Louisiana Cajun Music Vol. 4

Another Cajun LP from the same pile at last week's boot sale - this time on the Old Timey records label. A compilation from 50's released in 1972...........................................................................................................................................................................Wikipedia says of Harry Choates - "Harry Choates (December 26, 1922, Rayne, Louisiana or New Iberia, Louisiana - July 17, 1951, Austin, Texas) was an American Cajun music fiddler. Choates's place of birth is disputed. He moved to Port Arthur, Texas in the 1930s, and received little schooling, instead spending time in local bars listening to music on the jukebox. By age 12 he started playing fiddle for spare change in barbershops. He gained early professional experience playing in the bands of Leo Soileau and Leroy LeBlanc, then split off to form his own group called the Melody Boys in 1946. His 1946 song "Jole Blon", a top 10 hit (Billboard position #4) for Choates, was recorded by country singer Moon Mullican and became a major hit, but Choates had waived his rights to the song and was never compensated for the song's success. Choates remained with the Melody Boys from 1946 to 1951, recording for Gold Star Records in 1946-47. The Melody Boys disbanded over Choates's chronic problems with alcoholism and his frequent missed concert dates, and shortly after the dissolution he played with Jesse James & His Gang on KTBC radio. In the middle of the year, Choates was found to be in contempt of court for failing to pay his support payments for his children. He spent three days in prison, at which time he began hitting his head against the bars of his jail cell, eventually knocking himself into a coma. The condition persisted for several days before Choates died on July 17, 1951."......................................................................................Wikipedia says of Hackberry Ramblers - "The Hackberry Ramblers (also known as the Riverside Ramblers), a Grammy Award-nominated Cajun music band based in Hackberry, Louisiana, formed in 1933. Since its heyday in the late 1930s it has become one of the most recognized names and influential groups in Cajun music. Its sound has come to be one of the genre's most imitated, and its 1936 song "Jolie Blonde" — the group's most covered song — ranks as the informal "Cajun national anthem." The group, which continues to tour and perform, has one of the longest histories of a musical group in the United States of America, and while its lineup has changed many times since its conception, its founders — fiddler Luderin Darbone and accordionist Edwin Duhon — led the band until Duhon's death in 2006. (Darbone died November 21, 2008.) While the roots of the band lie in its Cajun music repertoire, the Ramblers perform a broad swath of American music, from Western swing to blues and rockabilly, and much of their sound blends them all. The Country Music Hall of Fame has honored the group; it holds enshrined many of the founding members' instruments. James "Glen" Croker died at the age of 77 on August 23, 2011."...............................................................................Tracks are as follows - 1. Wondering - Joe Werner & His Riverside Ramblers 2. Dissatisfied - Joe Werner & His Riverside Rablers 3. Jolie Blonde - Hackberry Ramblers 4. Ma Cherie Belle - Hackfield Ramblers 5. Austin Special - Harry Choates 6. Saturday Night Waltz - Harry Choates 7. La Prison - Oaklahoma Tornadoes......................................................................................Cajun Music - Side One

Dewey Balfa, Marc Savoy & D.L. Menard

Boot sale find on Sunday. LP on the Arhoolie label from 1977. Dance music from the Louisiana bayou..........................................................................................................................................................................Wikipedia says - "Dewey Balfa (March 20, 1927 – June 17, 1992) was an American Cajun fiddler and singer who contributed significantly to the popularity of Cajun music. Balfa was born near Mamou, Louisiana. He is perhaps best known for his 1964 performance at the Newport Folk Festival with Gladius Thibodeaux and Vinus LeJeune, where the group received an enthusiastic response from over seventeen thousand audience members. He sang the song "Parlez Nous à Boire" in the 1981 cult film Southern Comfort, in which he had a small role."............................................................................................."Marc Savoy (pronounced English pronunciation: /sɑːˈvwɑː/ 'sah-vwah')[1] (b. near Eunice, Louisiana, United States, October 1, 1940) is an American musician, and builder and player of the Cajun accordion. Savoy holds a degree in chemical engineering but his primary income is derived from his accordion-making business, based at his Savoy Music Center in Eunice, Louisiana. His wife is the singer and guitarist Ann Savoy, whom he met in 1975. He has performed with Robert Bertrand, Dennis McGee, Rodney Balfa, Sady Courville, Dewey Balfa, D. L. Menard, and Michael Doucet, the latter of whom he plays with in the Savoy-Doucet Band. He also plays in the Savoy Family Band with his wife Ann and their sons Joel and Wilson. He hosts regular jam sessions and mini-festivals at the Savoy Music Center."...................................................................................."Menard was born in Erath, Louisiana. The only child of Mr. Ophy Menard and Mrs. Helena Primeaux Menard. He was part of a Cajun farming family. He started to play guitar at 16 and started playing dances in Louisiana clubs at 17. He was greatly influenced by Hank Williams meeting him once in 1951 at the Teche Club shortly before Hank's death. Since then he has performed in more than 30 countries and served as a good-will ambassador for Cajun culture. He has also recorded with non-Cajun artists, including Bryan Ferry. He and his wife Louella - now deceased - have seven children, seventeen grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. He still lives in Erath and continues to play music. He has maintained a separate career as a craftsman, noted for his handmade ash-wood chairs he makes at his one-man factory in Erath."......................................................................................................................................................................Tracks are as follows - 1. Jolie BlondeDe bayou 2. Petite Fille De La Campagne 3.En Bas D'un Chene Vert 4. Port Arthur Blues 5. J'ai Fait Un Gros Erreur 6. J'etais Au Bal........................................................................................................................................................................Dewey Balfa & Co. - Side One

Jimmy C. Newman

An LP on the Stetson label from 1963 found in a charity shop today. Unusual to hear each track introduced by a master of ceremonies - T. Tommy Cutrer. A nice introduction to the music of the Bayous with some old favourites including Jolie Blon, Angeline and Grand Basile.

Wikipedia says -

"Newman was born near Big Mamou, Louisiana. As a child, he listened more to Gene Autry than to the Cajun music of the area, but had a number of Cajun songs in his repertoire when, as a teenager, he joined Chuck Guillory’s Rhythm Boys. He recorded a few unsuccessful sides for J.D. Miller’s Future label in the 1940s, but Miller persuaded Fred Rose in Nashville, Tennessee to give the young singer an opportunity. In 1953, he was signed to Dot Records and the following year recorded "Cry, Cry Darling", which reached No. 4 on the country chart.

His recording success led the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport, Louisiana, to hire him as a regular performer. His next four records all reached Top 10 status, and in 1956 he was invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. That following year he released his biggest hit, "A Fallen Star", which spent two weeks at No. 2 and also entered the top 25 of the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.

As an established artist, he began to integrate his Cajun influences into his music and recorded "Alligator Man", which was a top 25 record and continues to be his theme song at the Opry. In 1963, he released another top 10 hit, "The D.J. Cried". His final hits came in 1965 and 1966 with "Artificial Rose" and "Back Pocket Money". When his commercial popularity declined he returned to Cajun music, forming his Cajun Country band and taking the high energy fiddle- and accordion-based music of his native Louisiana to fans around the world. In 1976, his recording of the Cajun French song, "Lâche pas la patate" ("The Potato Song") earned gold record status in Canada. In 1991, Newman and Cajun Country earned a Grammy nomination for their album, Alligator Man.

In 2000, he was inducted into the North American Country Music Association’s International Hall of Fame and in 2004 was inducted into the Cajun Hall of Fame. He is also honored in the Cajun Music Hall of Fame in Lafayette, Louisiana, and in 2009 he was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.

Newman and his wife made their home on their 670-acre (2.7 km2) ranch outside of Nashville in Murfeesboro. He continues to tour and appears regularly at the Grand Ole Opry. In 2006, he joined a select group of entertainers who have marked 50 years of Opry membership."


Jimmy C. Newman - Side One