  Either way, Bob and Virgil had Choates show up to the KCOR radio station in San Antonio and record four tunes, one of them being the "Beaumont Waltz" (#103).  The session would kick off Tanner's short lived Allied label.

Hey, little one, you left me to go away,

Hey, dear, well, what did you do to your old man,

Oh, cutie, what you did wasn't good,

Oh, well I know, well, what you did to your poor old man.

Hey cutie, oh, I know,

Hey, who were you with when you did that to your poor old man,

Hey, dear, oh well, I know,

Oh, well, I know, you didn't treat well your poor old man.

Hey, haha, hey, dear,

Hey, little one, whatever did you do to your poor old man.

Lucky Ford

This time, Harry was working with a slew of new musicians including guitarist Lucky Ford, the vocalist for the Texas based band Jimmy Revard & His Oklahoma Playboys.  Lucky would go on to play with Jimmie Rivers & Vance Terry.  Anther would be steel guitarist Lloyd Hazelbaker who also played with Revard.   Junior Keelan stayed with him as his bass player.  According to Link Davis' wife, Doris Meadows:

Choates was the kind of guy, he worked and make money ,then wouldn't work anymore 'till he spent his money.

Bob's radio station recording studio and pressing plant couldn't match the sound quality Choates was used to having at Bill Holford's ACA studio when he was recording for Macy Henry the previous year.  However, this session is believed to be his last.   Under strange circumstances, he was jailed for late payments and died in a jail cell, believed to be either due to physical trauma and/or his alcoholism.

1. South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous By John Broven
2. Dance Halls and Last Calls: A History of Texas Country Music By Geronimo Trevino III
3. All over the map: true heroes of Texas music by Michael Corcoran
4. http://www.rockabilly.nl/artists/linkdavis.htm
5. Lyrics by Stephane F

Find:
Harry Choates: Five-Time Loser 1940-1951 (Krazy Kat, 1990)
Harry Choates: Cajun Fiddle King (Aim, 1999)
Top 45 Classics: The Very Best Of Harry Choates (GRR Music, 2014)

"Dragging The Bow" - Harry Choates

One of Harry Choates' best demonstrations of his talent was ability to show off his solo fiddle rides on certain tunes.   Here, in early 1948, he takes the opportunity with his band to record for Bill Quinn's Houston-based Gold Star label one of his more well known instrumentals called "Dragging The Bow" (#1343).

His band had shifted some players and by 1948, the group consisted of Wilbur "Pee Wee" Maples on guitar, Red Fabacher on steel guitar, Junior Keelan on bass, Amos Comeaux on drums, and Johnnie Ruth Manuel on piano.  Throughout the song, you could hear him shift the attention to his friend Francis "Red" Fabacher by calling out his name.   Red had earlier worked with his brother Joseph in the group called Jolly Boys of Lafayette. He met Harry around the time both were helping Happy Fats during the early 1940s.

Red Fabacher, Ronald Ray "Pee Wee" Lyons,
Johnnie Ruth Smyrl, Harry Choates,
Amos Comeaux, Curly Maples

Originally recorded by Henry Hartley and the Travelers as "Raggin' The Fiddle", it's a cover of the famous western swing player Curt "Dott" Massey's 1935 Vocalion recording called "Draggin’ the Bow".  Most likely, Harry picked up the tune while playing with Shelley Lee Alley & his Alley Cats, given they recorded the tune in 1938 as "Alley Cat Stomp".  Harry had previously recorded it with Happy Fat's Rayne-Bo Ramblers in 1940 for Bluebird and their subsidiary Montgomery Ward label, calling it "Lake Charles Shuffle". The song title refers to the action of a smooth fiddle player.  While the phrase has mysterious origins, it most likely refers to a player's ability to keep the bow constantly on the strings, while moving from string to string, in one sweeping fashion. 


Goldstar would end up selling the masters to Pappy Daily's "D" records which re-released the song (#1024), sometimes changing the name slightly, such as "Draggin The Fiddle" (Starday #273, D 1023)  and "Drag That Fiddle" (Starday #258).

Harry's lifestyle was erratic.  According to Red:

I drank when I was on the bandstand, but [Harry] drank all day long.

Daily Advertiser
Feb 19, 1941

1. Country Music Originals: The Legends and the Lost By Tony Russell
2. http://www.vithefiddler.com/draggin-the-bow-fiddle-tune-a-day-day-110/

Find:
Fiddlin' country style (Melodisc, 1961)
Harry Choates ‎– The Fiddle King Of Cajun Swing (Arhoolie, 1982, 1993)
Harry Choates - Jole blon: The Original Cajun Fiddle of Harry Choates CD (D, 1999)
Cajun Fiddle King (AIM, 1999)

Devil In The Bayou - The Gold Star Recordings (Bear Family, 2002)