George Khoury started off his 700 series for his label in a odd fashion. He reissued a Eddie Shuler Goldband recording on one side and a Floyd Leblanc Opera song on the other. It really didn't matter to him though. R&B and country was riding high and rock and roll was moving in. Khoury's 700 series reflects these changing times by the lack of Cajun music he was releasing.
By 1955, Nathan Abshire had to rebuild his band. After the tragic stabbing of Atlas Fruge in 1954 by Will Kegley; his group was split up. Fruge never worked with Abshire again and Kegley moved back to Texas. Ernest Thibodeaux left the band shortly after the incident as well. With plenty of gigs and recording sessions at hand, Nathan had to assemble a new band.
He found his new group by adding three new members. Dewey Balfa was a in demand fiddle player and had played with different groups on the Khoury's label. Junior Benoit slid into Ernest Thibodeaux's guitar position and a young oilfield worker named Jake Miere had the task of filling in Atlas Fruge's steel guitar sound. This new group would carry Nathan through the remainder of his Khoury's years.
Jake Miere was a multi- instrumentalist, playing guitar, drums and steel guitar with different groups in the area. Born in Morse, Louisiana in 1924, he started playing music at 16 years old. His first recording with Nathan was in 1955, playing on "Lu Lu Boogie". He was also on hand for Nathan's first entry on the Khoury's 700 series, reworking one of Nathan's classics into "Crying Pine Grove Blues".
Nathan first recorded "Pine Grove Blues" in 1949 for the O.T. label to favorable success. He recorded it again in 1951 revamping the sound and calling it "Pine Grove Blues No. 2" for the Khoury's label. Then in 1957 at the height of rock and roll, he upped the ante and recorded a version more powerful than the previous two.
"Crying Pine Grove Blues" was released on Khoury's 701 and typical of the time, it was released on 78rpm and 45 rpm. The song was recorded in Lake Charles either at Eddie Shuler's studio or at KPLC's studio. The song features a call and response from Nathan and Jake Miere adding a new twist on the Nathan classic.
Alright, Mr. Jake
Oh négresse! (Quoi tu veut mon neg?)
Ayoù toi t'as été hier au soir, négresse? (neg j'allait couri au bal)
Oh négresse! (eux-autres ils te regard donc toi, quoi tu veut?)
Ayoù toi t'as été hier au soir, négresse? ((j'ai bu un tit brin trop de whiskey....juste y en a pour les petites enfants)
T'arriva à c'matin, l’soleil est après se lever, négresse! (Ha ha ha ye yaille)
"Braille neg, Braille comme tes miseres, Braille pour ca t'as fait"
Alright, Mr. Jake
Oh négresse! (Quoi tu veut encore, mon negre?)
Ayoù toi t'as été hier au soir, négresse? (ils vendait ca a trois-quarts, qui tu veut encore!)
Oh négresse! (Qui y a, neg, qui y a avec toi ?)
Ayoù toi t'as parti hier au soir, négresse! (neg, je croyais je t'avait dit ca, j'etais parti au bal)
T'arriva à c'matin, ta robe était toute déchirée, négresse! (Ha ha ha ye yaille)
But it was the end for Khoury's. The label had begun in 1950 and had released classics by Nathan Abshire, Lawrence Walker and many others. The live, daily radio broadcasts that Nathan had had since the late 1940's were fading out and giving way to pop records. Even the Avalon Club which had been vital for Nathan and his band, closed its door in 1956 after Quincy Davis passed away.
After Khoury's folded, Nathan went on to record some of his best sounding records in the early 1960's at J.D. Miller's in Crowley. Members such as Junior Benoit and Dewey were mainstays in Nathan's new group at this time. And with the folk revival in the 1960's, Nathan's music was opened up to a new audience.
As for Jake Miere, he would record two more records with Nathan and it seems he left the group in 1959.He would team up with his brother in a group called the Rambling Playboys. In the 1970's he would join Russ Broussard and form the Cajun Playboys. The group would record one 45 rpm record for Swallow Records.
Session info:
AND HIS PINE GROVE BOYS (701)
Acdn, Dewey Balfa (v-2/fdl).Jake Miere (v-1/st-g) and probably Cleveland
Deshotel (fdl), Junior Benoit (g), Thomas Langley (d)
Lake Charles LA (probably Goldband Studio); 1957
R 1311-A Crying pine grove blues-1 Khoury’s 701,
Resources
Ron Yule- Cajun Dance Hall Heyday
Louisiana Music Vol 1- Lyle Ferbrache and Andrew Brown
thanks to Michael Guillote
lyrics- Louis and Ashlee Michot
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