"Grand Mamou" - Nathan Abshire

While he mirrored the midcentury infatuation with country-flavored honky-tonk music—fiddle-driven and slide-guitar-embellished—Nathan Abshire later helped lead a resurgence of more traditionally crafted Cajun music with the sound of the old-time button accordion reinstalled at its center. This was the music that had fueled both bals des maisons (house parties) and fais do-dos (weekend dances) in the old days.2   

After the war, Nathan's big break came when Ernest Thibodeaux and Wilson Granger convinced the Avalon Club owner, Quincy Davis, that the band needed an accordion player.   Wilson recalled:

That’s where I met him, when I started playing with him. I had heard of him. I know he was from Riceville. Nathan didn’t know much of anything. When they (Quincy Davis) went and got him to play music, he was fixing stoves. Cooking stoves. You know, there’s not a big business in fixing stoves.  Davis had him on the radio five days a week. He got very popular.1   

Eh, mais, t'en aller à grand Mamou,

C'est pour voir les belles 'tites blondes, mais, malheureux.

Eh, jolie 'tite fille, criminelle,

M'a quitte pour t'en aller z-avec vaurien,

Moi je te souhaite tout le malheur que tu peux avoir,

Tu connais j'mérite pas ça, mais, t'après faire. 

It wouldn't be long before Quincy found record label owner Virgil Bozman and convinced him to record Nathan and his band to help promote his Pine Grove Club near Jennings.  Bozman took advantage of this agreement and recorded at least ten songs for his Oklahoma Tornadoes label, starting in May of 1949 at the local KPLC radio station in Lake Charles.  One of these songs was the popular 1935 Leo Soileau tune called "Grand Mamou" (#106). It was a song that Leo had recorded earlier as "Basile" with Mayuse Lafleur in 1928.

Nathan Abshire
Trent Oubre Studio
www.trentoubre.com

His band during this recording is believed to have consisted of Will Kegley on fiddle, Atlas Fruge on steel guitar, Ernest Thibodeaux on guitar, Jim Baker on bass, and special vocalist Roy Broussard.  After the OT recordings were produced, many musicians began comparing his style to the more popular  Cajun accordionist Iry Lejeune.  When Nathan's first fiddler, Wilson Granger, was asked to compare his style against Iry Lejeune, he stated:

Nathan played the smoothest accordion, in my opinion, than anybody else.  Iry was a hell of an accordion player.   He could play two-steps like nobody else. But Nathan was easier to follow than Iry, put it that way.1  

Hey, well, you're going to big Mamou,

It's to see the pretty little blondes, well, oh my.

Hey, pretty little girl, it's terrible,

I'm leaving for you went away with a scoundrel,

I wish you all the misfortune you can have,

You know I didn't deserve that, well, what you're doing.

Nathan continued to record, and travel, into his later years.  In 1970, he and the Balfa Brothers performed "Grand Mamou" during a Cajun concert in New York City. 

1. Wilson Granger interview. Andrew Brown. 2005.
2. https://64parishes.org/entry/nathan-abshire
3. Lyrics by Stephane F

Release Info:

106-A Grand Mamou | OT 106-A

106-B Lake Charles Two Step | OT 106-B

Find:

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

"New Orleans Waltz" - Nathan Abshire

One of the most colorful and greatest Cajun musicians of all time was the late Nathan Abshire. Abshire’s unique style—best heard on the likes of “Pine Grove Blues,” “Mama Rosin,” “Shamrock Waltz,” and even Joe South’s “Games People Play”—came from blending traditional Cajun music with Louisiana Creole and blues music, music other early Cajun musicians largely disdained or ignored. He also ignited his performances with a spirit and joy for life that few musicians could match.

Ah, 'tite fille, moi j'm'en vas, chère,

Moi j'm'en vas, m'en aller dans la maison.

Ah, 'tite fille, tu vas voir, chère,

Tu vas voir ton erreur, ça va tout le temps.

Ah, 'tite monde, c'est malheureux, chère,

Malheureux de te voir t'es, là.

Ah, 'tite fille, t'écoutais, chère, 

T'écoutais tous les conseils de tous les autres.

Nathan Abshire

The 1949 tune is an ode to the Crescent City called "New Orleans Waltz" (#110).  A melody popularized in the 1930s by Norris Savoy, Norris recorded the same melody in 1947 as "La Valse de Meche".    Nathan and Norris recorded briefly with Warnes Schexnayder and Happy Fats at a New Orleans recording session in 1935.  It's fitting that Nathan chose this title instead, reminiscing about his days playing music with the group in the Big Easy. 

The band consisted of Nathan on accordion and vocals, Will Kegley on fiddle, Atlas Fruge on steel guitar, Ernest Thibodeaux on guitar, Jim Baker on bass, and Ozide Kegley on drums. Recorded for Virgil Bozman's OT Records, supported by George Khoury, he would record some of his earliest post-war material for this label.  It didn't take long for Khoury to see Nathan's potential and sign him on his own label, Khoury's Recordings.  Eddie Shuler recalls Bozman:

He sold cow horns.  In fact, I still have one of his cow horns over the entrance to my door there that he gave me back at that time. I let him sing on my radio show. Anyway, he went then and teamed up with George Khoury and then he went out and found Nathan Abshire.  They used the radio station's disc cutting facilities because that's the way they made their commercials.2

Oh, little girl, I'm leaving, dearie,

I'm leaving, I'm going home.

Oh, little girl, you will see, dearie,

You will see your mistake, always how it is.

Oh, my little everything, it's terrible, dearie,

Sad to see how you are, over there.

Oh, little girl, listen, dearie,

Listen to all the advice of others.

Masters were cut onto aluminum-based acetate-covered discs, which were then sent to a processing plant.  Many of the metal plating work for Virgil's records were done by the Charles Eckart Co. on Santa Monica Blvd in Los Angeles.  This firm in turn probably sent the metal parts to a Los Angeles pressing plant to manufacture the discs, since there were no such plants in Louisiana.3  

Eventually, Nathan re-recorded the melody as "La Valse De Meche" in 1973 for La Louisianne Records with Bessyl Duhon on rhythm guitar, Rufus Thibodeaux on bass, Joe Thibodeaux on drums, record producer Carol Rachou on triangle, and Merlin Fontenot on fiddle.

Towards the end of his days, Abshire adopted the motto “The good times are killing me.” It was the title of his last Swallow LP and he had it spelled out in gold mail box letters on his accordion case. 

1. http://www.offbeat.com/articles/masters-of-louisiana-music-nathan-abshire/
2. http://arhoolie.org/eddie-shuler-goldband-records/
3. Cajun Honk Tonk Vol.2.  Liner notes.  
4. Lyrics by Stephane F

Release Info:

New Orleans Waltz | OT Records 110-A

French Blues | OT Records 110-B

Find:
Cajun Music - The Early 50s (Arhoolie, 1969)
Bayou Two-Step - Cajun Hits From Louisiana 1929-1962 (Jasmine, 2015)

"Sulphur Two Step" - Lacy Adaway

Of all the accordion led recordings of the late 1940s, one stands out as a curiosity.  It was a 1949 pressing by record producer Virgil Bozman on his own O.T. label.  Virgil's foray into country music and Cajun music simultaneously culminated into this obscure recording session with a local western swing outfit known as Lacy Adaway And His Ranch House Boys.   

Lacy was a native of Sulphur, Louisiana and fought in WWII.  When he returned, he got a job working as a pipe fitter in the oil industry and formed a group with his Ranch House Boys, possibly an ode to Johnny Gimble.  Around 1949, the band recorded two sides, one being an instrumental entitled the "Sulphur Two Step" (#108). 

The surprising element in the recording is that the instrumental is led purely by an accordion player.  Immediately, Nathan Abshire fans will recognize the sound of his old Monarch accordion, prominent on many other O.T. releases.   At several points throughout the song, a keen listener will notice Nathan's iconic yelp: "Hah!".  Is this a lost recording of Nathan Abshire?   If so, why did Virgil attempt to merge these two artists?  

Lacy Adaway

Clearly, artistic differences were at play.  The audio seems to suggest tension between Nathan and the other musicians in Lacy's band since there's no evidence they knew Cajun music.  Nathan repeats the same droning riff throughout the song, keeping Lacy's band from having to guess turns and chord changes.   The flip-side contains a country tune by The Ranch House Boys.  Although the accordion is present, Nathan's playing is barely audible—fading in and out occasionally.  

Although the mashup was a failure, Virgil didn't seem to care. By this point, Nathan's own group, the Pine Grove Boys, was gaining popularity and his recordings were taking off in the jukeboxes.  Lacy's career, however, never materialized much further than a few recordings produced around Lake Charles.  His band recorded again for George Khoury in the early 1950s and afterwards, it seems they disbanded.  In the 70s, Lacy carried around his "famous" guitar, one played by Hank Williams Sr. 

Release Info:

Louisiana King | OT 108-A

Sulphur Two-Step | OT 108-B

"Lake Charles Two Step" - Nathan Abshire

By late 1949, Nathan's band was driving the new Cajun honky-tonk sound with Will Kegley on fiddle, Atlas Fruge on steel guitar, Ernest Thibodeaux on guitar, and Jim Baker on bass. Based on Amede Ardoin's "One Step Des Chameaux", Nathan covered the song with a new set of lyrics entitled "Lake Charles Two Step" (#106).  It was a melody that became very popular in 1950 in which led Jimmy Newman and Herman Durbin to record their version entitled "Fais Do Do Two Step".   As Nathan's popularity began to soar on the radio and in jukeboxes, his local presence in dance-halls increased as well.  According to fiddler Wilson Granger, who recorded and filled in with the band,

We would play [at the Crystal Grill] five nights a week.  That used to be between Lake Charles and Sulphur.   We'd play an hour on the radio every day, on KPLC.  Saturday night, we'd go to the Avalon Club; Sunday night, we'd play at Lawtell, Step Inn Club.  They had two clubs there, Step Inn Club and the Green Lantern Club.  Sometimes, we'd go play in Riceville on a Sunday night. We played seven nights a week.1  

Oh, chère 'tite monde, pourquoi, mais, te comme ça?

C’est tout rapport à toi et tes vilains manières.

Oh, ye yaille, 'tite monde, connais tes après malfaire,

Tes tout temps après me quereller, pourquoi que je mon va.

Oh, ye yaille, 'tite monde, tu as tout mes aujourd’hui,

Toi tes voul ton negre, connait que t’es voul l'voir.

Earl DeMary, Wilson Granger,
Eldrige Guidry, unknown on drums,
Nathan Abshire, and Ernest Thibodeaux

Although producer Virgil Bozman tried to sell the record from the back of an old hearse, sales were scarce and finding a copy of this recording after 1949 seemed to be harder and harder.  Record collector and writer Lyle Ferbrache discovered one and used it on his iconic Cajun Honky Tonk Vol.2 CD.  He states:

Until a copy turned up on eBay ten years ago, this record was thought not to exist. So why is it rare? The bass back beat is over cooked and might have had trouble with the big sixteen-inch speakers on the jukeboxes.2  

Oh, dear little world, why, well, you like that?

It's all about you and your nasty ways.

Oh, ye yaille, little world, I know you're doing wrong,

You're always quarreling, that's why I'm leaving.

Oh, ye yaille, little world, you have me today,

You wanted your man, know that you'll see him.

 

1. Wilson Granger interview. Andrew Brown. 2005.
2. Post War Cajun 78 RPM Nuggets by Lyle Ferbrache
3. Lyrics by Herman M

Release Info:

Grand Mamou | OT 106-A

Lake Charles Two Step | OT 106-B

Find:

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

"Tell Me If You Love Me" - Virgil Bozman

Part-time guitarist and part-time comedian, showman John Hardin "Virgil" Bozman eventually found his way into the Lake Charles area after finishing up his military leave in San Antonio.  There, he teamed up with Floyd Leblanc when he joined the Oklahoma Tornadoes.  Carefully watching the lead member Bennie Hess produce independent records, (and with the financial backing of Lake Charles record store owner George Khoury), Virgil kicked off his label with his own recordings—one a reworked version of Amede Ardoin's 1929 "Eunice Two Step", called "Tell Me If You Love Me” (#101). 

Tu m'as quitté, malheureuse,

Pour t'en aller avec un autre,

'Gardez-donc, chère jolie, mais,

Quoi t'as fais?

Quoi t'as fais, malheureuse,

Avec ton nègre, il y a pas longtemps,

'Gardez-donc, chère jolie, 

Te va pleurer.

Plus trop tard, pour ça t'as fais,

Z-avec ton nègre, 'gardez-donc,

'Gardez-donc, malheureuse, mais, jolie cœur.

'Gardez-donc, ça t'as fais,

Jolie fille, il y a pas longtemps,

(Il y a) pas longtemps, malheureuse, avec ton nègre.

'Gardez-donc, malheureuse, 

Ça t'as fais, il y a pas longtemps,

Tu m'a quitté, jolie cœur, mais, c'est trop tard.

C'est trop tard, pour t'en aller,

Z-avec ton nègre, malheureuse,

'Gardez-donc, ça t'as fais j'mérite (pas), 'tite monde.

Daily Advertiser
Sep 16, 1947

The 1949 rare Oklahoma Tornadoes record is shrouded in mystery that reflects his initial indecision. The two songs were first recorded in English by Bozman but were cancelled and instead released with un-credited French vocals. The singer’s identity is still subject to much speculation.2  According to fiddler Wilson Granger, he recalled the song:

It’s my song.  I’m the one that introduced Virgil to that song, but when we made that at KPLC, he sang that. And on that record, I don’t know who that it is singing. They’re singing in French. That’s not Virgil singing.1
I tell you what, [Bozman] started playing some music with some boys from Sulphur, Earl Reed. It might be him, I’m not sure. I don’t know what happened there. He liked that tune, and he made them words for it, but I don’t know what made him change his mind and have somebody sing on it (in French).1  

You're leaving me, miserable woman,

To go away with another,

So look, dear pretty one, well,

What have you done?

What have you done, miserable woman,

With your man, it won't be long,

So look, dear pretty one,

You're going to cry.

Way too late, because what you've done,

With your man, so look,

So look, miserable woman, well, pretty sweetheart.

So look, what you've done,

Pretty girl, it won't be long,

It won't be long, miserable woman, with your man.

So look, miserable woman,

What you've done, it won't be long,

You're leaving, pretty sweetheart, well, it's too late.

It's too late, you're going away,

With your man, miserable woman,

So look, what you've done, I don't deserve this, my little everything. 

After his recordings, Virgil suddenly needed a new car to go to the dances.  According to fiddler Wilson Granger:

So he bought him a hearse. He got it cheap. He was coming home from Opelousas one night and he stopped in Eunice. And when he'd get sleepy on the way back (from a dance), he'd pull over and go to sleep.

I wasn't playing with him that night. He pulled over and stopped in front of a Catholic church on a Saturday night. And all them boys (the band) were sleeping in the back of that hearse. The next morning, people started coming into church, look in there... Boy, they had some funny things about old Virgil.

1. Wilsong Granger interview.  Andrew Brown. 2005.
2. http://www.bopping.org/blues-for-oklahoma-virgel-bozman-o-t-and-hot-rod-records-1949-1952/

Release Notes:
The Cameron Waltz | O.T. 101
Tell Me If You Love Me | O.T. 101

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

"The Cameron Waltz" - Virgil Bozman

John Hardin “Virgel” Bozman and Floyd Leblanc were two musicians that helped kick off the popularity of post-war Cajun music in east Texas.   While stationed at a San Antonio military base near the end of WWII, Cajun fiddler Floyd Leblanc befriended Bozman. Together, they had joined Bennie Hess’ Oklahoma Tornadoes country hillbilly band as a guitar player but Virgil also dabbled in his own material as well. In mid 1948, Floyd had helped Iry Lejeune record two tunes with the band on Hess’ label “Opera” and they had him touring with the group for quite some time in 1948. Cajun music was well on it’s way back and while selling cow horns in Lake Charles, Virgil ended up moving from Texas to Louisiana in order to record it.

Tu m'as quitte, jolie, pour t'en aller, chérie,

Avec un autre, jolie, 'gardez-donc, mais, malheureuse, tu me fais pitié.

(Tu) m'as quitte, jolie, de me voir, chérie,

J'vais m'en aller, chérie, m'en aller, mais, moi tout seul à Cameron.

'Gardez-donc, jolie, mais, ça t'as fait, jolie,

(Il) y a pas longtemps, jolie, pas longtemps, ton pauvre vieux nègre, t'après m'quitté.

Virgil Bozman

He would often play the fool’s role in the band as the traditionally required comedian. He was also a fine Hillbilly artist in his own right and obviously loved South Louisiana music, working hard to make a success of his labels. By the outset of 1949, the enthusiastic Bozman actually moved his wife and five children to 349-A Route 1 at Westlake in South Louisiana and set up is own OT ‘Hits of Louisiana’ label to tap into the market directly.

That year, Virgil kicked off his label with his own recordings, one of them a Cajun tune entitled “The Cameron Waltz” (#101).  Using the popular 1937 melody of "La Nuit De Samedi (Saturday Night Waltz)" by Joe Falcon, the rarity of this recording adds to the mystery, reflecting his initial indecision. It would later be featured in a Happy, Doc And The Boys session as "Dans La Platin" and a tune byChester "Pee Wee" Broussard entitled "La Valse De Bayou Blanc".  Backed with "Tell Me If You Love Me", the two songs were first recorded in English by Bozman but were cancelled and instead released with un-credited French vocals. The singer’s identity is still subject to speculation.

You left me, pretty one, to go away, dearie,

With another, my pretty one, so look, well, naughty woman, you made me pitiful.

You left me, pretty one, that I can see, dearie,

I'm going to go, dearie, i'm going, well, all alone to Cameron.

So look, pretty one, well, what you did, pretty one,

It won't be long, pretty one, won't be long, your poor old man, you're leaving me. 

Even though outsiders like Virgil didn't understand the future of Cajun music and the critical hand they played in it's resurgence, recordings like this one illustrate the earliest attempts of musicians trying, if not stumbling, to get Cajun music into the public spotlight after WWII.  

Like Bennie Hess, Bozman stories abound, including his siphoning gasoline out of customer’s cars while they were at the Hilltop Club near his home and at one point driving an old car without a floor. Fiddler Wilson Granger told author Andrew Brown:

He had been playing with Floyd LeBlanc. But something had happened and Floyd had quit there for awhile. So, on the weekend, here comes Virgil. He went and bought him a car that had been burnt.  It was a coupe. The floorboard was burnt out. You could see the road. He'd got it cheap, I guess. Man couldn't sell it to nobody else. So we went to play the dance in Iota in that old car.2   

They had this big night club not far from him, on the highway (Highway 90). It was called the Hilltop Club. On Saturday nights, cars would park all along the road, to go to that club. In front of his house, and past his house, and everywhere. And he had a siphon hose, and two, three five gallon cans…he’d go in there and take some gas out of those tanks, you know. He’d run his own car on that.2  

1. http://www.bopping.org/blues-for-oklahoma-virgel-bozman-o-t-and-hot-rod-records-1949-1952/
2. Wilson Granger interview. Andrew Brown.  2005.
3. Lyrics by Stephane F

Release Info:

The Cameron Waltz | O.T. OT-101-A

Tell Me If You Love Me | O.T. OT-101-B

Find:

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

"Madame Saustin" - Sandy Austin

When Cajun music was brought back to life after WWII, the old classics served as perfect catalysts for emerging artists.  For example, several of Joe Falcon recordings were copied by musical performers after the war.   One of his early tunes "La Valse de Madame Sosten" ended up being covered by dance hall Cajun musicians such as Lawrence Walker and string band Cajun musicians such as Sandy Austin and his Kajans.

Oh, Madame Sosthène, mais, donnez-moi Alida,

La seule moi j'aime tant, mais, depuis l'âge de quatorze ans,

Quand même tu ne veux pas, faudra toujours toi tu viens,

Mon toujours été ton vieux nègre, à pas longtemps, pour ça t'as fais.

Corpus Christi Times
Jun 15, 1951

"Sandy Austin" was actually Abe Manuel Sr., a stage name he started using in 1950.  After he and his brother Joe stopped playing with Harry Choates, they would travel to places around east Texas billed as "Sandy Austin and His Kajans" or "Sandy Austin and His Texans" at places like "The Riviera" club in Corpus Christi.  Meanwhile, his brother could be found across town, billed as "Joe Austin: The Fiddlin' Frenchman and All the Cajuns".  Steel guitarist Carrol Broussard, who played with Manuel during much of this period, recalls:

He used the name Sandy Austin while he was in Corpus Christi.  When his brother Joe joined him, they went under the names Sandy and Joe Austin.  When they left the area they didn't use the name anymore.... No one ever said why they called themselves that.1  

Carrol Broussard, Curly "Pee Wee" Maples, Abe Manuel,
George Duhon, Joe Manuel, Benny Fruge
Corpus Christi, Tx,
Dec 1950

However, years later, western swing researcher, Andrew Brown, tracked down Abe and found out the truth:

There were five Abe Manuels in Lake Charles.  And man, I was getting everybody's bills.  My credit wasn't all that good, but it wasn't that bad, either.  I just said, "Look, I've got to get off of the name Abe Manuel.  Call me something else."   And somebody jumped up and said "Sandy Austin".  I don't know how in the hell they wound up with "Sandy Austin".2   

Oh, Mrs. Sostene, well, give me Alida,

The only one I like so much, well, since the age of 14,

Even though you do not want me to, I'll come visit,

I'll always be your old man, it wasn't long ago, that you've done this.

Recorded at the Corpus Christi Radio KWBU Studio during their long-term booking at a club in the area, O.T. Records co-producers, Virgil Bozeman and Bob Tanner, had already worked with Choates in San Antonio and had scheduled this early 1951 session with Abe's band to record "Madame Saustin" (#113).2  Abe's had his brother Joe on guitar and Lake Charles natives, George Duhon and Crawford Vincent, on bass and drums.  Tanner and Bozeman had Abe backed up by the "king of the steel willie", Skillet Garner, on steel guitar.   

By 1951, he was performing with Adolph Hofner and his Pearl Wrangles in central Texas and later, traveled the country with Lefty Frizzell before returning to Lake Charles in late 1953.2  By the mid 1950s, he had formed the Louisiana Hillbillies.

1. Louisiana Fiddlers By Ron Yule
2. Cajun Honky Tonk: The Khoury Recordings, Vol. 2. Liner notes.

Release Info:
OT 5 (113A) Scrambled Eggs | O.T. A-113
OT 6 (113B) Madame Saustain | O.T. B-113

"Valse De Lake Charles" - Harry Choates

Harry Choates played fiddle, guitar, and mandolin throughout south Louisiana and Texas.  His 1946 rendition of “Jole Blon,” the song that would come to be called the “Cajun National Anthem,” had not only been the first French song to crack the Billboard national charts but its ascent above the Number Five position is an achievement unsurpassed to this day.  The audience taste at that time had succumbed to the popularity and influence of cowboy and western swing styles and Cajun Music had followed their trend towards fiddle-led outfits. String bands led by stars like Harry Choates and Leo Soileau were in heavy demand.  

Tu m'as quitté, pour t'en aller,

Dans Grand Lake Charles, mais jolie cœur.

Oh, mais chère petite, mignonne,

Oh, sera pas longtemps.

Oh, vilaine manière,

Moi j'connais, t'as pas fait bien.

Oh, mais chère petite chérie,

Oh, mais moi j'connais t'as fait de la peine.

Nathan Abhsire's main recording outlet, O.T. records, was gaining some momentum with his music and the producer, Virgil Bozman, easily saw Harry's popularity.  In 1949, he convinced him to land two sides, one of which was "Valse De Lake Charles" (#107), the town in which Virgil had his operations based.  Having played alongside Leo Soileau during his stint with the Four Aces, it's no surprise that he learned this song from their 1938 recording "Lake Charles Waltz".  Recording closer to his home town at the KPLC radio station, Harry dropped most of his regular Melody Boys for some local Cajun musicians, most notably Leo Soileau's drummer Crawford Vincent and Happy Fats' pianist Harold "Popeye" Broussard.  B.D. Williams remained on bass guitar.   The tune is clearly a rendition cut from the older versions by Anatole Credure in 1929 and The Four Aces' instrumental done in 1938 called "Lake Charles Waltz".

You left me to go away.

To big Lake Charles, my pretty sweetheart,

Oh, well, dear little cutie,

Oh, it hasn't been long.

Oh, how terrible it is,

I know, you aren't doing well,

Oh, dear little darling,

Oh, well, I know you hurt (me). 

Harry's lyrics were limited by what he knew, often repeating the same words, general phrasing and his signature "Eh! Ha ha!".  In this case, writer's love interest is leaving to the big town of Lake Charles. This was the first and only time Crawforrd Vincent teamed up with Harry.  Vincent was still a member of Leo Soileau's band, but Soileau was in the process of building his own club, so Vincent had time off.   He played with Harry during events near the Green Lantern near Opelousas.  Then, suddenly, Harry left, as he usually did, just when his musical fortunes were beginning to turn in a positive direction.  Vincent remembered that Harry received calls for engagements and booking dates, and over half of these he didn't fulfill, many times failing to show up.1 

1. Poor Hobo: The Tragic Life of Harry Choates, a Cajun Legend by Tim Knight

Release Info:
107-A Jole Blon's Gone 107 O.T.
107-B Valse De Lake Charles 107 O.T.

Find:
Cajun Music - The Early 50s (Arhoolie, 1969)
Devil In The Bayou - The Gold Star Recordings (Bear Family, 2002)
Cajun Honky Tonk: The Khoury Recordings Vol. 2 (Arhoolie, 2013)
Bayou Two-Step - Cajun Hits From Louisiana 1929-1962 (Jasmine, 2015)

"French Blues" - Nathan Abshire

While many remember Nathan Abshire after the war, helping create the resurgence of Cajun music, most are unaware his start began much earlier in the 1930s. By 1935, Abshire teamed up with guitarist Leroy "Happy Fats" LeBlanc and his Rayne-Bo Ramblers, whose line-up was a fluctuating one and began to record with them, as an accordionist – vocalist on 4 songs.  

This New Orleans session was split between Fat’s Rayne-Bo Ramblers and the Hackberry Ramblers, giving, among others, "French Blues" (#2177).  An Abshire arrangement based on Amede Ardoin's "Les Blues De Crowley", the song would achieve classic status during the later years. An itinerant studio was set up by the technicians of Bluebird (whom misspelled his name "Nason Absher") in a time when the majors of the recording industry were showing an interest in ethnic music. 

Oh! tu m’a fait du mal tit monde

Oh!

Tu pres ma quitté, j’vas tout temps aimé.

C’est malheurse de m'voir.

Avec deux mains j'pourrai pleurer.

Ah Haa!

Nathan Abshire

Abshire was especially taken with the spirited playing and singing of Creole accordionist/singer Amede Ardoin.  Ardoin’s influence was especially evident on Abshire’s first recording in 1935, "French Blues."  "French Blues" is a generic name Nathan gave to this lazy, swingy instrumental, with a few bluesy call-outs. While most won't recognize the song as traditional blues, it was what the Cajuns used to express the limited blue notes that the accordion could mimic. In this early version, you can hear Happy Fats and Simon "Warnest" Schexnyder on guitars and Norris Savoy on fiddle. It was a quasi-instrumental with Nathan interjecting different phrases throughout the song. According to author Ryan Brasseaux:

Like the Breaux family and Lawrence Walker, Nathan composed his blues numbers from the cross-cultural fodder that nourished Cajun music's evolutionary mechanisms.1

Little did he realize that his abilities would shine after the war when asked to bring the accordion back.  When the Pine Grove Boys needed an accordion player in the late 1940s, their memory of Nathan playing in these early years sealed their decision to invite him to join.  Nathan resurrected the tune he remembered and at the KPLC studio, Earl Demarcy and Nathan recorded his "French Blues" for George Khoury and Virgil Bozman's O.T. record label (#110).  The 1949 session would re-launch Abshire's music career. The group consisted of either Ernest Thibodeaux or Earl Demarcy on guitar, Atlas Fruge on steel, Jim Baker on bass, Oziet Kegley on drums, and either Will Kegley or Wilson Granger on fiddle.

Oh! you did me wrong, my little world.

Oh!

You're leaving me, yet, i've always loved you.

It's so sad to see me.

I could cry with both hands.

Ah Haa!

Like his "Pine Grove Blues", he would re-record the tune a slew of times throughout the 60s and 70s.  The group recorded a live session at The Frontier Bar in Basile, Louisiana in 1966 with the Balfas backing him up.  By 1968, the crew entered the Swallow Studios in Ville Platte, Louisiana and re-recorded it again. By 1973, Carol Rachou grabbed a triangle and with Merlin Fontenot on fiddle, Rufus Thibodeaux on bass, Joe Thibodeaux on drums, and Bessyl Duhon on guitar, they re-recorded the tune once more, entitling it "Le Blues Francais" for Carol's La Louisianne Records label. 

French Blues - 1935

French Blues - 1949

1. Cajun Breakdown : The Emergence of an American-Made Music By Ryan Andre Brasseaux
2. http://www.offbeat.com/articles/masters-of-louisiana-music-nathan-abshire/
3. http://www.bopping.org/nathan-abshire-pope-of-cajun-accordion/
4. Lyrics by Jerry M and Raymond Francois

Find:
Cajun Music - The Early 50s (Arhoolie, 1969)
Pioneers of the Cajun Accordion (Arhoolie, 1989)
Nathan Abshire & the Pine Grove Boys - French Blues (Arhoolie, 1993)
Cajun Louisiane 1928-1939 (Fremeaux, 2003)
Cajun Capers: Cajun Music 1928-1954 (Proper, 2005)
Bayou Two-Step - Cajun Hits From Louisiana 1929-1962 (Jasmine, 2015)

"Pine Grove Boogie" - Nathan Abshire

Marking the height of Nathan Abshire's second music career, he and Virgil Bozeman teamed up with a band of musicians to lay down some of Nathan's favorite type of music... the blues!  Nathan's accordion, full of "blue" notes of tonal purity, was outstanding behind Roy Broussard's vocals.  

Bozeman worked both as a musician and as a house painter.  But then found himself in San Antonio stationed in the military. After the war, he joined Bennie Hess' Oklahoma Torndados band as a rhythm guitarist.  He was in Lake Charles, pushing his cowhorn sales when he gained an interest in what record producer Eddie Shuler was doing.  Originally, Bozeman had met with Eddie Shuler during one of his radio programs, trying to get into the recording business.   Virgil figured he'd work alongside Shuler to get Nathan to record a batch of songs, including a 1949 follow up to his Pine Grove Blues entitled "Pine Grove Boogie" (#111).   By this time, he, Will Kegley and Ernest Thibodeaux formed a new group with Nathan and added Atlas Fruge and Jim Baker.  Ron Broussard joined in for this particular session.  But Eddie referred Bozeman to a record salesman named George Khoury.  According to Eddie:

He came by, I still had a radio show at the time he came by. Well, first he came to me and I didn't want him. That's because I wasn't too enthused about what he was doing because he was singing and all that stuff.  He came and he got affiliated with George Khoury.5

Nathan Abshire

Oh, ayou toi t'as passé, ma chère petite négresse, que toi(?)

T’es partie avec un autre que moi,

Mais moi, je connais qu’il t’aime pas mieux, ouais, petite négresse.

Oh, ayou toi t’as passé avec un autre qui t’aime pas mieux, ouais, que moi?

Avec un autre qui t’aime pas mieux que moi,

Mais moi je connais t’auras du regret ’tite fille, ma négresse, (mais fait pas ça avec moi!)?

Although moderately successful, the recording was unable to duplicate the success of "Pine Grove Blues".  Bozman was running out of money and Khoury was no longer financially supporting him.  His meager band income was supplemented by an unusual profession: cowhorn salesman. According to Ernest Thibodeaux:

Virgel Bozman

Bozman tried to make a living any way he could.  He would walk around fields looking for the old Brahma bull horns.  He would take them, clean them up real nice and put a finish on them.  He didn't have any trouble selling them.  People would mount them in their house to hang their hats or coats.  I can bet they still might be in use.

Oh, where have you gone, my dear little woman, you,

You have left with someone other than me,

Well, I know he loves you no better, yeh, little woman.

Oh, where have you gone with another who loves you no better, yeh, than me,

With another one who loves you no better than me,

Well, I know you will have regrets, my woman. (Well, don't do that to me!)

It would be Virgel's last release near Lake Charles.  Realizing his business wasn't successful, he moved back to San Antonio.  He continued his O.T. label alongside Bob Tanner's facility by mailing his masters to Stephen Shaw and George Weitlauf in Cincinatti, OH.  His last Cajun release was Abshire's "Step It Fast".

1. South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous By John Broven
2. The Encyclopedia of Country Music
3. http://45rpmrecords.com/date_shaw.php
4. Louisiana Music, Vol. 1 by Lyle F
5. http://arhoolie.org/eddie-shuler-goldband-records/
6. Lyrics by Jordy A

Find:
French Blues (Arhoolie, 1993)