"Round Up Hop" - Miller's Merrymakers

As the recording industry began to abandon the accordion-led sound in 1937 for the more palatable and marketable string-band sound, fiddle players like J.B. Fuselier arrived on the scene eager to record their stomps, hops, breakdowns and waltzes.  His opportunities increased when he decided to leave his childhood home town and move further south to where dance-halls dominated HWY 90. 

Bethoven Miller was born in the Jennings area near Lake Arthur and picked up the banjo as his primary instrument.   Fuselier was discovered by Miller when J.B. moved from Oberlin to the area in the mid 1930s.   Still in grade school, the sixteen-year-old banjo player invited J.B. to play in his Merrymakers band.  Together, they traveled to New Orleans with Preston Manuel to record their string band rendition of the Angelas Lejune song "Perrodin Two Step" entitled "Round-Up Hop" (#2014).  Their recording closely resembled the fiddle-led melody most apparent in Happy Fats recording of "Rayne Breakdown" and the Jolly Boys' self-entitled "Jolly Boys Breakdown". 

Not much is known about Bethoven after the Bluebird recording sessions.  As soon as he was eligible, he left his residence in Elton, Louisiana and joined the US Army.  By 1940, he was stationed at Fort Jay.  He served throughout WWII and decided to remain in the New York area.  He re-enlisted in 1945 manufacturing "electrical machinery and accessories".  After his military career, he retired in New York. 

Release Info:

BS-07236-1 Ma Jolie Noir So | Bluebird B-2014-A

BS-07235-1 Round-Up Hop | Bluebird B-2014-B

Find:
Cajun String Bands 1930's: Cajun Breakdown (Arhoolie, 1997)

"La Valse De Rebot" - J.B. Fuselier

J.B. Fuselier was a slender and probably fairly shy man, who had joined young guitarist, Beethoven Miller by the mid-1930s, in the band known as Miller's Merrymakers.   Fuselier never gained the wide popularity of Leo Soileau or Luderin Darbone (of the Hackberry Ramblers) but his classic way of playing Cajun fiddle and his emotional singing style made him locally well liked. J.B. Fuselier influenced many of the musicians who followed him and he continued to play and record until after World War II.1  

Hier au soir, j'ai bu du bon whisky, 

J'ai bu du bon tout(e) la nuit, oui, ça fait de la peine.

Oh jolie, mais, donnez (premier*-donc), chere coeur,

L’était criminelle, mais, (quant meilleur)* pour moi-même.

Oh, aujourd'hui, m'en vais la captiver, 

Écoute, viens voir ton nég, malheureux.

Daily World
Oct 8, 1944

"La Valse de Rebot" (#2055), sometimes referred to as the "Drunkard's Waltz", seems to be an alternate take to Joe Falcon's "Madame Sosthene".  While Preston Manuel filled in on rhythm guitar, Beethoven Miller's banjo can be heard quite distinctly, filling out the melody in the same manner.  Preston recalls:

We made four recordings per session. Bluebird record's Eli Oberstein from New York would call us.  Then we'd go to the St. Charles Hotel in New Orleans.  We'd make records there.2   

A ribote (mis-spelled here as "Rebot") is a drunken spree.   In Cajun French, the common words used for "drunkard" are usually either soûlard or bambocheur, however, a habitual drunkard is referred to as a riboteur.

Last night, I drank good whiskey,

I drank well all night, yes, it's been painful.

Oh, pretty girl, well, give me the best, dear sweetheart,

It was criminal, well, saving the best for myself.

Oh, today, I'm going to charm her,

Listen, come see your man, oh miserable one.

1. Arhoolie 7014 Liner notes
2. Ye Yaille Chere by Raymond Francois
3. Lyrics by Stephane F

Release Info:
BS-027847-1 La Valse De Rebot | Bluebird B-2055-A
BS-027848-1 Ponce A Moi | Bluebird B-2055-B

Find:

Cajun String Bands 1930's: Cajun Breakdown (Arhoolie, 1997)

"Merrymaker's Hop" - Miller's Merrymakers

During the 1930s, a tenor banjo player named Beethoven Miller created the band called Miller's Merrymakers and they recorded in New Orleans. After Beethoven left the group, a Cajun fiddle player named Jean Baptiste Fuselier took over as bandleader and changed it's name to J.B. and the Merrymakers. He included guitarist Preston Manuel.

Fuselier began playing the fiddle when he was five. He claimed that when he started violin, he was too small to pick it up to play. He had to lie on the bed.  His cousin suggested that they sit him in a chair so he could hold the fiddle.  His fingers were so short at the time, he learned to play with only three finders and never learned to use his fourth finger during his career.  He recalls:

All that money I made, I made it with three fingers. I played my first dance for fifty cents.  The violin by myself.  A country dance in a house.  I was so hot.  The sweat was pouring in my shoes.  I was not quite ten years old.  That's the first time I got money to play.1   

J.B. Fuselier (fiddle)

Eh, chère, tu m'as quitté, bébé,

Oh, s'en aller avec un autre,

Comment j'vas faire, moi tout seul, à ma maison, jolie monde.

Eh, cher joli 'tit monde, catin,

Moi, je m'en vas chez moi, tout seul, jolie.

His first recording at this very first session in 1936 was ""Merrymaker's Hop" for Bluebird (#B-2004).  It's a slower version of Leo Soileau's "Le Blues De Port Arthur" with a different twist during the song's bridge.  His most covered tune is one about his daughter Myrtle named "Chere Tout Tout", recorded in 1937. However, their signature tune would be recorded in 1938 entitled "Ma Cher Bassett" in New Orleans for Bluebird.

Hey, dear, you have left me, baby,

Oh, going away with another,

How will I handle this, I'm all alone, at my house, my pretty everything.

Hey, dear pretty little everything, pretty doll,

I'm going home, all alone, pretty girl.

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

Release Info:
BS-02674-1 Merrymakers' Hop | Bluebird B-2004-A
BS-02677-1 Lake Arthur Waltz | Bluebird B-2004-B

Find:
CAJUN-Rare & Authentic (JSP, 2008)

"Redell Breakdown" - J.B. Fuselier

During the 1930s, a tenor banjo player named Beethoven Miller created the band called Miller's Merrymakers and they recorded in New Orleans. After Beethoven left the group, a Cajun fiddle player named Jean Baptiste Fuselier took over as bandleader and changed it's name to J.B. and the Merrymakers.

Live radio broadcasts propelled Fuselier's huge success. His early band, including Miller on drums, Preston Manuel on guitar and Atlas Fruge on steel, would work live radio shows during the day and then play dances at night.1  

The song "Redell Breakdown" was an ode to the small Louisiana town of Redell located north of Mamou.  It familiar similarities with Joe Falcon's "Au Revoir Cherie".  Melodies such as this one would go on to influence Iry Lejeune's "Evangeline Special" in 1947.   After WWII, the band was composed of J.B. on accordion, Manuel on guitar, Norris "T-Boy" Courville on drums, and Elius Soileau on fiddle.1

Quitter toujour, tit fille chere, avec ton neg, aujourd'hui.

Tit monde, m'en aller toujour, jamais te 'joindre, me t'veux encore.

(You're) leaving forever, dear little girl, with your old man, today.

Little everything, I'm leaving forever, never returning to you, yet still want you.

In Sam Tarleton's interview, J.B. states:

When we'd go to New Orleans to make some records, part of the road was gravel, part of the road was dirt.  The last time I went to make records in New Orleans, I had a Model A.  We went in a a Model A; four of us.

1. The Encyclopedia of Country Music.  Ann Savoy

Find:
Cajun String Bands 1930's: Cajun Breakdown (Arhoolie, 1997)
Cajun Country, Vol. 2, More Hits from the Swamp (JSP, 2005)

"Elton Two Step" - J.B. Fuselier

Jean Baptiste "J.B." Fuselier was a popular and innovative musician, recording a number of popular Cajun hits in the 1930s and 1940s, adding drums and steel guitar to his traditional Cajun ensemble.1  Fuselier was generally overshadowed by the less traditional Leo Soileau and Luderin Darbone – both of whom had their brands of Cajun string band music.1,2  In 1937, himself along with Preston Manuel and Beethoven Miller left for New Orleans to record "Elton Two Step" (#2016) for Bluebird records.

Eh, cherie

Moi, je m'en vas toujours, mais, moi tout seul,

Tu m'as quitte personne mais pour m'aimer,

Comment tu crois que moi je peux faire, jolie,

Toujours tout seul a ma maison.

He, petite mom, quoi moi je vas faire,

M'en aller si loin de toi, jolie,

Mais tu cois plus ces beaux yeux noirs, catin,

Comment t'aime ca, tu sais que moi j'aime tant.

J.B. Fuselier

The same melody appears even earlier in Amede Ardoin's 1929 recording "Two Step de Mama", not to be confused with Ardoin's "Two Step De Elton".    Eventually, in 1948, Iry Lejeune would make this into his well known "Lacassine Special".   Both Elton and Lacassine are small towns in the southwestern part of the state.

I'm going forver, well, all alone,

You left me, noone to love me,

How do you think that I will handle this, cutie,

Always alone at my home.

Hey, little moma, what will I do,

Went away so far from you, cutie,

But you want to see these pretty black eyes again, doll,

How do you like that, you know that I love you so.

In the late 1950s, Lawrence "Blackie" Fruge re-titled the Chester Pee Wee Broussard's "Creole Stomp" on Khoury's recordings as "Elton Two Step".  After WWII, Fuselier joined with Iry LeJeune and the Calcasieu Playboys and the two ruled the dance hall circuit until 1955 when LeJeune was killed and Fuselier severely injured when hit by a car while changing a tire at night on a dangerous South Louisiana highway. Despite his injuries, Fuselier never stopped playing and recorded a number of sides for Goldband in the 1960s.1

1. http://blogs.lib.unc.edu/sfc/index.php/2013/11/11/rivers-studio-dispatch/
2. http://www.downhomemusic.com/product/cajun-string-bands-the-1930s-various-artists/

Find:
Louisiana Cajun Music, Vol. 3: The String Bands of the 1930's (Old Timey, 1971)
Cajun String Bands 1930's: Cajun Breakdown (Arhoolie, 1997)

"Ma Chere Basett" - J.B. Fuselier

My Dear Little Woman! From the mid-1930's, J.B. Fuselier was a leading fiddle pioneer of Cajun music.  The height of his success was in the Cajun stringband era, from 1935 to 1942.  During that time period, he and Preston Manuel recorded "Ma Cher Bassett" for Bluebird records.  Initially, Fuselier was the fiddler in Miller's Merrymakers, let by Beethoven Miller. But Fuselier's talent quickly had him leading the band, and when Miller left the group, the act's name changed to J.B. Fuselier and His Merrymakers.1 

Yeah man.

Chere catin, tu m'as dit tu m'aimais,

Aujourd'hui, moi, je peux voir c'est pas crai,

C'etat tous des accroires tu me faisais.

Yeah man.

Et, c'est la maniere, j'ai jamais pu te t'arreter.

Moi, je croyais dans mon coeur,

Que je t'avais avec moi,

Aujourd'houi moi je vois c'est une erreur.

Et, chere, j'ai jamais pu t'empecher.

Tu voudrais t'en revenir,

A ma maison, chere bassette,

Moi, je fais tout qu'est a faire pour toi-meme.

Desbra Fontenot, J.B. Fuselier, 
Norris Courville, Preston Manuel

Image courtesy of Johnnie Allan & the 

Center for Louisiana Studies, 

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

"My Dear Short Girl" is probably the most well known songs by Jean Baptiste Fuselier.   It was written for one of his wives, Regina Fontenot, and by far his greatest Cajun hit.1,2  Fellow musician Tonice Lafleur played with J.B. and recalled the song:

He named it after her.  I drove the car to Cottonport and he practiced it in the back seat of the car.3

Many numbers by Fuselier contained the words "Ma Chére" in the title such as "Ma Chére Catain", "Ma Chére Jolite", "Ma Chére Vieux Maison Suet", and "Ma Chére Bouclett" and "Ma Chér Joui Rouge".  "Chére" and "chér" itself is a corrupted form of the French word "chérie" which means "dear", commonly used as a term of endearment.   The vocalist is not quite identified however, J.B played the fiddle and Preston Manuel played guitar. Preston recalled the song:

We made "Chere Bassette, Ou Toi T'es" for his wife who was given this nickname because she was very short.3  

Dear doll, you told me you loved me,

Today, I can see it's not true,

It is all believed you did this to me.

And, it's always been this way, I never could stop you.

I thought in my heart,

That I had you with me,

Today, I see it's a mistake,

And, dear, I could never make you stop.

You wanted to come back,

To my house, dear short girl,

I'd do all that's necessary for you.

1. The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Ann Savoy.
2. Cajun Breakdown: The Emergence of an American-Made Music By Ryan Andre Brasseaux  
3. Louisiana Fiddlers By Ron Yule, Bill Burge

Find:
Louisiana Cajun Music, Vol. 3: The String Bands of the 1930's (Old Timey, 1971)

Cajun String Bands: The 1930s: "Cajun Breakdown" (Arhoolie, 1997)

"Two Step De Te Momou" - J.B. Fuselier

It's one of Jean Baptiste Fuselier's more obscure tunes.   Not to be confused with Lawrence Walker's "Mamou Two Step", this tune was recorded among a slew of string band songs during the later part of the Cajun string-band era.   Misspelled version of "Tit Mamou", "Two Step De Te Momou" (#2079)  was an ode to the town of Mamou, Louisiana, not far from where J.B. was living.  The small group consisted of  Fuselier on fiddle and vocals, Preston Manuel on guitar, and probably M.J. Achten on guitar.

Oh, Mamou!

Oh chère, moi, je m’en vas dans ‘tit Mamou,

C’est pour voir, oh yaille, les jolies p‘tites filles.

Ohh, comment je vas faire là béb?

Oh chère, comment tu crois je peux faire?

Tu m’as quitté, moi tout seul, à ma maison, jolie.

Ohh ye yaille comment tu veux que je faire, jolie,

Ohh dans ma maison, jolie?

Crowley Daily Signal
Nov 18, 1949

One of the best-known lineups of the Merrymakers consisted of J.B. on fiddle, Desbra Fontenot on steel, Norris Courville on drums, and Preston Manuel on guitar.  Fiddler Varise Connor knew J.B. fairly well and played with him often, but after the Depression, money became an issue.  He recalled:

Back then, the Great Depression was so bad that they couldn't pay us enough to play dances.  You weren't guaranteed a fixed price, you had to play for a certain percentage of the money paid at the door.  I worked hard all the time, all the time.  When I stopped playing dances, that's when I started my saw mill.  I told J.B. "If you want to play your life for nothing, go ahead.  I quit."2   

Crawford Vincent sometimes sat in on the drums after J.B. moved to Lake Charles.1

Oh, Mamou!

Oh dear, I'm going to little Mamou,

It's to see, oh yaille, the little pretty girls,

Oh, how am I going to handle this, baby?

Oh dear, how do you think I can handle this?

You left me all alone at my house, pretty one.

Oh ye yaille, how will I do this, pretty one,

Oh, at my house, pretty one?

1. Louisiana Fiddlers By Ron Yule, Bill Burge
2. Ye Yaille Chere by Raymond Francois
3. Lyrics by Stephane F and Jordy A

"Pine Island" - Miller's Merrymakers

The Merrymakers were a string band led by Beethoven Miller, fiddler Jean Baptiste Fuselier and guitarist Preston Manuel.  They band didn't live far from the area known as Pine Island.  Pine Island is a small community west in southwest Louisiana where dancehalls such as Forestier's would dot the region catering to Cajun musicians of the 1930s.  This farm community was settled in the middle of a prairie around a hill thick with pine and oak trees. Pine Island became the home to many in the late-1920's after the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. The many people that lost their homes and livelihoods moved west and settled in Pine Island.2 According to Preston Manuel, his guitarist:

When I first playing, I was about eighteen or nineteen years old, my first dance was in Iota, Louisiana.  I started playing with J.B. Fuselier and the Merrymakers, just a little group. We played in Pine Island there, so we made "Pine Island Two Step".1 

Eh, chère p'tite fille,

Me quitter ma chere mignonne pour toi.

Il y a pas jamais pleurer tout seul,

Quoi te faire avec ton nègre aujourd'hui.

Eh, moi j'm'en va la-bas, dans la maison,

Oh, toujour li mon tout seul, chérie, (aw, chère),

Eh, personne, pour mamay, chere belle,

Pour ma yeh chere blonde (....).

J.B. Fuselier

In 1936, they recorded the tune "Pine Island Two Step" (#2006) with either Manuel or Miller on guitar.  His line "Il y a pas jamais pleurer tout seul" maybe heard as "je croyais pas jamais t'aurais tout ça" meaning "I never thought you would do that".   It resembled a slowed down version of "Abbeville" by the Jolly Boys of Lafayette.  Given that Cleoma Breaux used a slightly different version of the melody for her "Pin Solitaire (Lonesome Pine)", it's not surprising the same melody was chosen for his Pine Island.

Hey, dear little girl,

I've left my dear cutie for you,

There, you'll never cry alone,

Why have you gone done this to your old man today.

Hey, I'm going over there to the house,

Oh, I'm always alone, dear (aw dear),

Hey, no one, for my mom, dear beautiful,

For my dear blonde girl (.....).

Like many pre-war Cajun tunes, the melody was used in other recordings, including Fuselier's own "Lake Arthur Waltz".  Other notable tunes of the era was Happy Fats' "Gran Prairie" with Harry Choates on fiddle and Papa Cairo's "Allons Kooche Kooche" and "Big Texas".   All of these tunes would eventually become Hank William's "Jambalaya" in 1952.  Slow versions, such as Fuselier's, became known better as "Quelle Etoile"

The town of Pine Island also had a general store, a Catholic church, and a big dance hall where the Merrymakers and Hackberry Ramblers often played in the late 1930’s. In a PBS documentary, Independent Lens, Make 'Em Dance, Edwin Duhon remembered playing in the dance hall in Pine Island where they first used an amplifier.2,3

1. Louisiana Fiddlers By Ron Yule, Bill Burge
2. http://hathawayhistory.blogspot.com/2007/02/pine-island.html
3. http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/makethemdance/
4. Lyrics by Stephane F

Find:
The Cajuns: Songs, Waltzes, & Two-Steps (Folkways, 1971)
Gran Prairie: Cajun Music Anthology, Vol. 3: The Historic Victor Bluebird Sessions (Country Music, 1994)
Cajun Louisiane 1928-1939 (Fremeaux, 2003)
Cajun Country, Vol. 2, More Hits from the Swamp (JSP, 2005)
Cajun Capers: Cajun Music 1928-1954 (Proper, 2005)

"Ma Chere Vieux Maison Dan Suet" - J.B. Fuselier

In the mid-1930s, fiddler Jean Batiste “J. B.” Fuselier joined tenor banjoist Beethoven Miller and guitarist Preston Manuel to form Miller's Merrymakers. What many don't know is J. B., who was at the center of the string band movement, always carried his accordion with him to play in case it was called for.   However, he never recorded with it until the 1960s.   

V'est ma chère vieille maison dans le sud,

J'ai quitter pour m'en aller,

Tous les anges ont chanté,

J'après m'en revenir,

C'est ma chère vieille maison dans le sud.

De mon papa et ma chère maman,

J'ai quitter ça tous tracassé,

Mais ça sera pas longtemps,

Je suis après m'en revenir,

C'est ma chère vieille maison dans le sud.

Dis adieu mes chères amis,

Dis adieu j'après m'en revenir,

Mais j'ai douté,

D'avoir eu quitté,

C'est ma chere vieille maison dans le sud.

J.B. Fuselier

In 1938, Fuselier recorded a number of tunes in New Orleans with "Ma Chere" in the title, with this one using a melody from Jimmie Rodgers.  "Ma Chere Vieux Maison Dan Suet" (#2041) on Bluebird records was part of the repertoire and his Merrymakers consisted of Preston Manuel guitar and probably M.J. Achten on guitar.  Author Ryan Brasseaux discusses this E.T. Cozzens and Jimmie Rodgers 1928 cover tune:

Though the band steered toward traditional Cajun musical expression, their instrumental arrangements and vocal delivery carried the synthetic mark of hillbilly and Western swing on occasion in the form of harmonizing and yodeling. Neither vocal delivery was characteristic of the singing technique employed during the early commercial era.  Rather, Merrymaker recordings such as "Ma Chere Vieux Maison Dan Suet" set to the melody of "Dear Old Sunny South By The Sea" provides a succinct example of both harmony and yodeling within the Cajun idiom. 1

This is my dear old house in the south,

I left to go all by myself,

All the angels sang,

Afterwards, I'll come back,

This is my dear old house in the south.

My father and my dear mother,

I left all worried,

But it will not be a long time,

Afterwards, I will return,

This is my dear old house in the south.

Say goodbye my dear friends,

Say goodbye, afterwards, I'll be back,

But I have doubts,

Having already left,

This is my dear old house in the south.

1. Cajun Breakdown: The Emergence of an American-Made Music By Ryan Andre Brasseaux
2. Lyrics by 'ericajun'

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