"Jay Pas Pour Restez" - The Singing Frenchman

Known as "The Singing Frenchman", Johnny William "J.W." Billiot was born in Hamshire, Texas and raised in Louisiana with exposure to the music filling the dancehalls of east Texas and southwest Louisiana.  He played Cajun music standards alongside country and western classics and by 1949, his band landed a recording opportunity with DeLuxe Records in Sulphur, Louisiana.   Mimicking the songs of the Cajuns further east, he recorded "Jay Pas Pour Restez (I Ain't Gonna Stay)" (#6043), better known known as the "Waltz That Carried Me To My Grave" by Joe Falcon.  It was a melody that influenced other recordings such as Dewey Balfa and Elise Deshotel's "La Valse Da Courage". His daughter Mary recalled:

He continued to write music, but never published anything. If someone ask him to play a song on the accordion, we knew we were going to be there a while. It might be four or five hours before he would quit and go home.[1]  

The Orange Leader
May 15, 1964

Ton papa et ta maman, (m'a) toujours dit, fille,

Ton papa et ta maman, (à ton vieux nègre).

Ah, asteure j'ai toujours dit pour revenir, fille,

Asteure, j'ai toujours dit, mais, malheureuse.

Ton papa et ta maman, malheureuse,

Ton papa et ta maman, eh, moi j'connais,

Rappelle-toi à quel avenir, que (...) fille,

Et toi, quel avenir, moi, je peux avoir?

His band consisted of Johnny on accordion and vocals, his wife Bessie “Grace” Billiot watching nearby, possibly Bill Guillory or Nick Guidry on fiddle and Billy Rayon or Lloyd Gilbert on guitar.  At the dances he would step on the dance floor and find a lady to dance with him, and these extended bellows allowed him to put the accordion around her and play it while they danced. Johnny like to party, so he built a compartment on the bass side of his accordion for a “jo-jo” (a half pint flask of whiskey) in case they would run out of something to drink. He was known to play all day, all night, and into the morning, many times resulting in sore fingers and a bleeding thumb.[1]  

Your father and your mom, what they always said, girl,

Your father and your mom, (to your old man).

Now, I've always said I'd return, girl,

Now, I've always said, well, oh my.

Your father and your mom, oh my,

Your father and your mom, eh, I don't know anymore,

Remember what future you have, girl,

And you, what future can I have?

The Liberty Vindicator
Jun 30, 1949

In the early 1950s country music star George Jones, to whom Bessie gave singing lessons, played in the band, but did not play on the radio shows with Johnny. They remained friends after George became a country star. In 1955, the Billiots moved to Evadale, Texas, where he owned a garage and filling station. Mary recounts:

George Jones used to come by our house in Evadale and sit and talk for hours with Johnny. Most of the time drunk, and always had women trouble.[1]   

Release Info:

999 Jay Pas Pour Restez | Deluxe 6043-A

997 Valse De Beaumont | Deluxe 6043-B

References

1. Cajun Dancehall Heyday by Ron Yule
2. Lyrics by Stephane F

"Le Grande Texas" - The Singing Frenchman

East Texas and south Louisiana music have always had a close relationship even during the earliest years.  The first U.S. census in Texas in 1850 found 600 "Franco-Louisianans" between Orange and Houston.  In the late 19th century, two factors brought an increased movement of Cajuns into Texas. One was the need for workers to cultivate rice in Southeast Texas. Another was the labor force needed on the Southern Pacific Railroad line that ran from the Sabine River to Houston. The discovery of the massive oilfield in Southeast Texas forever changed the ethnic makeup of the area as Louisiana Cajuns streamed into Texas to work in the burgeoning oil industry.2   It was this influx of Cajuns and their accompanying music that influenced a very young accordion player from Beaumont, Texas named Johnny William “J. W.” Billiot.  

Tu m'as quitté pour t'en aller à le Grand Texas,

Tu m'as quitté toi tout seul (z)à Grand Texas,

Criminelle comment je va faire, mais, moi tout seul ?

Tu m'as quitté pour t'en aller, pour t'en aller.

Tu m'as quitté pour t'en aller,

Pour t'en aller, toi tout seul, (z)à Grand Texas.

Criminelle comment je va faire, mais, moi tout seul ?

Tu m'as quitté pour t'en aller, pour t'en aller.

You left me to go,

To go to big Texas by yourself,

Oh please, come back here, to me, my darling,

Oh, I'm so lonesome by myself.

KTRM, Beaumont, 1950
Nick Guidry, Bessie "Grace" Billiot,
Johnny Billiot, Joe Trum, Lloyd Gilbert
Courtesy of Billiot Family

Johnny's mother died in the pneumonia epidemic of 1916 when he was 14 months old and for several of his early years, the father and son lived on a houseboat while his dad was a trapper, moonshine runner, and alligator hunter.   Over the years, he'd borrow his godfather's accordion and learn to play Cajun tunes, eventually earning a living in the dance-halls1  His daughter recalled, 

As children we were at dance-halls with him every weekend because he was playing music. He played music at many home parties. Johnny had a very large presence, known to be a great showman. Music was his life-long love. He would play for anyone that asked him and many times for a cause.1 

As lead accordionist and vocalist, Johnny assembled a group with his wife Grace on backup vocals, Bill Guillory on fiddle, Billy Rayon on guitar, Nick Guidry on fiddle, Lloyd Gilbert on guitar and Bill Guidry on guitar. He played throughout the Golden Triangle and Louisiana at numerous clubs including Yvonne's, the Hayseed, Breezeway Inn (High Island), and Pine Tree Lodge in Texas, and the Big Oaks and a club in St. Martinsville in Louisiana. 

You left me to go away to big Texas,

You left me, you're all alone in big Texas,

It's terrible, how am I going to do this, well, all by myself?

You left me to go away, to go away.

You left me to go away,

We went away, you're all alone, in big Texas,

It's terrible, how am I going to do this, well, all by myself?

You left me to go away, to go away.

From about 1948 into the '50s, he played a daily 15 minute radio show with announcer Joe Trum on KTRM in Beaumont. Daughter Johnnie Mae thinks it was during this time when Johnny got the moniker "The Singing Frenchman".1   By 1949, the group occasionally found themselves playing gigs further east in Sulphur. There, his band covered a recently popular swing tune by Chuck Guillory's band called "Le Grand Texas" (#6042) during a DeLuxe session with Joe Lieberwitz.  Originally recorded as "Big Texas" by Papa Cairo in 1948, it has a long history dating back to an old melody first recorded in 1929.

1. Cajun Dancehall Heyday by Ron Yule
2. http://texasalmanac.com/topics/culture/cajun-texans

Release Info:

D 997 Valse De Beaumont | DeLuxe 6043

D 998 Le Grande Texas | DeLuxe 6042

"Jay Pa Say Devout Tah Port (I Passed In Front Of Your Door)" - The Singing Frenchman

One early Cajun musician in the post-war era was Johnny William “J. W.” Billiot, known as the “Singing Frenchman”.  He played around the Beaumont, Texas, area and recorded for Deluxe Records in 1949 with his wife Bessie. Throughout his lifetime he spelled his name various ways (Billiot, Billot and Billiott). According to his daughter Mary Cobb, 

He began to speak broken French/English which his father could not understand so he took him back to Hamshire Hill to live. He actually went to work in the oilfield at the age of 12.1  

Having learned from his godfather, a "Mr. Choat", he played the accordion from a very young age and spoke of playing in dance halls around Hamshire before he was a teenager. During his life, he played at many clubs, home parties, and church benefit dances throughout Texas and Louisiana.

J’ai passe devant ta porte,

J’ai crie, “By-bye ma belle.”

Et personne qui m'a répondu,

O ye yaille, mon cœur fait mal.

O ye yaille, mon cœur fait mal,

O ye yaille, mon cœur fait mal,

Et personne qui m'a répondu,

O ye yaille, mon cœur fait mal.

J’ai passe devant ta porte,

J’ai crie, “By-bye ma belle.”

Et personne qui m'a répondu,

O ye yaille, mon cœur fait mal.

O ye yaille, mon cœur fait mal,

O ye yaille, mon cœur fait mal,

Et personne qui m'a répondu,

O ye yaille, mon cœur fait mal.

Bessie "Grace" Billiot

As lead accordionist and vocalist, Johnny assembled a group with Bill Guillory on fiddle, Billy Rayon on guitar, Nick Guidry on fiddle, Lloyd Gilbert on guitar and Bill Guidry on guitar. His wife Bessie was a vocalist with the band, but Johnny did not feel that Bessie was a good stage name. So, she went by the name of “Grace.” Although she didn’t play any instruments, she remained their vocalist, including becoming the vocalist on some of their recordings.  In a session believed be held in Sulphur, LA, she sang the iconic 1929 Cleoma Breaux tune "Mon Coeur T'Appelle (My Heart Aches For You)", entitled "Jay Pa Say Devout Tah Port" (#6042) for Joe Lieberwitz's DeLuxe label.  His nephew Joseph recalls:

[Grace] could not speak French, so Johnny would stand behind her and lightly sing the words to her which she repeated on the microphone.1  

I passed by your door,

I cried, "Bye bye my beautiful."

And nobody answered me,

Oh ye yaille, my heart hurts.

Oh ye yaille, my heart hurts,

Oh ye yaille, my heart hurts,

And nobody answered me,

Oh ye yaille, my heart hurts.

I passed by your door,

I cried, "Bye bye my beautiful."

And nobody answered me,

Oh ye yaille, my heart hurts.

Oh ye yaille, my heart hurts,

Oh ye yaille, my heart hurts,

And nobody answered me,

Oh ye yaille, my heart hurts.

1. Cajun Dancehall Heyday by Ron Yule
2. Lyrics by Stephane F

Release Info:

D 998 La Grande Texas (Big Texas) | DeLuxe 6042-A

D 1009 Jay Pa Say Devout Tah Port (I Passed In Front Of Your Door) | DeLuxe 6042-AA

"Valse De Beaumont" - Singing Frenchman

With the success of licensing the re-release of Harry Choates' Jole Blon, the New Jersey label DeLuxe found themselves curious about future of Cajun music and the possibilities it had for it's struggling label.   On a tour of the area, company A&R scout Joe Lieberwitz discovered the Hackberry Ramblers, Happy Fats and a relatively unknown Texan billed as the "Singing Frenchman".1   

Named Johnny William “J. W.” Billiot, he and his wife Bessie "Grace" lived in the Beaumont area.  Born in Hamshire, Texas, he and his father moved to Louisiana for about a year where Johnny attended school.  He had a “larger than life” personality, and is described by relatives as a showman who loved the music and had a lot of rhythm in his music. He played the fiddle and piano in addition to the accordion. His nephew Joseph recalls, 

“He bought an accordion at a hock shop on Pearl (Street) in downtown Beaumont. He and my father (Antone) added another leaf (bellow) where he could pull it out real far. They did this to all his accordions.”1 

Hé, petite, moi j'connais, chère,

J’ai parti de la belle pour m’en (aller) à grand Texas.

Hé, chère, j’ai pleuré, petite,

(Qui) t’as fait à ton vieux nègre, c’est pas longtemps.

Hé, petite, j'ai parti, chère,

Parti de la belle pour m’en (aller) à grand Texas.

The Singing Frenchman
Johnny Billiot, George Jones (behind),
Billy Rayon, Bill Guillory

After the oil economy boomed in the 1930s, Beaumont was a hotbed of Cajun influence and activity.  So many of the Cajuns have settled in the southeastern corner of Texas known as the "Golden Triangle" of Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange that the area has been referred to as the "Lapland", where Cajun culture overlaps into Texas.2  As lead accordionist and vocalist, Johnny assembled a group with his wife Grace on backup vocals, Bill Guillory on fiddle, Billy Rayon on guitar, Nick Guidry on fiddle, Lloyd Gilbert on guitar and Bill Guidry on guitar.  By 1949, the group occasionally found themselves playing gigs further east in Sulphur.  Once, a radio show announcer, Joe Trum of KTRM, discovered his talents. It's believed he contacted DeLuxe records executive Joe Lieberwitz for this recording session.1  There, his band recorded "Valse de Beaumont" (#6045) as an ode to the town he was living in.

Hey, little girl, I know, dear,

I have left the beautiful one to go to big Texas.

Hey, dear, I've cried, little one,

Who, you've done this to your old man, it wasn't long ago.

Hey, little one, I've left, dear,

Left the beautiful one to go to big Texas.

1. Cajun Dancehall Heyday by Ron Yule
2. http://texasalmanac.com/topics/culture/cajun-texans
3. Lyrics by Jordy A