Nathan Abshire- Hoola Hoop Two Step

The end of the 1950's left Cajun musicians in a comprising situation. The years before found south Louisiana independent labels like Khoury's, Feature and Goldband finding success with their Cajun recordings. But by the end of the decade these labels were finding success in other genres.

J.D. Miller was one of those. By the mid fifties he was recording not only Cajun French but was recording more blues and swamp pop sessions. He was recording blues for Excello, rock and roll and R&B for his Rocko and Zynn labels.

Miller's interest in recording Cajun music again might have been sparked by the success that Floyd Soileau was having with Swallow records. At any rate, Miller started recording Cajun music again in 1959. And with the entrance back he grabbed one of the biggest recording artists for his new label. 

Nathan Abshire had recorded for Khoury's from the late 40's to the 50's. His last recordings for Khoury were in 1959, with "Cannonball Special" and "Red Rock Waltz". George Khoury was finding success with blues, R&B and swamp pop as well. His Cajun recording had slowed down to a trickle with some of his last Cajun recordings done by Pee Wee Broussard in 1959. But as far as Nathan, he was far from done.

After a uneventful decade since the success of "Pine Grove Blues" in 1949, Nathan saw his fortunes improve when he recorded for Miller during the early sixties. He had a modern Cajun band lineup augmenting his stunning accordion work. He went on to have a fine series of releases for the Crowley record man, whose production skills were as good as ever. On these recordings he brought the blues and honky tonk and released some of his more rock and roll output.

Miller started Cajun Classics with Nathan releasing the first sides on the label. He brought along a familiar friend in Dewey Balfa to these recordings. On Cajun Classics 101 he recorded "Hoola Hoop Two Step." Nathan was a big fan of The Segura Brothers. On Khoury's, he had reworked their song "A Mosquito Ate My Sweetheart" into "La Valse De Holly Beach". He did the same with his first recording on Cajun Classics. He reworked the Segura's "Rosalia" into "Hoola Hoop Two Step". The Segura's "Rosalia" itself was derived from Amede Ardoin's "Les Blues De Voyage". Nathan always seemed to have a way into reworking old classics and making them relevant.


Miller recorded some of Nathan's best material in the 1960's. He proved that he was still a driving force in Cajun Music. In his Miller recordings he brought back "Pine Grove Blues" with a new updated version. He reworked some old classics and introduced some new songs as well. But by 1965 he had left Miller and signed with Floyd Soileau's Swallow records. His Miller recordings seems to be overlooked for some reason, as his Swallow recordings are more well known. But the Miller years for Nathan are a definite high point in his career.
                             

Resources
Early Cajun Music Blog
John Broven-South To Louisiana
Thanks to Wade Falcon