Lawrence Walker- "Evangeline Waltz"

                                        

 

George Khoury was a business man from Lake Charles who owned a record shop. He got into releasing records by financing Virgil Bozeman's OT Records. Soon he started his own record label, calling it Khoury's. Operating out of his record shop, he soon was attracting Cajun musicians from East Texas and south Louisiana.

With his new business, he started off with the recordings of Lawrence Walker. Lawrence's popularity was well known around south Louisiana at this time as he was filling up the local dancehalls. Khoury signed Lawrence before Nathan Abshire as he knew Lawrence's intense accordion would rival Nathans's.

So in 1950, Lawrence emerged from retirement and stated recording for George Khoury. That first session produced two records. They sold well enough and the following year; Khoury had him back in the studio. Lawrence did something different than what his competitor Nathan was doing; he added a hypnotic drum beat to his songs. This session produced what would be his biggest seller; "Evangeline Waltz".

J'sus assis dans la port de ma maison, après pleurer,

J'sus après pleurer pour tu t'en reviens à rejoindre ton nègre,

Oui, chère 'tit monde, quand t'as quitter d'la maison,

Tu m'as dit tu pouvais, mais, p'us m'aimer,

Oh, yé yaille, mon cœur me fais mal.  

J'ai p'us personne à la maison, mais, pour m'aimer.

Oui, chère 'tit monde, si tu voudrais t'en revenir,

J'te pardonnerais pour tout ça que tu m'as fait,

C'est d'voir, aujourd'hui, j'ai p'us personne pour m'aimer

J'sus moi, tout seul, après mourir dedans l'chagrin.

Oh, bébé, mon chère 'tit bébé,

J'ai p'us personne à la maison, mais, pour m'aimer.

J'sus assis dans la porte de ma maison, après jongler,

J'sus après jongler si jamais tu va revenir,

Oui, chère 'tit monde, quand t'as quitter d'la maison,

Tu m'as dit tu pouvais, mais, p'us m'aimer.

Lawrence and his band play top notch here, doing a bluesy waltz. His band at the time consisted of U.J. Meaux on fiddle, Demus Comeaux on guitar, Junior Benoit on steel and Lawrence Trehan on drums.

While most pressings started off with a run of 500 copies, its safe to say "Evangeline Waltz" had multiple pressings.  Even when Khoury started focusing on rock and roll and country sides later on, he would reissue his big sellers on the new 45 rpm medium. The only two Cajun artists he reissued on 45 rpm was Nathan Abshire and of course; Lawrence Walker.

Lawrence's sound became the prototype of what Khoury's records were to sound like.  His success on Khoury's  prompted George Khoury to sign Nathan in 1951 and even had him to stick with the formula that Lawrence had created. He would go on to record for the label until 1955. Even then Lawrence would try to keep up with the times, even recording up tempo English songs.

Years later when Chris Strachwitz was compiling a Khoury's recording compilation, George Khoury was insistent on having Lawrence's "Evangeline Waltz" on it saying:

"Make this at once- will pay you for your trouble. Don't let no one have Evangeline Waltz!"

                                        

Session info

V/acdn, Ulysse Joseph (U J) Meaux (fdl), Demus Comeaux (g).Valmont ‘Junior’ 

Benoit (st-g), Lawrence Trahan (d)

Lake Charles LA; (possibly Goldband Studio) 1951

A Evangeline waltz Lyric/Khoury’s 615

Resources

Wade Falcon- Early Cajun Music Blog

Liner notes to Cajun Honky Tonk Vol 1 & 2