A unique window into the world of Cajun music between 1928 and 1965. Compiled histories from websites, books, news articles, liner notes, and interviews. Most come from my personal 78 collection. Also covering Creole, Cajun-Country, and Cajun swing.
Showing posts with label Paramount Records. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paramount Records. Show all posts
Before the arrival of the Acadians in 1764, Louisiana had a fair share of Frenchmen that arrived and resided along the Mississippi River as explorers, either from New France provinces near the Great Lakes or as French soldiers stationed along the river in places such as Natchez, Pointe Coupee, and New Orleans. Many of these Frenchmen would travel westward, away from the flooded watershed and find farming opportunities in the prairies of present-day St. Landry and Evangeline Parishes. They carried with them the songs of French European life. By the end of the Napoleonic Era, more Frenchman would settle in south Louisiana, bringing with them other European melodies alongside Appalachian tunes pouring into the region. Accordionist John H. Bertrand, of St. Landry parish, grew up exposed to these songs by his daughter who learned them from his mother, Nora Boone. In 1929, he had the rare opportunity to record these seminal songs on wax alongside guitar player Roy Gonzales and his fiddling son, Anthony.
Un jour en me promenant dessus le pont de Nantes,
J'ai rencontré la belle et j'ai voulu l'embrasser,
Hélas, le tribunal m'a rendu prisonnier.
Et quand ma belle a eu de mes nouvelles,
Elle s'était habillée dedans une grande robe noire,
Et droit dans la prison, la belle est bien allée.
...
Crowley Daily Signal Jul 5, 1929
Bertrand's songs like "Le Pond de Nante" (#12776) is a loose interpretation of a classic classic old world French song from Brittany called "Dans les prisons de Nantes". According to Wikipedia, it's a song featuring the story of the jailer 's daughter who helps a prisoner escape from a prison in Nantes. It can be found almost everywhere in the French-speaking world thanks to the sailors going up the Loire or to the exiles who arrived in New France. This particular story is of a lost love that dressed as a page, in a dark robe, pretending to be a man. She begs the prison guards to let her in to see her lover. Once in, she hands her lover the clothes, directs him to her horse, and instructs him to escape to freedom.1
I Had Met You In The Fog! Fiddler Leo Soileau was exposed to music at an early age. His father was an amateur fiddler who was very adept at playing many French Cajun songs. By age 12, Leo, too, could ably handle a fiddle and bow and play the traditional music learned from his father.1 Leo recalled,
My papa and his brother would plough all day and come in and play music every night. My papa used to take his fiddle out after supper. I can see him now.2
Moi, j'connais, moi j'ai vu, dans le brouillard, hier matin,
J'ai demandé à ton papa pourquoi tu viens pas à la maison.
Ton papa et ta maman z'é (?)m'as dit, malheureuse,
C'est trop jeune pour tu t'aimé avec ton neg', oh, yé yaille,
Quelles nouvelles que moi j'attends, chère 'tite fille, ça crève mon cœur,
Mais comment donc moi j'vas faire, moi tout seul, malheureuse.
C'est la danse que j’étais z'avec toi, mais malheureuse.
Mais (re)garde encore qui sont aprés faire avec nous autre aujourd'hui.
Ecoute pas ton papa (et) de ta maman, oh, chere 'tite fille.
Et tu vas venir dans la maison z'avec moi d'un jour à venir.
Moise Robin
Cajun musician Moise Robin was the second accordionist that Leo chose to work with. The two began performing together in 1928, shortly after Soileau’s first partner, Mayeus LaFleur, was shot and killed. During the summer and fall of 1929, they recorded for three different companies: Paramount, Victor, and Vocalion. Together, they traveled to the Gennett Recording Studio, Starr Piano Company Building, Whitewater Gorge Park in Richmond, Indiana around July of 1929. The session produced "Je T'ai Recontre Dans Le Brouillard" (#12908). The accordion melody could have been inspired by John Bertrand's "Rabbit Stole The Pumpkin", however, the vocals are unique on their own. Misspelled as "Je Te Recontrai de la Broulier", Moise sings of young girl chasing an older man, a song most likely self-composed. Moise recalled,
I made the songs myself, when I was young. My dances and my tunes and my songs, I would write in French and understand my own language, you see. So I would compose my songs and write them down and practice them.4
I know, I saw through the fog, yesterday morning,
I asked your dad why you didn't come home.
Your dad and your mom told me they're unhappy,
That's too young for you to be in love with an older man, oh yé yaille,
That news I awaited for, dear little girl, burst my heart,
Well, how am I going to make it all by myself, oh my.
This is the dance I had with you, well oh my,
Well, look who's still with us after another day,
Don't listen to your dad and your mom, oh dear little girl,
And come to the house with me another day in the future.
When the recording session was done, the engineers began producing the recordings on 78 RPM records. Unfortunately, when it was time to press the previous song "La Valse De La Rue Canal", Paramount engineers mistakenly replaced it with audio of "Je Te Recontrai De La Broulier". Today, the original Soileau and Robin recording of "La Valse De La Rue Canal" has yet to surface.
The Ville Platte Gazette (Ville Platte, Louisiana) 06 Feb 1969
Times Picayune. Leo Soileau. 1975.
Image courtesy of the Arhoolie Foundation
https://arhoolie.org/moise-robin/
Release Info: 15345-A Ce Pas La Pienne Tu Pleur | Paramount 12908-A
15348-A Je Te Recontrai De La Broulier | Paramount 12908-B
John Bertrand may have been one of the more obscure artists during the early Cajun recording era, but his music seems to have had earlier origins than many of the Cajun folk songs of the time. His mother, Nora Boone, recalled and recited many French folk songs her family had passed down from Europe. Each one possessed a different theme and melody in which Bertrand translated into an accordion-led melody.
Bonsoir mes bonnes gens,
Si c'eût été possible,
De me loger ce soir,
Pour moi soyez sensibles,
Pour moi soyez sensibles.
Puisque ne pouvant pas,
Ici vous satisfaire,
Voyez notre maison,
N'est qu'un lieu si petit,
N'est qu'un lieu si petit.
Allez dans un village,
Vous trouverez un logis,
Allez dans un village,
Vous trouverez un logis.
Comment vous refusez,
À un soldat fatigué,
Qui devient moi-même,
Qui devient moi-même.
Et votre fils enfin,
Se trouverait dans ses bras,
Où vos dures satisfactions,
Vos maudites satisfactions.
À tout moment que je finis,
Vous m'arrachez les âmes,
Je vois bien qui les mange,
Dans les années souffrantes,
Dans les années souffrantes.
Reconnaissez-moi ma main,
Si je viens chez moi mince,
La mort ne parle pour moi,
Mais j'aime toujours la vie,
Mais j'aime toujours la vie.
Mais mon bras c'est une méthode,
Et toi ma chère amie,
Je vis toujours pour toi,
Avec un espoir immense,
Avec un espoir immense.
19th century French soldier Image by Alexandr Sidorov
Having teamed up with Acadia Parish guitarist and yodeler Roy Gonzales, John brought along his son Anthony and the trio headed to Chicago in the winter of 1929 where they recorded "Le Soldat Fatigue" (#12763). Songs like this may have come from French nursery rhymes similar to "Pauvre Soldat" commonly sung in France. In this piece, the song describes an old soldier looking for a place to sleep. He is refused a the first place and told to go to another town. Many of these Old World songs have their origins during the Napoleon Era.
Release Info: 21248-2 La Fille Du Jolier (The Jailor's Daughter) | Paramount 12763-A 21251-2 Le Soldat Fatigue (The Tired Soldier) | Paramount 12763-B Find: John Bertrand / Blind Uncle Gaspard / Delma Lachney Early American Cajun Music (Yazoo, 1999)
Moise Robin learned to play Cajun accordion at a very young age. His father, Joseph, picked up the accordion in the late 1800s and learned many of the melodies that other musicians played around Leonville. In fact, it's his dad that got him interested in accordion:
He had an accordion and I would go to school and when I would come back from school instead of make my lesson. I was more interested in accordion.1 He would play dances and he would make me play a few dances for the people. My head would show up on top of the accordion, I was about nine-years old.1
Chère petite fille, rappelle-toi qu'en j'm'en allé,
J't'ai dis, "T'es canaille!", quand t'avait rencontré,
C'est plus tard, j'ai tombé en amour avec toi et z'aujourd'hui,
C'est la seule que moi, j'aime.
Aujourd'hui, j'abandonne père et mère,
Frères et sœurs pour te suivre à ta maison,
Mais, j'comprends tu vas me quitter pour t'en aller avec autre,
Malheureuse, pourquoi-donc, t'es après faire ça?
Soignez jamais un petite fille de quatorze ans qui te quitter,
Pour s'en aller avec un homme de cinquante ans,
Moi, j'connais aujourd'hui de l'après me faire, z'avec moi,
Malheureuse, tu vas pleurer z'avant longtemps.
Aujourd'hui, j'abandonne père et mère,
Frères et sœurs pour te suivre à ta maison,
Mais, 'contré dedans la terre, mais, des miseres,
Malheureuse, tu connais c'est pas mon temps.
Clarion News July 18, 1929
Moise's father played as far as Ville Platte and learned of the fiddle-accordion duo, Leo Soileau and Mayuse Lafleur. By the summer of 1929, Leo partnered with Moise and together they formed a musical pair and were discovered by the Paramount record company. Paramount records had the duo arrive in Richmond, Indiana for a recording session where they recorded "Ma Chere Tite Fille" (#12808). Leonville-native and Opelousas merchant Winter Lemoine, a distributor for Paramount, helped the duo make the trip. Lemoine operated a sewing machine business which sold records on the side. Moise recalls:
When we was playing, a company from the Richmond, Indiana called us to go make a record. So we met in Richmond, Indiana and made two records there.
Moise Robin by Chris Strachwitz
Dear little girl, remember that I went away,
I told you, "You're mischievous!", when I met you,
It's too late, I fell in love with you and today,
It's the only one I love.
Today, I abandoned my father and mother,
Brothers and sisters to follow you to your house,
Well, I understand you're leaving me to go away with another,
Poor woman, why is it, you've done that?
Never chase a 14 year old who will leave you,
To go away with a man of 50 years,
I know today what you've done with me,
Poor woman, you will cry before too long.
Today, I abandoned my father and mother,
Brothers and sisters to follow you to your house,
Well, getting into a world of misery,
Poor woman, you know it's not my time.
http://arhoolie.org/moise-robin/
Lyrics by Stephane F
Release Info: G15343 Ma Chere Tite Fille | Paramount 12808-A G15344 Easy Rider Blues | Paramount 12808-B Find: Louisiana Cajun Music Vol. 5: The Early Years 1928-1938 (Old Timey, 1973) The Early Recordings of Leo Soileau (Yazoo, 2006)
John Bertrand was born near Opelousas, more in the mainstream heart of the Cajun landscape, and the same can be said of his music, with its highly rhythmic accordion accompaniment. In terms of repertoire, though, the common factor is that several of his songs, many of which he appears to have learnt from his mother, would also seem to show Old World origins.1
Oh, ouais, partout que j’aime, ces lis donc me conviennent pas,
La seule que mon cœur aime, elle est si loin de moi,
Et si j’aurais des ailes, comme tous ces hirondelles,
Aupres de toi la belle, j’irais me reposer.
En te contant mes peines, et ensuite mes amities.
En te contant mes peines, et ensuite mes amities.
Apportez-moi une verre, que je boive à la santé,
Ina-t-une bouteille que j’aime, que je boive sans la nommer,
Il y’en à qui aime la blonde, et d’autre qui aime la brune,
Mais moi j’sus pas comme çà, j’aime bien mais tout les deux.
Comment tu veux je fais, pour aller bien tout les deux?
Comment tu veux je fais, pour aller bien tout les deux?
Crowley Daily Signal Mar 15, 1929
In 1929, Bertrand and his guitarist Milton Pitre traveled to Chicago and recorded "The Swallows" (#12730). But by the time the recordings had arrived on the shelves, Pitre had been shot and killed in a dispute over a woman. According to Ray Templton,
The Swallows, for all its English title, is surely an old traditional French song. Bertrand’s records all featured guitar accompaniment by one Milton Pitre. His playing is rather odd – he seems to be repetitively plucking single or double strings rather than playing chords. He doesn’t always hit the right harmony, but that may just have been recording session nerves, and most of the time it’s quite effective.1
John H. Bertrand
Oh, yeah, everywhere I like (to be), I don't find comfort in the beds,
The only one that I love in my heart, she is so far from me,
And if I had wings like all these swallows,
Beside you, beautiful one, I would go and rest.
Tell you my sorrows, and then my friendships,
Tell you my sorrows, and then my friendships.
Bring me a drink, that I'll drink to health,
There's a bottle that I like, that I'll drink without saying her name,
There are some who love blondes, and others who love brunettes,
Well, me, I'm not like that, I love, well, both of them.
How do you want me to go with both of them?
How do you want me to go with both of them?
Known as "Oh, Si J'aurais des Ailes", it was recorded in 1934 by Alan Lomax by Sansey Bonnet of Crowley. Later, in 1977, Loricia Guillory also recorded the song for Gerard Dole in Mamou.
Right before the Depression took hold, major recording labels wanted a piece of the action that Columbia had engaged in down in south Louisiana. By the beginning of 1929, other companies like RCA, ARC and Paramount were busy hunting down Cajun musicians in the prairies and sending them to their studios up north. Two of those musicians were John Homer Bertrand and Milton Pitre.
La plus vielle de la bande, mais, c'est la plus vaillant,
C'est la plus contente, elle a les yeux canailles,
Mais, dis pas à ta mom, mais, j'ai goutté ton bec,
Mais, dis pas à ton pop, mais, si j'ai pas la bonne tête,
C'est la mienne, mais, au péril de la vie,
Chère cousinne, mais, donne-moi, donc, celle-là
Mais, si c'est pas celle-là moi, j'en veux pas du tout,
Petit galop, mais, pour la Pointe au Pin.
John Bertrand
Bertrand was a blacksmith from the area around Opelousas known as Prairie Ronde. Together with Milton Pitre, they traveled to Chicago, IL and recorded "Cousinne Lilly" (#12725). It's most likely that John was singing about the courtship, and eventual marriage, of his brother Eddie to their second cousin, Lillian Joubert. In the song, he repeats the same verse, changing the placement of the line "petite galop" from the end to the middle. A "petite galop", or "small gallop", refers to the typical three-beat gait of a horse; also known as a canter.
The oldest of the group, well, is the most sociable,
She's very calm, she has mischievous eyes,
Well, don't tell your mom, well, I kissed your lips,
Well, don't tell your dad, well, unless you don't have a good mind,
She's mine, well, bet your life,
Dear cousin, well, give her to me, that one,
However, if that one's not mine, I don't want anything,
Let's canter, well, to Pine Point.
Given the lack of Paramount's Cajun releases found in Louisiana, it seems the company missed out on an opportunity. It's quite possible that Paramount failed to adequately distribute the bulk of this music in the south and struggled to improve sales. Nevertheless, "Cousinne Lilly" remained a popular tune throughout the Cajun prairies and by 1964, fiddler Adam Hebert scored one of his most well-known versions for Swallow records entitled "La Pointe Aux Pins".
Crowley Daily Signal Feb 22, 1929
Lyrics by Stephane F
Release Info: 21076-1 Cousinne Lilly | Paramount 12725-A 21075-2,-3 (La Valse De) Miserable | Paramount 12725-B Find: Early American Cajun Music (Yazoo, 1999) The Rise & Fall of Paramount Records: Volume Two, 1928-1932, CD G (Third Man, 2014)
By July of 1929, Paramount Records heard about Columbia and RCA's success with recording Cajun material. Their scouts contacted Leo Soileau about recording again, this time in Richmond, Indiana. Although Soileau had lost his accordion playing partner after a barroom brawl, he teamed up with Arnaudville native, Moise Robin. Paramount arranged a trip via train that summer to Indiana and the two recorded six songs at the Starr Piano Company Building at Whitewater Gorge Park. Robin wrote many of his songs:
I made the songs myself, when I was young. My dances and my tunes and my songs. I would write in French and understand my own language, you see. So, I would compose my songs and write them down and practice them.2
Oh, toi, 'tit monde, 'gardez-donc, malheureuse,
Toi, 'tit monde, m'fais pas ça, avec moi, chère.
Oh, malheureuse, 'gardez-donc, toi, tit monde,
Ayoù ma fille* aujourd'hui, c'est pour toi, chère.
Toi, 'tit monde, pas la peine, tu vas m'faire pleurer, chère.
Oh, toi, 'tit monde, tu fuis dedans les chemins,
Toi, 'tit monde, tu peux r(e)mercier ton papa.
Oh, toi, 'tit monde, m'fais pas ça avec moi,
Toi, 'tit monde, tu vas pleurer, toi, tit monde, chérie.
Starr Piano Company
Following the lead of other major labels, it seems Soileau and Robin were paid per session. Borrowing Joe Falcon's "Aimer et Perdre" melody, Robin reworked the song into "Ce Pas La Pienne Tu Pleur" (#12908). Leo would later record the tune as a string band song entitled "La Valse de la Rosa" for RCA in the mid 30s. The money they received--a hefty sum around The Depression--encouraged the duo to continue recording two more times that year. Moise recalls:
It was all steam trains. They would pay all expenses, and the year was, in that time money, it was Depression, $25 each, to make that first record. And it was great for us, $25. And the second time we got again, $50.2
Oh, you little everything, so look at that, oh my,
You, my little everything, don't do that to me, dear.
Oh, oh my, so look, you little everything,
Where are you today, my girl? I'm here for you, dear.
Oh, come and see, you little everything, yé yaille, dear,
You little everything, it's not worth you hurting me, crying, dear,
Oh, you little everything, you fled down the road,
You little everything, you can thank your dad (for all of this).
Oh, you little everything, don't do that to me,
You little everything, you're going to cry, you little everything, dearie.
Photo by Chris Strachwitz
http://arhoolie.org/moise-robin/
Lyrics by Stephane F
Release Info: G15345-A Ce Pas La Pienne Tu Pleur | Paramount 12908 A G15344-B Je Te Rencontrais De Le Brulier | Paramount 12908 B Find:
In the summer of 1929, Opelousas jewelry store owner, Frank Dietlein2 negotiated a recording deal for Leo Soileau and Paramount Records. Crowley native Roy Gonzales, who sang French interpretations of Jimmie Rodgers songs, went along for the ride with an old four-string guitar. Paramount expected them to perform, having invested $700 to transport them on a fast mail train to Indiana.1 When Gonzales arrived at the studios in July of 1929, he had a change of heart and pleaded with the producers not to record. The record executives insisted , and the Louisiananian produced six Cajun adaptations of tunes popularized by Jimmie Rodgers, including "Anuiant Et Bleu" (#1456), better known as "Lonely and Blue".1
Ennuyé et bleu, et mon coeur cassé,
Personne pour me contenter, chère,
Tu m'as laissé seul, t'as parti chez toi,
Pourquoi tu voyages, ma chère fille?
T'as promis toi t'étais juste pour moi,
Et toi et moi t'aurais jamais laissé,
Tu m'as pas écouté, tu m'as laissé,
Peut être un jour tu viendras.
(yodel)
Tu crois tu saurais je m'ennuie de toi,
Que moi je t'aime pour toujours,
Peut être tu dirais "Un jour je m'en reviendrai",
Mais, j'ai laissé seul chez toi, chère.
T'as promis (que) t'aurais été que pour moi,
Et toi et moi t'aurais jamais laissé,
Tu m'as pas écouté et tu m'as laissé,
Peut être un jour tu reviendras.
(yodel)
Clarion News July 18, 1929
Gonzales approached the microphone, four-stringed guitar in hand and proceeded to strum through several familiar Rodgers-styled blues. The accomplished vocalist confidently swung his warm vibrato-laden baritone through the material, embellishing his vocal with yodeling.1
Lonely and blue, and my heart is broken,
Noone to make me happy, dear,
You left me alone, you went back home,
Why did you roam, my dear girl?
You promised you were just for me,
And you'd never leave me,
You didn't listen, you left me,
Maybe one day you will return.
(yodel)
You think you know that I will miss you,
That I'll love you forever,
Maybe you would say, "Someday I'll return"
Well, I left your house alone, dear.
You promised me you would have been only for me,
And you, you'd never leave me,
You did not listen to me and you left me,
Maybe one day you'll come back.
At the same session, Roy also sang a variation of Jimmie Rodgers' "Blue Yodel" entitled "Choctaw Beer Blues". It was a tune that he recorded earlier with John Bertrand, but it ended up becoming un-issued by Paramount. Named after the famed beer of Oklahoma's native Americans, a portion of the song was attributed to orchestra band leader and neighbor, Joe Rivet. Rivet was a trumpeter from Iberville Parish, and traveled with his band in places such as New Orleans, Shreveport, Lake Charles, Lafayette, and spots in east Texas such as Port Arthur, Longview, and Nacogdoches.5 After playing in Herman Scallan's group in the 1920s, he formed his own group. Even Harry James' saxophonist and trumpeter Claude Lakey filled in.4 Roy joined his group playing drums and eventually they settled in Alexandria. Known as Joe Rivet and his Castle Garden band, you could catch their show billed as "Swing and Sweat with Joe Rivet".3 Gonzales and Rivet remained playing until the 1950s.
Rayne Tribune Jul 26, 1935
If you're from Mobile, what are you doing down here,
If you're from Mobile, baby what you doing down here,
I'm just messing around, drinking good ole Choctaw beer.
(yodel)
I'm going up the country, but I sure can't take you,
I'm going up the country, but I sure can't take you,
There's nothing up there that an ugly woman can do.
(yodel)
Now, a dog run a rabbit, he run for a thousand miles,
Boy, a dog run a rabbit, run it for a thousand miles,
A rabbit broke down and busted our good time.
(yodel)
There's one thing in this world, I can't understand,
Well there's one thing in this world, baby I can't understand,
It's why an ugly woman always picks a bow-legged man.
(yodel)
Now, blues and trouble, they ramble hand in hand,
Oh, blues and trouble, they ramble hand in hand,
You ain't never had no trouble till you marry a no-good man.
NOTE: In Tony Russell's Paramount liner notes, he makes no mention of Frank Dietlein. Instead, he mentions Winter Lemoine of Opelousas as the agent in which Gonzales contacted Paramount
The Town Talk from Alexandria, Louisiana. January 1, 1987.
During 1929, Paramount had gained enough interest in Cajun music to bring in fiddler Leo Soileau and his new accordion player Moise Robin to the Gennett Recording Studio, Starr Piano Company Building, Whitewater Gorge Park in Richmond, Indiana. The two were carrying on the earlier work that Soileau had begun with his late friend, Mayuse Lafleur. The Soileau-Robin recordings are interesting for their tension filled playing, particularly Soileau's "special", the "Easy Rider Blues" (#12808), which indicated a debt to the Texas blues-man Blind Lemon Jefferson. While the words borrow from Jefferson's iconic song, the melody follows closer to his "Black Snake Moan" released in 1927. Leo's lyrics are more of a mesmerizing chant with English vocal calls surrounding the word "rider", "woman" and "mama". When folklorist Ralph Rinzler asked Leo if there were any songs he wrote that hadn't been written before, Leo claimed "Easy Rider Blues". Soileau recalls the recording after is made it's way in stores:
That was popular down here boy! Very good!6
Starr Piano Company
According to author Ryan Brasseaux:
Soileau's English-language lament "Easy Rider Blues" featured the intricate interplay between the fiddle and accordion voices. Moise kept time with his left hand on the accordion's two bass chords, while interjecting syncopated riffs between Soileau's crying fiddle runs. The fiddler's experimental composition represented the collision of conflicting instrumental styles. Their bluesy interplay sounded like a tense debate between the fiddle and Robin's aggressive accordion rebuttals.4
Goodbye ride, my soul rider,
Goodbye ride, my soul rider, rider, rider, rider, rider,
Woman, woman, if you flag my train, woman,
I'm sure gonna let you ride.
Mama, mama, there's trouble around my bed,
Mama, malheurse, mama.
Moise Robin
Early Cajun music and early Mississippi Delta blues recordings often collided into what is known as "Cajun blues". According to John Broven, "their Paramount version of 'Easy Rider Blues' was a remarkable Cajun-blues performance."5 After their return to Arnaudville, Louisiana, the duo moved to Opelousas and hired a manager, Elton Doucet. Robin played more dances and recorded two more times with Soileau before he wanted a break from the musician’s life and quit. However, according to Soileau, the duo never hit off. Tension stemmed from artistic differences. Robin recalled the tension as well:
Leo always wanted to take the lead when we played. He kept the lead and I had to follow him. It's bothersome to always follow a violin, you see. It's difficult. I had to play below his violin's volume. We didn't play too long together, about one year.1
Blues melodies like this one influenced early Cajun tunes such as Dennis McGee and Ernest Fruge's "Les Blues Du Texas". In 1934, Alan Lomax traveled to Louisiana to record Wayne Perry in which he covered the tune, simply listed as "Cajun Two Step" on the session notes.3 Perry's version speeds and swings the melody. The same basic melody appears in the Balfa's "Les Blues De Cadien" and the Musical Four Plus One's "Tran La Ezy".
Find: Louisiana Cajun Music Vol. 5: The Early Years 1928-1938 (Old Timey/Arhoolie, 1973) Down In The Basement: Joe Bussard's Treasure Trove of Vintage 78s 1926-1937 (Old Hat, 2003) Cajun Capers: Cajun Music 1928-1954 (Proper, 2005) The Early Recordings of Leo Soileau (Yazoo, 2006) The Beginner's Guide to Cajun Music (Primo, 2008)
