"Carolina Blues" - Nathan Abshire

Throughout the early 20s and 30s, standard blues chord progressions and melodies influenced many musicians in New Orleans, Chattanooga, Chicago, and Dallas.   Cajun musicians picked up on these popular tunes and created some of their own based around these familiar chords.  Nathan Abshire, who was already familiar with the blues, had already recorded his signature "Pine Grove Blues" and his "French Blues" earlier in the 1940s.


By the later 50s, Nathan's recording career was winding down and both he and Dewey Balfa used this opportunity to rework a very familiar blues set into his "Carolina Blues" (#649). Listed in either 1955 or possibly early 1956 in Lake Charles, Louisiana, his tune can be found in a number of pre-war era songs such as "Tipple Blues" by the Allen Brothers and Kentucky String Ticklers, the "Ginseng Blues" by the Kentucky Ramblers, "The Georgia Black Bottom" by the Georgia Crackers, "Chevrolet Car" by Sam McGee, and "Honky Tonk Blues" by Jimmie Davis.   However, according to author Kevin Coffey, Nathan used the melody of the Shelton Brother's "Deep Elem Blues".  He states:

It's pretty much "Deep Elem Blues" melodically, the same melody that Happy Fats cut as "Se Mallereaux" in the '30s, and I'm sure other Cajuns did similar things back then with same melody.

Quand j’ai quitté ta maison là bas dans la caroline,

Pour venir à la Louisiane, mais, pour rejoindre mon cher bébé,

On m'avait dit, m'avait dit qu'elle m’aimait, 

Aujourd'hui, elle est après me quitter, bébé, 

Ça, ça me fait trop du mal.

Mon 'tit bébé m'a quitté pour s'en aller avec un autre, 

S'en aller avec un autre, c’était là bas àyoù il fallait pas 

Où moi j'vas aller, chère 'tite fille, fais pas ça z'avec moi, 

Viens me rejoindre à la maison, 

J'suis moi tout seul après pleurer.

Dewey Balfa
Courtesy of Masters of Traditional Arts

In fact, Nathan may have borrowed the tune from Happy Fats' recording of "Se Mallereaux", since both Nathan and Happy had started their careers together back in the 1930s and lyrically the songs are awfully similar.  The song features Dewey Balfa on vocals and fiddle, Nathan Abshire on accordion, possibly Jake Mire on steel and possibly Shelton Manuel or Thomas Langley on drums.   The song would later be re-titled as "Bouret Blues".  Dewey's rendition spoke of leaving the Carolinas to meet his lover, only to find out she had already left him. 

Crowley Daily Signal
May 3, 1969

When I left your house there in the Carolina,

To come to Louisiana, well, to meet my dear baby,

I had been told, told that she loved me,

Today, she is leaving me, baby,

That, that hurts me too much.

My little baby left me to go away with another,

To go away with another, it's over there, where you mustn't go,

Where I'm going to go, dear little girl, don't do that to me,

Come meet me at home,

I'm all alone crying.

Some sources place it on July 1957, however, given Khoury's lack of documentation, it's quite possible it was released anywhere around this period.   This pressing came out both in 78 and 45, making it one of the few Nathan Abshire recordings on both mediums.  Strangely enough, Khoury had the songs on each side of #649 reversed, with incorrect labels for the songs.  He even used a different label color and probably a different pressing plant.  

1. http://www.mastersoftraditionalarts.org/
2. Lyrics by Stephane F

Release Info:
K-649-A Boora Rhumba 649-A Khoury's (label reversed on 78)
K-649-B Carolina Blues 649-B Khoury's (label reversed on 78)

Find:
Nathan Abshire & the Pine Grove Boys - French Blues (Arhoolie, 1993)

"Crowley Waltz" - Hackberry Ramblers

When Louisiana musicians Edwin Duhon and Luderin Darbone founded the Hackberry Ramblers, the country was mired in the Great Depression and FDR had just moved into the White House.3 

The son of an oil field worker, Duhon was born in Youngsville. A Cajun, he grew up speaking French. He later recalled that he was forbidden to speak French in school and that whenever he did, he was spanked.3  Edwin Duhon, played both guitar and accordion, though later in his career he focused exclusively on the latter instrument. Luderin Darbone, a fiddler, spent part of his youth in East Texas, where he acquired a taste for country music to complement the Cajun sounds of his native South Louisiana. Duhon and Darbone formed the Hackberry Ramblers in 1933, and the band went on to become one of the most innovative and long-lasting in American popular music.1  According to the group's producer, Ben Sandmel:

Edwin had a really good ear for music.  He could hear a song as it was being played for the first time and jump right in with either playing a really inventive solo or playing a backup part that would fit perfectly. And he could do that with any style of music -- Cajun, country, rockabilly, the blues.3

Lennis Sonnier, 
Edwin Duhon,
Luderin Darbone
www.mastersoftraditionalarts.org

The group became popular playing for dancers in Louisiana and Texas and in 1935 began recording more than 100 tunes on 78-rpm records for RCA’s Bluebird label.1  However, Edwin had left the group before they had a chance to record their first song.   After nine months as a member, however, Duhon got married and left the group to take a job working in the oil fields.3   Darbone recalls:

Since he was married, he had to earn a living.  With the music, we were lucky to make $3 a night apiece.3

Replaced with Floyd and Lonnie Rainwater, the group recorded a tune in which they called  "Crowley Waltz" (#2173), as their first Cajun single in 1935 at the New Orleans' St. Charles Hotel.  Not to be confused with Cleoma Breaux's earlier recording of "La Valse Crowley", she would also take the melody and recorded it the following year as "Ma Valse Favori"; not all that different from their earlier recording of "Poche Town".  Other renditions at the time were Lawrence Walker's 1929 "La Vie Malheureuse" and Happy Fats' 1935 "La Valse De L'Amour".  Crowley was a small town in Louisiana where most of the band members would end up moving, in order to play more often.  

Lake Charles American Press
Mar 28, 1947

Luderin states:

When I moved to Crowley, I had Lennis. He moved down. Lennis is from Vinton, a little town west of here. We decided if we moved to Crowley it would be more of a central location for us so that's what we did.4  

Later in 1947, under Luderin's direction, the group re-recorded the tune for Deluxe Records.  This time, Edwin had rejoined the band and they added Chink Widcamp on bass.

In 1963, the group reworked the tune for Arhoolie Records in a session located in Lake Charles.  Edwin kept on playing with the group until he was 95. Ben Sandmel stated:

Edwin was a tough, tough old guy. He played as recently as November [2006] in Baton Rouge, even though he was playing in a wheelchair and it was difficult for him to go.3

Edwin Duhon2

1935 - Crowley Waltz

1. http://www.mastersoftraditionalarts.org/artists/76?selected_facets=name_initial_last_exact:L
2. National Endowment for the Arts
3. Edwin Duhon, 95; Co-Founded Cajun Band March 19, 2006|Dennis McLellan | Times Staff Writer (http://articles.latimes.com/2006/mar/19/local/me-duhon19)
4. http://arhoolie.org/hackberry-ramblers/

Find:
Raise Your Window: A Cajun Music Anthology 1928 - 1941 (The Historic Victor-Bluebird Sessions Vol. 2) (CMF, 1993)

Cajun Champs (Arhoolie, 2005)

"Two Step D'Elton" - Dennis McGee & Amede Ardoin

At the same time that the Cajuns were being transformed by new influences, the African American descendants of slaves who had been brought by force to America were developing their own music, and the music of the two cultures influenced one another. The music of Creole culture drew on the same French traditions as Cajun music but added to that the influence of African music in the New World–the rhythms of the Caribbean or the soulful melodies of the blues or a combination of these sources and more. 

The legendary Amédé Ardoin exerted a major influence on the development of both Creole and Cajun music. Ardoin and a number of other Creole musicians would also play at white dances. Eventually, Ardoin became acquainted with the Cajun fiddler Dennis McGee. Together, they began to play at dances throughout the region.1  By 1930, the duo made their way to New Orleans were they waxed the song "Two Step D'Elton" (#513), an ode to the small town in Jeff Davis Parish.

O, joli ’tit monde, comment je vas faire?

Tu m’abandonnes, catin, éou je vas aller, ’tit monde?

O, c’est toi, catin, ô, comment je vas faire,

O, tu m’abandonnes, comment je vas faire, catin?

Ta maman et ton papa, ô, ils n’ont pas voulu,

Mon, je peux perdre, qu’ils ont trouvé, toi, t’etais trop jeune.

O, mais, toi, catin, comment je vas faire, toi, ’tit monde?

Eoù je vas aller si tu m’abandonnes? Comment je vas faire, catin?

Mais, tes parents, ça veut pas moi,

Oui, toi, jolie, qui c’est qu’a fait tout ça, catin?,

(C’est) la faute à ta maman.

Amede Ardoin

Lester "Pe-Te" Jeansonne (Johnson), a native of Grand Tasso who moved to Houston playing Cajun music on a the KPFT radio program, recalled watching Ardoin as a child:

I was a kid and matter of fact, they’d have a house dance at one house one Saturday night, then next week or the two weeks later, they’d have another one at somebody else’s house. Back then there was only one musician, a couple of musicians, and Amédé Ardoin, that played the accordion. I was only about two-and-a-half, three years old, and he played at my house. He was the only musician there. Back then they’d say, “Fais do-do,” and they’d put the kids in the back room in the bed and everything, and you was supposed to stay in there and go to sleep. Man, that accordion music, it was in my blood. [Laughs.] And I’d drift out of there. Finally, after about the third time of getting a whoopin’, they’d just leave me there and I’d just sit right there by his feet while he played.2  

Oh, pretty little everything, how am I going to handle this?

You abandoned me, pretty doll, where are you going to go, little everything?

Oh, it's you, pretty doll, oh, how am I going to handle this?

Oh, you abandoned me, how am I going to handle this, pretty doll?

Your mom and your dad, oh, they don't want (me),

I can lose, what they have found, you were too young.

Oh, well, you, pretty doll, how am I going to handle this, little everything?

Where I am going to go if you abandon me?  How am I going to handle this, pretty doll?

Well, your parents, that don't want me,

Yeah, you, pretty one, who has done all of that, pretty doll?

(It's) your mom's fault.

In 1960, Austin Pitre and his Evangeline Playboys revised the song into his recording of "Two Step de Bayou Teche" for Swallow Records

1. http://andrethierry.com/zydeco/
2. Keeping Cajun Music Alive – “Yes, siree, I guarontee ya”: A conversation with Pe-Te Johnson and Jason Theriot.  Houston History Magazine.

Release Info:

NO-6721 Two Step D'Elton | Brunswick 513

NO-6722 La Valse De Gueydan | Brunswick 513

Find:

I'm Never Comin' Back: The Roots of Zydeco (Arhoolie, 1995)

Cajun Country, Vol. 2, More Hits from the Swamp (JSP, 2005) NOTE: Incorrect recording on CD

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

Mama, I'll Be Long Gone : The Complete Recordings of Amede Ardoin, 1929-1934 (Tompkins Square, 2011)

"Elle M'a Oublie (She Has Forgotten Me)" - Joe Falcon

Early 20th century Cajun music, and the industry that surrounded it, was dominated by men.  Much of this had to do with the reputation the music had among others in the community.  Generally, the music was played in places known for drinking, fighting and decadence; places where a urban lady typically wouldn't be found.  When Cleoma Breaux followed her brother's lead and joined up with Joe Falcon to become a professional musician, she challenged the industry's mentality of the time.   This heightened the group’s drawing power among men, although some women were reportedly resentful – even more so, perhaps, because Cleoma was a sharp dresser whose wardrobe reflected the latest national fashion trends. Atypically, the Falcons were able to make a living playing music alone, with no need for day jobs.

Ville Platte Gazette
Dec 14, 1929

Eh, chère, rapelle-toi j’ai promete,

Et j'étais d’accord, quoi tu m’as fait?

Chère, moi, je peux plus,

T’endurer, jolie cœur.

Toi, tu m’as promis, chère,

De plus faire ça et regarde-donc,

Quoi t'après faire aujourd’hui, chère,

Ça c’est dur, oui, pour moi t’endurer.

Quand même tu veux pas, chère,

T’as pas promis il y a pas longtemps, jolie fille,

Tu rappelle-toi quoi t’as fair, jolie cœur?

Oui, c’est de me voir, chère,

Si loin de toi après jongler sans savoir, jolie fille,

Chère, si jamais tu vas d’etre à la traîne.

Petite, tu devrais, chère,

Viens observer il y a si longtemps quoi t’as fais avec moi,

Chère, si tu jongle à moi,

Tu vas voir pour toi-même.

Petite, si tu voudrais, chère,

Donc, me prendre, tu saurais quoi moi je ferais pour toi-même,

Chère, tu te regretterais-donc jamais toute ta vie.

Cleoma and Joe Falcon
Courtesy of Alain Chenneviere

At this time, the role of women in Cajun music was relegated to the home, and a repertoire that primarily consisted of ballads, lullabies, and other a capella music not conceived for dancing. This mindset made it all the more remarkable when Columbia signed Cleoma, along with her partner Joe, to their own recording contract in 1929.1  The duo brought along her brothers Amede and Ophy to Atlanta as accompaniment. Together, the group recorded a song called "Elle M'a Oublie" (#40508) about a lover's broken promise.   

Hey, dear, remember, I promised,

And I agreed, what did you do to me?

Dear, I can not,

Endure you, pretty sweetheart,

You promised me, dear,

Never to do that, and so look,

What you are doing today, dear,

That's hard, yeah, for me to endure you.

Even if you do not want to, dear,

You didn't promise all that long ago, pretty girl,

Do you remember what you did, pretty sweetheart?

Yeah, it's to see me, dear,

So far from you after reminiscing yet not knowing, pretty girl,

Dear, if you're ever going to lag behind.

Little one, you should, dear,

Come and see how long ago, what you've done with me,

Dear, if you reminisce with me,

You'll see for yourself,

Little one, if you like, dear,

So, take me, you would know what I would do, for yourself,

Dear, you'll never regret this for the rest of your life.

Lake Charles American Press
Dec 14, 1951

1. http://musicrising.tulane.edu/discover/people/452/Breaux-Cleoma
2. Lyrics by Stephane F and Francis M

Release Info:
W110551-1 C'est Si Triste San Lui (It Is So Blue Without Him) | Columbia 40508-F OKeh 90008
W110554-2 Elle M'a Oublie (She Has Forgotten Me) | Columbia 40508-F OKeh 90008

Find:
Cajun Early Recordings (JSP, 2004)

"La Valse De La Veuve" - Angelas Lejeune

As the traditional melody of Jolie Blonde made its way around the prairies of south Louisiana, the theme and associated lyrics took on different forms in niche areas throughout the 1920s.  Unlike the musicians living in Rayne and Crowley such as the Breaux Brothers, the musicians living in and around Church Point had their own unique theme for the song.  Accordionist Angelas Lejeune and fiddler Ernest Fruge introduced their version of the tune during a recording session in 1930 called "La Valse De La Veuve" (#558). As fiddler Wade Fruge recalled, the melody was much older than when the Breaux Brothers had first decided to record it.    

However, instead of singing about a jolie blonde, Angelas chose to sing about a lonely widow and her daughter.  During an interview, Lejeune was asked who the fille de la veuve (daughter of the widow) was.  He recalls:

She was the daughter of a man we called "Doo Doo" Matte.  She later became Mrs. Dave Ledoux. But at the time the words were composed, she lived with her mother. Her father was dead. They lived in Pointe Noir.1   

Angelas Lejeune

Oh, malheureuse, criminelle, misérable.

Oh, chère jolie, chère tite fille, comment t'as fait,

Tu fais ça avec ton nèg', après m'quitter, pour m'en aller.

Oh, chère tite fille, la fille de la veuve, oui, qui est là,

T'étais si belle et si mignonne, oui, ton toupet qui était si bien coupé.

Oh, petite!

Oh, chère tite fille, tu connais t'es tout le temps, oui-z aimer,

Mais, doucement avant de mourir, les flammes d'enfer, pauvre vieille mam' avec ton nègre.

...

The fille was Emma Matte Ledoux.  Her father was known in the community as Joseph "Doo Doo" Matte and his wife, Josephine Doucet, was affectionately known as Madame "Doo Doo".  What makes this version unique is the phrase "toupet qui était si bien coupé", referring to the way she cut her hair, typically the front bangs.   Originally issued on the Brunswick recording label, it seems Melotone (#18052) re-issued these recordings much later, possibly in 1934.  Author Tony Russell explains:

Melotone was an American-manufactured series marketed to French-speaking Canadians, whether in Québec or in New England.2  

This issue with the dark green logo on the gold circle seems to be the last one in that particular series.

Oh, it's terrible, it's criminal, it's miserable.

Oh, dear pretty one, dear little girl, how come you've done this?

You did that to your old man, leaving me, to go away.

Oh, dear little girl, daughter of the widow, yeh, who is there,

You were so beautiful and so cute, yeh, your forelock that was cut so well.

Oh, little one!

Oh, dearl little girl, you know you're always, hey, lovely,

Well, I'm slowly dying, into the flames of hell, your poor old mom with your dad.

...

This version must have had made some influence further south since Vermilion Parish musicians, the Segura Brothers, recorded essentially the same song in 1934 for John and Alan Lomax.  By 1954, inspired by his cousin Angelas' recording, Cajun accordionist Iry Lejeune resurrected the tune, in which Eddie Shuler mis-titled it as "La Fitte La Vove".  In it, he specifically calls out Madame Doo Doo.   Cousin Rodney Lejeune would do the same for Swallow Records in 1958.  Regarding Angelas' music, collector Eric Simkin states:

I just find these Cajun melodies overwhelming beautiful. Other-world. The primitive-ness of the sound countered by tremendous playing talent is so moving. Like the greatest blues.3  

1. Tears, Love, and Laughter: The Story of the Acadians by Pierre Daigle
2. Discussions with Tony Russell
3. Discussions with Eric S
4. Lyrics by Stephane F

Release Info:

NO-6700 La Petite One Step | Brunswick 558 Melotone M18052-A
NO-6701 La Valse De La Veuve | Brunswick 558  Melotone M18052-B

Find:
Pioneers of the Cajun Accordion (Arhoolie, 1989)
Let Me Play This For You: Rare Cajun Recordings (Tompkins, 2013)

"La Cravat" - Happy, Doc And The Boys

Before the war, Leroy "Happy Fats" Leblanc had a successful recording and radio career, employing many musicians throughout the 1940s.  His KVOL audience would tune into his show where he featured local musicians.  Many of these same musicians would accompany him at the  annual International Rice Festival in Crowley including vocalist Louis Noel. By the late 1940s, record producer J.D. Miller enticed Happy to record for him.  Miller went to Cosimo Matassa's fledgling J&M Recording studio in New Orleans between 1946 and 1949 and recorded singer Happy Fats with fiddler Doc Guidry and singer Louis Noel.   He spoke to author John Broven more specifically later in life:

So I called Cosimo and scheduled a session over there to cut three records, six sides.  So we go over there; we cut "Colinda" by Happy Fats and Doc Guidry, we cut "La Cravat" by Louis Noel, and a country thing.3

Crowley Daily Signal
Oct 13, 1949

Si j’aurais mes souliers,

C’est ma 'mie qui m’a donné,

Si j’aurais mes souliers,

C’est ma 'mie qui m’a donné,

Mes souliers sont ronds,

Ma 'mie, j’aimais tant,

Ma 'mie, j’aimais tant.

Si j’aurais mes beaux bas,

C’est ma 'mie qui m’a donné,

Si j’aurais mes beaux bas,

C’est ma 'mie qui m’a donné,

Mes beaux bas à sentiment,

Mes souliers sont ronds,

Ma 'mie, j’aimerais tant,

Ma 'mie, j’aimerais tant.

Si j’aurais mes jarretières,

C’est ma 'mie qui m’a donné,

Si j’aurais mes jarretières,

C’est ma 'mie qui m’a donné,

Mes jarretières sont entières,

Mes beaux bas à sentiment,

Mes souliers sont ronds,

Ma 'mie, j’aimerais tant,

Ma 'mie, j’aimerais tant.

Si j’aurais ma culotte,

C’est ma 'mie qui m’a donné,

Si j’aurais ma culotte,

C’est ma 'mie qui m’a donné,

Ma culotte à courte botte,

Mes jarretières sont entières,

Mes beaux bas à sentiment,

Mes souliers sont ronds,

Ma 'mie, j’aimerais tant,

Ma 'mie, j’aimerais tant.

Si j’aurais ma chemise,

C’est ma 'mie qui m’a donné,

Si j’aurais ma chemise,

C’est ma 'mie qui m’a donné,

Ma chemise à courte fine,

Ma culotte à courte botte,

Mes jarretières sont entières,

Mes beaux bas à sentiment,

Mes souliers sont ronds,

Ma 'mie, j’aimerais tant,

Ma 'mie, j’aimerais tant.

Si j’aurais ma cravate,

C’est ma 'mie qui m’a donné,

Si j’aurais ma cravate,

C’est ma 'mie qui m’a donné,

Ma cravate à zig et zag,

Et bien bouclée dedans mon cou,

Ma chemise à courte fine,

Ma culotte à courte botte,

Mes jarretières sont entières,

Mes beaux bas à sentiment,

Mes souliers sont ronds,

Ma 'mie, j’aimerais tant,

Ma 'mie, j’aimerais tant.

Si j’aurais mon chapeau,

C’est ma 'mie qui m’a donné,

Si j’aurais mon chapeau,

C’est ma 'mie qui m’a donné,

Mon chapeau est sur me tete,

Ma cravate à zig et zag,

Et bien bouclée dedans mon cou,

Ma chemise à courte fine,

Ma culotte à courte botte,

Mes jarretières sont entières,

Mes beaux bas à sentiment,

Mes souliers sont ronds,

Ma 'mie, j’aimerais tant,

Ma 'mie, j’aimerais tant.

Opelousas Daily World
May 20, 1949

"The country thing" happened to be some songs by Al Terry. It took quite some time before the records arrived from California pressing plants however, he recalls:

I sent the masters off to the West Coast to be pressed, that of course, was 78s, and when I got them back, I was so proud you wouldn't believe.1,2,3

He released his very first Cajun-country record as "La Cravat" (#1000), a children's nursery rhyme from possibly the 17th century, that was passed down orally until the Acadians brought the song to Louisiana.  The same theme appears in Patrick Dak Pellerin's 1930 recording of "Mamie Que J'aime Tant" and the Hoffpauir Sister's 1934 Lomax recording of "Si J'aurais Les Souliers".   During the 30s, Ann Buchanan of Lafayette collected Acadian folk songs, including the lyrics to "Mamie Que J'aimais Tant", in which she thought were over a hundred years old.7  

By the 1960s, Ed and Bee Deshotel used the same theme in their recording of "Petits Souliers Rouges".  In the 1970s, Marie Pellerin recorded the song for folklorist Dr. Barry Ancelet. This is an old favorite that many older Cajuns remember fondly from their childhoods. It’s a cumulative song about all the clothes the narrator’s sweetheart has given him, including the zig-zag tie of the title.  To this day, the older Cajun folk can still recall their parents and their grand-parents singing this song to them as children.   Louis' daughter and their cousin Floyd recalls:

La Cravat was taught to him by his grandparents.  The song had been handed down from one generation to the next.4 We heard those songs played umpteen times from Opelousas' KSLO radio station on our old Arvin AM radio sometime about 1950.  They were very special to us then.6

KSLO 1949
Felton Hargroder, Louis Noel, Rita Noel,
Floyd Cormier (MC), Jack Ricahrd

If only I had my shoes,

That my sweetheart gave to me,

If only I had my shoes,

That my sweetheart gave to me,

My shoes are round,

My dear, how I would like that,

My dear, how I would like that.

If only I had my pretty socks,

That my sweetheart gave to me,

If only I had my pretty socks,

That my sweetheart gave to me,

My favorite pretty socks,

My shoes are round,

My dear, how I would like that,

My dear, how I would like that.

If only I had my garters,

That my sweetheart gave to me,

If only I had my garters,

That my sweetheart gave to me,

My garters are whole,

My favorite pretty socks,

My shoes are round,

My dear, how I would like that,

My dear, how I would like that.

If only I had my pants, 

That my sweetheart gave to me,

If only I had my pants, 

That my sweetheart gave to me,

My short knee pants,

My garters are whole,

My favorite pretty socks,

My shoes are round,

My dear, how I would like that,

My dear, how I would like that.

If only I had my shirt,

That my sweetheart gave to me,

If only I had my shirt,

That my sweetheart gave to me,

My fine woven shirt,

My short knee pants,

My garters are whole,

My favorite pretty socks,

My shoes are round,

My dear, how I would like that,

My dear, how I would like that.

If only I had my tie,

That my sweetheart gave to me,

If only I had my tie,

That my sweetheart gave to me,

My zig-zag tie,

Well knotted around my neck,

My fine woven shirt,

My short knee pants,

My garters are whole,

My favorite pretty socks,

My shoes are round,

My dear, how I would like that,

My dear, how I would like that.

If only I had my hat,

That my sweetheart gave to me,

If only I had my hat,

That my sweetheart gave to me,

My hat upon my head,

My zig-zag tie,

Well knotted around my neck,

My fine woven shirt,

My short knee pants,

My garters are whole,

My favorite pretty socks,

My shoes are round,

My dear, how I would like that,

My dear, how I would like that.

Opelousas Daily World
Sep 15, 1950

However, having seen Cosimo's studio, Miller soon got the idea that it would be faster, cheaper and more interesting to put in his own recording studio.1  From then on, his new Feature Records would be recorded in his hometown of Crowley, Louisiana.  Miller's early releases had the letter 'F' in the number to signify a French recording, specifically Cajun French, while the letter 'E' signified and English recording, specifically a country song.   Therefore, Miller's early pressings contain multiple uses of numbers.

By February of 1949, Louis took a chance at an amateur talent show winning first prize.  His talents scored him a place on the radio show listings for KSLO.   There, he performed classic country tunes and his own recordings, billed as the "Ernest Tubbs of Louisiana".5  By 1950, he formed a full band playing in dance halls with the Teche Troubadors. 

1. Slim Harpo: Blues King Bee of Baton Rouge By Martin Hawkins
2. South to Louisiana: The Music of the Cajun Bayous By John Broven
3. Record Makers and Breakers: Voices of the Independent Rock 'n' Roll Pioneers By John Broven
4. Discussions with Karl W
5. Opelousas World.  Mar 1949.
6. Discussions with Rita and Floyd
7. https://louisianadigitallibrary.org/islandora/object/state-lwp%3A4939

Find:
Acadian All Star Special - The Pioneering Cajun Recordings Of J.D. Miller (Bear, 2011)

"Devil In The Bayou" - Harry Choates

One of the stranger, spookier recordings that Cajun fiddler Harry Choates ever created was a haunting instrumental he laid down in Houston for Gold Star records.  Far from anything he had done before, one of Harry Choates’ most enduring compositions was the 1948 "Devil in the Bayou" (#1340).  Not a great hit in its day, the song somehow embodies the stereotype of sinister, supernatural Louisiana.  The manic violin coupled with a relentless piano backing and interspersed with demonic laughter, has a spooky appeal to modern listeners.  More than novelty, it demonstrates Choates’ extraordinary musical ability, achieving a huge range of sounds on the fiddle.3  

He was backed up by three of his original Melody Boys, Pee Wee Lyons on steel guitar, Johnnie Manuel on piano and Wilbur "Pee Wee" Maples on guitar, but replaced the other members with Grady Mann on bass and Amos Comeaux on drums.   The bizarre song is another one of Choates' original pieces. Played entirely in the key of A minor (virtually unheard of in hillbilly and Cajun music), author and researcher, Andrew Brown states:

"Devil" reminds one more of the soundtrack to an early horror movie than a country record, with Choate's sinister laughs accompanied by bassist Grady Mann's screams.5  

It had no commercial potential, but record producer Bill Quinn released it anyway.5    According to writer Thomas Townsley,

"Devil in the Bayou" continues to fascinate [Harry's] contemporaries and intrigue listeners. Demons are often a common topic in Cajun-Creole folklore. Among the most famous (and creepy) stories of haunted bayous is the account of feu follets.1  

According to the book, Swapping Stories: Folktales From Louisiana, feu follets  (known as will-o'-the-wisps in American culture) were reportedly unexplained glowing apparitions seen floating along the bayou at night. Many believed these glowing balls of light were demons that wandered the bayou, seeking to lead people astray into the dark. Choates in his song "Devil In the Bayou" brings to light the anxieties and terrors felt by the early superstitious Cajun peoples living along the bayou.1   

Harry himself succumbed to "demons" his whole life, mainly through the effects of his drinking. Legend has it that Harry never owned an instrument in his life; all his music was made on a $7.00 fiddle he borrowed from a friend and never bothered to return.2  He had the ability to drink most dedicated boozehounds under the table and the musical genius to blow just about anybody off of the bandstand.4  According to Brown,

There are a lot of musicians I talked to whose only remembrance of Harry is just this notorious alcoholic drunken bum guy. A lot of people don’t remember anything else but him just getting rip roaring drunk off his ass.4  

In 2002, Andrew Brown commemorated the recording by using it on his Harry Choates CD project, calling it "Devil In The Bayou".

1. http://neworleansreligion.blogspot.com/2013/03/cajun-devil-folklore.html
2. The Best of Country Music by John Morthland
3. https://www.waveglobe.fm/harry-choates-fiddle-king-cajun-swing/
4. http://www.offbeat.com/articles/harry-choates/
5. Devil In The Bayou by Andrew Brown.  Liner notes.

Release Info:

1340-A Rye Whiskey | Gold Star 1340-A

1340-B Devil In The Bayou | Gold Star 1340-B

Find:

Harry Choates ‎– The Fiddle King Of Cajun Swing (Arhoolie, 1982, 1993) 

Devil In The Bayou - The Gold Star Recordings (Bear Family, 2002)