"Tu Peus Pas Me Faire Ce (You Can't Put That Monkey On My Back)" - Alley Boys of Abbeville

While traditional Cajun music began to take a backseat to western Texas swing and big band jazz orchestras, a handful of Cajun musicians from Abbeville landed a spot on KVOL performing some of their favorite jazz tunes as a string band group in 1938.  Lead by Sidney Guidry on vocals and guitar, he and fiddler Frankie Mailhes formed the group called the Alley Boys of Abbeville.  Named after the street in which they rehearsed frequently, it consisted of Murphy Guidry on guitar, Lourse Touchet on steel guitar and Maxie Touchet on drums. 

Tu peux pas me faire accroire que ca c'est tout vrai,

Tu peux pas me faire accroire la neige est noire,

Tu peux m'dire y'a un ouragan quand le soleil est bien chaud

Mais, tu peux pas m'mettre ce macaque sur mon dos.

Tu me quittes moi seul presque tous les jors,

Et tu vas ici et là-bas avec un et l'autre,

Après toi t'as été amuser, tu dis moi j'suis le seul,

Mais, tu peux pas m'mettre ce macaque sur mon dos.

J't'ai vue a un café avec un autre,

Et tu m'as dit t'avais été juste visiter,

Et c't'homme c'était ton cousin, mais, ton cousin il est mort,

Ca fait tu peux pas m'mettre ce macaque sur mon dos.

Tu m'as dit t'avais ete voir ta grand maman,

Mais, ta grand maman reste pas l'autre bord du ch'min d'fer,

Ecoute ici c'est une autre chose, je donne pas de bague en argent,

Ca fait tu peux pas m'mettre ce macaque sur mon dos.

Tu m'aimes quand j'ai un tas de l'argent,

Mais la l'argent est court les visites sont rares,

Tu m'as dit ca aurait ette vrai, mais, j'connais ca tu vas faire,

Ca fait tu peux pas m'mettre ce macaque sur mon dos.

J'ai dit mon dernier "Bonjour" et la j'men vas,

Mon vieux linge, mes souliers j'vas emporter,

Parce que tes cousins y rient c'est exu, ca après m'tuer,

Ca fait j'ai après tout m'mettre ce macaque sur mon dos.

Abbeville Meridional
Nov 18, 1939

Recorded at the Gayoso Hotel, Memphis, TN in 1939, the Alley Boys performed their Cajun rendition of the song "You Can't Put That Monkey On My Back" entitled "Tu Peus Pas Me Faire Ce" (#05058).  The song is a popular tune first recorded by the Shelton Brother the previous year in 1938 and then again in 1939 for Decca records.  The tune was composed by Marshall Walker and written by Hy Heath. It was also made popular by the jazz musician Frankie "Half Pint" Jaxon the same year. 

You can't make me believe that's all true,

You can't make me believe the snow is black,

You can tell me there's a hurricane when the sun is shining,

Well, you can't put that monkey on my back.

You leave me alone almost every day,

And you go here and there with one and another,

After you have your fun, you tell me I'm the only one,

Well, you can't put that monkey on my back.

I saw you at a cafe with another,

And you told me you were just visiting,

And this man was your cousin but your cousin, he died,

You can't put that monkey on my back.

You told me you had been to see your grandma,

But, your grandmother does not stay on the other side of the iron road,

Listen here, another thing, I'm not giving a silver ring,

You can't put that monkey on my back.

You love me when I have a bunch of money,

But the money is short, visits are rare,

You told me that would have been true, but, I know what you're going to do,

You can't put that monkey on my back.

I said my last "Good day" and I'm going,

My old laundry, my shoes, I'll take them, 

Because your cousins ​​laugh at them, it's over, it's killing me,

I did, after all, put this monkey on my back.

Later the recording would be covered by other musicians such as Riley Puckett and Hank Thompson.  According to David Savoy, 

My grandfather played steel guitar on this classic track. But his name is misspelled above. It's actually Lourse Touchet (pronounced "Lauw-us" but everyone called him "Mockay" anyway). He was an awesome man and musician. The Alley Boys came to end due to WWII. A cannon fired in close vicinity to my grandfather during the war and he lost hearing in one ear. He gave up music from that point but I still remember that beautiful steel guitar always hanging in his closet.2  

1. Lyrics by 'ericajun'
2. Discussions with David Savoy

Release Info:

MEM-9-1 Tu Peus Pas Me Faire Ce (You Can't Put That Monkey On My Back) | Vocalion 05058

MEM-6-1 Se Toute Sain Cinne Moi Ma Saine (I Wonder If You Feel The Way I Do) | Vocalion 05058

Find:
Cajun Country, Vol. 2, More Hits from the Swamp (JSP, 2005)
Cajun Capers: Cajun Music 1928-1954 (Proper, 2005)
The Best Of Cajun & Zydeco (Not Now, 2010)
The Very Best of Cajun: La Stomp Creole, Vol. 1 (Viper, 2016)

"Abbeville Breakdown" - Alley Boys of Abbeville

One of the last Cajun string bands to record before the war was the Alley Boys of Abbeville.  Their band leader, Sidney Guidry, started playing music at eight years of age and became a self-taught rhythm guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. By the age of 13 he was a professional musician. During the 1930’s he worked with the Alley Boys in Abbeville, LA and later played with Doc Guidry and the Sons of the Acadians. 

The Alley Boys of Abbeville, an accordion-less group of youngsters who recorded once for Vocalion, composed of Frankie "Tee Tee" Mailhes on fiddle and vocals, Sidney Guidry on guitar, Lourse "Mockay" Touchet on guitar,  and Murphy "Mule" Guidry on guitar. Together, the group recorded a self-entitled instrumental, based on the small town of Abbeville, Louisiana, called "Abbeville Breakdown" (#05168) in 1939. 

Sidney Guidry

It was a rendition of a 1934 Joe Falcon tune entitled "Au Revoir Cherie" and resembled J.B. Fuselier's 1938 "Redell Breakdown" even closer.   It would later become one of Iry Lejeune's most iconic songs--the 1948 recording of "Evangeline Special".

Always pushing the envelope, Sidney developed a rudimentary sound system in 1939 powered by an automobile battery. Also in 1939 Sidney Guidry had a weekly radio show on KVOL in Lafayette, Louisiana, a larger city north of Abbeville. After serving in the Marine Corps during World War II, Sidney returned to full-time performing for a couple of years after the war.

Release Info:
MEM-12-1 Abbeville Breakdown | Vocalion 05168
MEM-15-1 Je Vous T'Aime Lessair Pleurer (I'll Never Let You Cry) | Vocalion 05168

Find:
Cajun Vol. 1 Abbeville Breakdown 1929-1939 (Columbia, 1990)
American Roots - A History Of American Folk Music (Disky, 1999)
Les Triomphes De La Country Music (Habana, 2002)
Cajun Country, Vol. 2, More Hits from the Swamp (JSP, 2005)
Music Inspired By Oh! Brother, Where Art Thou? (Not Now, 2007)

"Apres Jengler A Toi" - Alley Boys of Abbeville

The Alley Boys represented one of the unique groups to come out of south Louisiana. Influenced by local jazz bands as well as Cajun instrumentation, their group formed when opportunities to play dances in Vermilion parish opened up.   As some of the musicians filled in with orchestras, these close friends decided they could create their own group.  All they needed was a name.  According to Lourse's daughter, Carolyn,

One of the Guidry's lived on a street called Franks Alley, and they'd practice at that location all the time.   Before long, they were calling themselves the Alley Boys.1  

Oh, chère, mais, quelle histoire, mais, ennuyante,

Après jongler, oui, z-à toi,

La vie est dure, mais, pas t'avoir, mais, c'est plus dur,

Mais, j'aimerais, oui, t'avoir, mais, avec moi.

D’après toi, quand je t'ai dis que je t'aimais,

Toi t'as dit, mais, la même chose,

Mais, aujourd'hui, t'es après écouter tous les conseils,

T'auras du regret pour tout ça, mais, toi tu fais.

Leleux Dancehall, 1938
Alley Boys of Abbeville
Lourse Touchet, Frankie Mailhes,
Murphy Guidry, Sidney Guidry
www.loc.gov

Together, the group consisted of Sidney Guidry on guitar, Murphy "Mule" Guidry on guitar, Lourse "Mockay" Touchet on steel guitar, and Frankie "Tee Tee" Mailhes on fiddle and vocals.   Although their guitarist Sabray Guidry helped form the band, they replaced him with Maxie Touchet on drums. They headed to Memphis, TN where the group recorded "Apres Jengler A Toi" (#05057), a tune based on J.B. Fuselier's "Chere Tu Tu". 

Oh, dearie, well, what a lonely story,

(I am) reminiscing, yeah, about you,

Life is hard, well, not having you, well, it's real hard,

Well, I'd like, yeah, to have you, well, with me.

According to you, when I told you that I loved you,

You told me, well, the same thing,

Well, today, you are listening to all the advice,

You'll regret all that, well, you've done.

Four months later, after their recordings came out, the interest must have been widespread with larger than expected sales.  The local paper claimed:

The records made by the Alley Boys are being sold like "hot cakes" in Southwest Louisiana.2  

1. Discussions with Carolyn T S
2. Abbeville Meridional.  Nov 18, 1939.
3. Lyrics by Stephane F

Release Info:
MEM-3-1 Apres Jengler A Toi |  Vocalion 05057
MEM-14-1 Te Bonne Pour Moi Estere | Vocalion 05057

Find:

Cajun Vol. 1 Abbeville Breakdown 1929-1939 (CBS, 1990)

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

"Je Vas Jamais Lessair Pleurer (I'll Never Let You Cry)" - Alley Boys of Abbeville

By 1939, plenty of Louisiana jazz music was on the airwaves and being played in larger dance halls. Keeping in step with current trends in Cajun music, the Alley Boys of Abbeville outfit modernized their sound by employing a rudimentary public address system that operated off of a car battery during performances.   This allowed their  They featured French renditions of mainstream American tunes.  

J'va jamais t'laisser pleurer pour moi,

Tu vas jamais savoir comment moi j'pourais etre,

J'va jamais te dire combien d'temps tiend l'amour,

Tu vas jamais savoir a qui c'est qu'j'a pres jongler,

J'va jamais t'laisser rester dans la pluie,

J'va pas t'laisser espere pour derien,

J'va jamais enmener des larmes a tes yeux,

J'va jamais t'laisser pleurer.

Sydney Guidry

The song they performed during a mammoth Vocalion session was "Je Vous T'aime Lessair Pleurer" in 1939 sung by Frank "Tee Tee" Mailhes.  Frank was accompanied by Sidney and Murphy Guidry on guitars, Lourse "Mockay" Touchet Leger on steel resonator guitar, and Maxie Touchet on drums.  "I'll Never Let You Cry" was written by Lew Pollack and lyrics by Sidney Mitchell two years earlier for the film "In Old Chicago".  Later, the song was popularized with Artie Shaw in 1938 and much later by Slim Whitman. That same year, Bill Boyd & His Cowboy Ramblers covered a very popular version of the song.  When the band returned from the session, Lourse's daughter Carolyn recalled,

That's the one people around here liked.2   

I'll never let you cry for me,

You have never known how nice I can be,

I'll never tell you how much I'm in love,

You'll never know who I'm thinking of,

I'll never let you stay in the rain,

I'll not let you wait around for nothing,

I'll never allow the tears in your eyes,

I'll never let you cry.

In addition to maintaining club dates, the band found work on KVOL.  The Tuff-Nutt Company sponsored the group's weekly broadcast, though the business could only provide the group with uniforms as payment. According to Sidney Guidry:

You have no idea how bad times were in South Louisiana, around 1938-1939.  Man, times were tough and although Tuff-Nutt didn't pay us, we were happy to have the clothes.1

1. Cajun Breakdown: The Emergence of an American-Made Music By Ryan Andre Brasseaux
2. Discussions with Carolyn T S

Find:
Cajun Vol. 1 Abbeville Breakdown 1929-1939 (Columbia, 1990)
Cajun: Rare & Authentic (JSP, 2008)