Shirley Bergeron was born in 1933 and raised in the Point Noir area of Church Point. He would work the fields as a child, sometimes picking a sack of cotton before he would get on the school bus. His father, Alphee, gave him a guitar when he was 11 years old and soon he was playing with his father and his friends. While he was a teenager he joined his father's Veteran Playboys band. The Veteran Playboys was originally led by Bill Matte, then he moved to Lake Charles and it became Alphee Bergeron's band.
With soldiers returning home from the war with money and farmers doing well, times were good. The band played dances every night of the week in the late forties and broadcast regularly on KSLO in Opelousas. While Shirley started playing rhythm guitar in the group, he switched to steel guitar when Adam Hebert suggested the instrument to him because all the new bands had a steel guitar. The band did well until the rock and roll era and suddenly their dance dates went to Saturday night only.
Lee Lavergne grew up the son of poor farming parents. His love of Cajun French music started at a early age. He first heard the music on his neighbor's record player. Then in the late forties he started listening to the bands on the radio on KSIG and KSOL. In 1953, he went into the service and went to Korea. When he retuned he soon found out that the music he loved had been taken over by rock music. Around 1959, he decided he wanted to go into the record business.
He met up with his old school friend, Shirley Bergeron, one night and Shirley knew someone to talk to Lee about starting a label. Shirley took him to Crowley and they met up with J.D. Miller. Shirley and the original Veteran Playboys had recorded for Miller before. Jay asked Lee what kind of work he did and Lee told him he did bookwork. Miller advised him he better stick with that because there was more money in that. But Lee was determined and soon Jay helped Lee set up Lanor Records.
They used Miller's studio in Crowley and J.D. helped with the recording and processing the tapes. Lanor Records was on its was with it's first release by Shirley and Alphee Bergeron with the Veteran Playboys called " J'ai Fait Mon Ede'e"
En faisant mon paquet.
Ta bonne vieille maman,
Elle s’est mise à pleurer.
Elle, elle m’a dit :
Quo faire toi
T’es comme ça ?
Moi j’ai répondu :
Moi j’ai fait mon idée.
Les enfants sont donnés,
Leurs papiers sont signés.
ça qui me fait du mal,
C’est qu’ils vont m’oublier.
Il a cassé notre ménage,
C’est ça qui me décourage,
C’est pour ça moi j’te dis :
Moi j’ai fait mon idée.
Shirley based the song on a old fiddle tune, but changed the lyrics to tell a story about a friend of his. His friend's wife left him with all the kids in the house. The friend tried to bluff the estranged wife by saying he could not work and take care of the kids. He told her if she didn't want to come back and take care of the kids, that they were going to have to give them up for adoption. The wife bluffed him and signed the kids to be taken away, leaving the husband heartbroken.
The song was Lanor's first release and was a hit leading to more releases on the label. Shirley recorded for the label until 1969. He retired from music to focus on his family and became a insurance salesman. His father, Alphee, passed away in October of 1980.
Session info:
V/st-g, Alphee Bergeron (acdn), M J Achten (g), Wallace LaFleur (d), probably
Shelton Manuel (fdl)
J.D.Miller Studio, Crowley LA: May 1960
L 2000 J’ai fait mon edée Lanor 500
Resources
Ann Savoy- Cajun Music
John Broven- South to Louisiana
Lyrics- cajunlyrics.com
Photo: Wade Falcon
Nick Leigh- Cajun Records 1946-1989
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