"La Cote Farouche De La Vie" - Marie Falcon & Clopha "Shuk" Richard

What many people aren't aware of is that acclaimed Cajun accordionist Joe Falcon had a large musical family, which included his niece Marie Solange Falcon.   Marie, backed by Clopha "Shuk" Richard's band, had a short lived recording career in 1952.   An admirer of her aunt Cleoma Breaux Falcon, she had no problem jumping into the music business.   She had played with many musicians and lived in Cajun dance-halls playing music for years.  George Khoury had her record a very popular country song that year, in French, called "Le Côte Farouche De La Vie" (#621).  The song is fitting for the wild and boisterous female guitarist and vocalist.

Vous serait pas lire mes lettres, se j'ai écrit les 

Tu me demandes de pas ta appelez de sur "phone", 

Il y a quelque chose de vous dit, oui, asteur chere, 

Je l'ai écrit dans les mots dans c'ette chanson. 

Savais pas bon dieu a fait des anges "honky-tonk", 

J'aurais tu connu que m'a jamais faites une femme, 

T'as quitte, oui, le seul l'amour qui t'aimé, chere, 

T'en aller sur la borde la vie farouche. 

Les lumière du le place du soir t'a attiré,

A la place éyoù vin et whisky flux,

Bien, êtes-vous d'être le bébé d'un autre de Pointe d'Eglise,

Oublier l'amour des yeux que t'as jamais connais. 

Savais pas bon dieu a fait des anges "honky-tonk", 

J'aurais tu connu que m'a jamais faites une femme, 

T'as quitte, oui, le seul l'amour qui t'aimé, chere, 

T'en aller sur la borde la vie farouche. 

Eddie Richard, Jay Dartez,

Clopha "Shugg" Richard on accordion,
Marie Solange Falcon on guitar,

Jack Brock (MC)

It is a Cajun rendition of Hank Thompson's 1952 "The Wild Side Of Life". It carries one of the most distinctive melodies of early country music, used in "Thrills That I Can't Forget" recorded by Welby Toomey and Edgar Boaz in 1925.2  The song's roots go back to when William Warren was a boy and A.P Carter of the Carter Family was collecting old traditional folk songs for the Carter Family to record.  One of those songs was "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes," which was a hit for the Carter Family in 1929.  In 1934, Marie's aunt, Cleoma Breaux, was a huge fan of the Carters and had used the melody for her "Mes Yeux Bleu". Influenced by her aunt, Marie sung the song in Lake Charles backed up by Shuk Richard on accordion, Will Kegley on fiddle and Crawford Vincent on drums.    

You would not read my letters, if I wrote them,

You asked me not to call your phone,

This is something you said, yes, right now, dear,

I wrote the words in this song.

Didn't know the good Lord made honky-tonk angels,

I should have known that you never made a woman,

You're leaving, yeah, the one that loved you, dear,

You're going to the wild side of life.

The lights of the night have lured you,

At a place where the wine and whiskey flows,

Well, you are the baby of another from Church Point,

Forget the lovely eyes you've ever known.

Didn't know the good Lord made honky-tonk angels,

I should have known that you never made a woman,

You're leaving, yeah, the one that loved you, dear,

You're going to the wild side of life.

J.D. Miller, showing his #1 hit
"It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels"

Roy Acuff heard the same tune but with different lyrics from a band called The Black Shirts. Acuff recorded the song as "The Great Speckled Bird," a song inspired by the 12th chapter and 9th verse of the Book of Jeremiah. In 1952, Jimmy Heap and his band the Melody Masters first recorded the song on the Imperial label. The band's piano player, Arlie Carter, is credited as the song's co-writer.  Heap said in a 1971 interview with Ray Campi that the Melody Masters' version sold about 10,000 copies before Hank Thompson picked it up as the "B" side of his single "Crying In The Deep Blue Sea."

Louisiana recording producer and songwriter J.D. Miller heard Hank's song on his car radio and immediately wrote lyrics for a female response to the song. He submitted his lyrics to Decca Records, which contacted Kitty Wells about recording it. Ms. Wells, semi-retired at the time, was not all that interested in the song, but her husband convinced her to record it anyway since she would be paid a session fee for stepping into the studio. Her song "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels," became a number one hit in 1952, and stayed there for six weeks.1

1. http://www.texasescapes.com/ClayCoppedge/A-Classic-Walk-on-The-Wild-Side.htm
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wild_Side_of_Life
3. Lyrics by Jerry M

Release Info:
La Cote Farouche De La Vic | Khoury's KH-621-A
Jole Brun | Khoury's KH-621-B

Find:

Cajun Honky Tonk: The Khoury Recordings, Volume 1 (Arhoolie, 1995)
Bayou Two-Step - Cajun Hits From Louisiana 1929-1962 (Jasmine, 2015)

"Chere Vere Naig" - Clopha "Shuk" Richard & Marie Falcon

Shuk Richard's Louisiana Aces was another popular band on radio and live appearances when this 1951 session took place.  Clopha “Shuk” (Shug) Richard was born in Rayne and it is believed that he learned to play the Cajun accordion by ear with his initial lessons coming from his mother, Ozia Breaux Richard. After working in the rice fields on farms near Rayne, he moved to Lake Charles in the 1920s.2  Marie Falcon was the band's added attraction and one of the very few female artists to appear during the era.  She came from Cajun music's first family, with the recordings of Joe and Cleoma Falcon. Two of Joe's nieces, Marie and Helen, became musicians.1    

Cher vieux nègre, après n’emmener pour te voir,

(A venir te)* de m'voir avant d'mourir,

Aussi loin avec moi aujourd'hui,

Moi, je peux p'us m’empêcher, ouais, d'pleurer.

Moi-même, j'connais quoi tu viens pour te faire soigner,

Moi, je peux p'us m’empêcher, ouais, d'pleurer

Prends courage, à ton vieux nègre pour te voir, 

(Venir te)* pour une autre fois, donc, moi, j'connais.

Aussi loin avec moi, aujourd'hui,

Aujourd'hui, m’empêcher, ouais, d'pleurer,

Comment j'vais venir, moi, te revoir, jolie cœur,

(Venir te pour)* une autre fois que avant d'mourir.

Eddie Richard, Jay Dartez,
Shuk Richard on accordion,
Marie Solange Falcon on guitar,
Jack Brock (MC)

Together, Marie and Shuk Richard recorded "Chere Vere Naig" (#622) corruption of the French phrase, "chère vieux nègre") as an ode to Cleoma's melody "La Valse Crowley".   The song is a high intensity waltz made more effective as Eddie Duhon 'seconds' her vocal on fiddle.1    The group rounded out with Crawford Vincent on drums and Shuk on accordion.  Marie handles the vocals on all four songs from the session. She strums her guitar stridently and sings at the top of her voice as loud as any male Cajun singer.  However, these sessions made very little impact on her as a musician.  Author John Broven remembers:

I once interviewed Marie... I kept trying to convince her that she was breaking new ground as a Cajun woman singer but she wouldn't have it, treating it all matter-of-factly.1  

My dear old friend, take me to see you,

(Come and) see me before I die,

So far away from me, today,

I can not stop myself, yeah, from crying.

I, myself, I know that you're coming to be cared by me,

I can not stop myself, yeah, from crying,

Have courage, your old friend sees you,

(Coming) another time, therefore, I know.

So far away from me, today,

Today, stop me, yeah, from crying,

How will I come see you again, pretty sweetheart?

(Coming) another time, before I die.

1. Cajun Honky Tonk: The Khoury Recordings, Vol. 2. Liner notes.
2. Cajun Dancehall Heyday by Ron Yule
3. Lyrics by Stephane F

Release Info:
-A Madame Entelle Two Step | Khoury's KH-622-A
-B Chere Vere Naig | Khoury's KH-622-B

Find:
Cajun Honky Tonk: The Khoury Recordings Vol. 2 (Arhoolie, 2013)

"Jole Brun" - Clopha "Shuk" Richard & Marie Falcon

"Jole Blon" made it's national debut in 1946 with the honky-tonk recording by Harry Choates for Gold Star records.   He used the slow Amedie Breaux recording but sped it up with a full band sound and changed the key.   For the next several years, musicians began covering the tune, even re-titling the tune and changing the lyrics to appeal to an ever increasing Cajun music audience.  George Khoury's attempt at recording the tune in 1952 as "Jole Brun" (#621) with Marie Solange Falcon and Shuk Richard's band didn't make a lasting impression.

Mais, Jolie brun, 'gardez-donc, quoi t'as fait,

T’as abandonné ton pauvre vieux nègre, pour t'en aller, 

Pour t'en aller, chérie, aussi loin de moi,

Comment tu crois, moi, je vas faire, moi, tout seul?

Mais, jolie brune, tu croyais qu’il y avait juste toi,

Il y avait juste toi dedans le pays pour moi à aimer,

Il y a pas juste toi dans le pays pour aimer,

Mais, il y a juste toi mon cœur peut désirer.

Louisiana Aces, KLOU, 1947
Eddie Duhon, Jay Dartez,

Clopha "Shugg" Richard on accordion,
Marie Solange Falcon on guitar,

Jack Brock (MC)

Marie Solange Falcon, a vocalist and guitarist, was living with her husband and two children near the Richards in Lake Charles in the early 1940s. It was at this time they met, and it is believed he formed the Louisiana Aces with various local musicians. In 1947 the group included Shuk, Marie, Louis Arceneaux on fiddle, and Earl Demary on guitar, and by 1948, Eddie Duhon was added on fiddle and Jay Dartez on steel guitar. They were known to play on Lake Charles radio station KLOU.  After Crawford Vincent and Will Kegley joined the group, they recorded  "Jole Brun" (pretty brunette) in 1952.  The Jolly Boys of Lafayette featuring the Fabacher brothers were the first to use this alternate title in 1937 with their version called "Jolie (Brunette)".  Even Harry Choates himself  tried to capitalize on the popular melody by also releasing his own song entitled "Jole Brun" that same year.  

Well, pretty brunette, so look at what you've done,

You have abandoned your poor old man, you went away,

You went away, dearie, so far from me,

How do you think I will do this all by myself?

Well, pretty brunette, you thought there was just you,

That there was just you in the country for me to love,

There isn't just you in the country to love,

Well, there is just you that my heart desires.

1. Cajun Dancehall Heyday by Ron Yule
2. Lyrics by Jordy A

Release Info:
A Le Cote Farouche De La Vic | Khoury's KH-621-A
B Jole Brun | Khoury's KH-621-B

Find:

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

Cajun Capers: Cajun Music 1928-1954 (Proper, 2005)

"Madam Entelle Two Step" - Clopha "Shuk" Richard & Marie Falcon

After Joe Falcon's success with music in the 1930s, one of his nieces, Marie Solange Falcon, (who is featured in the Les Blank film "French Dance Tonight") took up the guitar and with Clopha "Shuk" Richard, formed the L.A. Aces in the 1950s. They had a short career playing dancehalls around the area and recorded two records for George Khoury's label. One of those songs was the "Madame Entelle Two Step" using an old melody which would later become "Les Flammes d'Enfer", "Petite ou la Grosse", "Donnez Moi La", and "Madame Edouard".

Madame Entelle donnez-moi les,

Tout quell qui chose est tout le même prix,                    

Madame Entelle donnez-moi les, 

Tout quell qui chose est tout le même prix. 

Adieu Rosa, yaille, comment ça se fait, chère,

Quoi toi tu m' fais ? 'garde donc quoi tu m'fais. 

Adieu Rosa, yaille, Comment ça se fait, 'tite fille. 

Quoi tu m' fais ? 'garde donc toi t'après m'faire. 

Madame Entelle donnez-moi les, 

Tout quell qui chose est tout le même prix,

Madame Entelle donnez-moi les,

Tout quell qui chose est tout le même prix. 

Hey, mais moi j'aime ça, chère, 

Viens me voir mais m'en aller. 

Plus personne mais pour m'aimer,

Plus personne m'appeler le sien.

Madame Entelle donnez-moi les,

Petite ou grosse c'est tout le même prix.

Eddie Richard, Jay Dartez,
Shuk Richard on accordion,
Marie Solange Falcon on guitar,
Jack Brock (MC)

The song has a raucous, accordion driven sound, similar to much of the sound Khoury had on other recordings he produced.  Even Marie's voice comes across as a series of yells rather than sung.  Marie's song is the post-war version of the old Creole song called "Adieu Rosa" that Joe Falcon used to create his "Arcadian One Step". The song has a alternate take on the song "Madame Sostene" in which a lover is asking for one of the mother's daughers.  In this case, either daughter, the big one or the small one, will do.

Mrs. Entelle, give one to me,

Any of them are the same to me,

Mrs. Entelle, give one to me,

Any of them are the same to me,

Farewell Rosa, yaille, how come you do this, dear?

What are you doing?  Look at what you've done.

Farewell Rosa, yaille, how come you do this, little girl?

Do you know what you've done? Look at what you've done.

Mrs. Entelle, give one to me,

Any of them are the same to me,

Mrs. Entelle, give one to me,

Any of them are the same to me,

Hey, I love ya, dear,

Come see me, because I have to leave,

I have no one to love me,

No one calls me their own,

Mrs. Entelle, give one to me,

The big one or the small one, it's all the same.

1. Discussions with Neal P
2. Lyrics by Jerry M and Marc C

Release Info:
-A Madame Entelle Two Step | Khoury's KH-622-A
-B Chere Vere Naig | Khoury's KH-622-B

Find:
Cajun Music - The Early 50s (Arhoolie, 1969)

Cajun Honky Tonk: Khoury Recordings (Arhoolie, 1995)
Bayou Two-Step - Cajun Hits From Louisiana 1929-1962 (Jasmine, 2015)