Shorty (Vorris) Leblanc- Boss Cajun

Vorris "Shorty" Leblanc was born in Jefferson Davis Parish on Christmas Eve of 1923. At a early age he took notice of Cajun music being played around him. He soon became accomplished on numerous instruments and taught himself music without reading or writing the music. His nickname came about from the fact that his brothers were over 6 feet tall and he was under that height.

He bought his first accordion, a Sterling, while stationed in Europe during WWII and brought it home with him. During the late 1940's he played with Iry Lejeune and others throughout the area and in 1951, when the Laccassine Playboys split; Shorty replaced Iry on accordion. In 1955 they disbanded and Shorty played with other musicians in the area including Alfred Cormier, Jay Stutes and Charlie Babineaux.

In the late 1950's, he joined Cleveland Crochet's Hillbilly Ramblers, playing a brand of Cajun music blended with some country and pop tunes. In 1960 the group recorded "Sugar Bee" which broke into Billboard's top 100. Following the hit, the group was renamed the Sugar Bees and began to play many bookings in the area. The group was so popular that a West German film company came to Lake Charles in 1963 and made a 30 minute film featuring the band. As a follow up to the hit, the group recorded many sides on the Goldband label in the next couple of years. Included in these recordings was "Boss Cajun".



"Boss Cajun" was recorded in 1961 at Goldband Studios. The band was essentially the Sugar Bees on the recording. Shorty played accordion with Cleveland on fiddle, Jay Stutes on steel guitar, Charlie Babineaux on guitar, Bradley Stutes on bass and Clifton Newman on drums. It features Shorty's great accordion work and rocking guitar work from Charlie Babineaux. The song is similar to Nathan Abshire's "Lake Charles Two Step" recorded in 1950. Shorty's "Boss Cajun" is still played by many groups today.

By 1963, Shorty left the Sugar Bees and formed his own group. They later became the Acadian Aces with Cliff Newman on drums, Benny Martin on guitar, and Jay Stutes on fiddle.  Shorty also recorded with Jimmy C. Newman on his album, Folksongs of the Bayou. 

Resources
Ron Yule- Cajun Dancehall Heyday
with thanks to Winnona Landry for information about her father.
Johnnie Allan- Memories Volume One
Micheal Dupuy

Cleveland Crochet and His Hillbilly Ramblers- Sugar Bee

When Cleveland Crochet was 12 years old he built his first fiddle out of a cigar box, beginning his journey that would lead to a hit record and years as a regular on the Cajun dance circuit. 

He had recorded for Folk Star and Khoury's in the mid 50's. He originally named his group The Hillbilly Ramblers. But he and his band had been working on a new sound. Eddie Shuler of Goldband Records was always looking for new sounds to record. He found it with Cleveland and his group's new take on Cajun Rock and Roll.
Eddie Shuler recalls:

"One day in 1960, they walked into my office. They had something they wanted me to hear. I knew at last I had found the sound I was looking for. We set a date and the result was 'Sugar Bee'."

It featured Cleveland on fiddle, "Shorty" LeBlanc on accordion, Jay Stutes on steel guitar and vocals, Charlie Babineaux on guitar, Bradley Stutes on bass and Cliff Newman on drums. Although the group had been together for 6 years with only moderate success; they now had a hit on their hand.

The song featured Jay's shouting vocals, roaring accordion from LeBlanc and a short solo from Crochet. "Sugar Bee" stood out because it was sung in English and the accordion was made to sound like a blues harmonica.

Shuler took the record to Beaumont's KJET in hopes of getting airplay. The DJ there was Eddie's old friend Clarence Garlow, and he assured him it was a hit. After getting airplay on KJET, the record took off and had the station's switchboard lit up for weeks.

Goldband had national distrubution by Bill Lowery's NRC organization out of Atlanta. When NRC filed for bankruptcy afterwards, the sales were hurt. Goldband escaped the episode and regrouped. The record continued in the same fashion where Shuler assumed the writing credits for most of the records he released. Sadly not giving credit to the real songwriters.

Cleveland and his group tried to follow up the success of "Sugar Bee" with other songs in the Cajun rock and roll format to no avail. As so happens after the arrival of success, the group went their separate ways. The sounds they created could never be duplicated. Jay Stutes took over as leader from Cleveland when the band was renamed the Sugar Bees. 
They resorted to a more traditional style of Cajun music, playing clubs around the Golden triange. They split up in 1965 when Shorty LeBlanc passed away. Jay joined Blackie Foriester's group and even showed up on Jo El Sonnier's album in 1980.

                                                       
 Cleveland Crochet -Sugar Bee
 Goldband 1106
Recorded at Goldband Studios, Lake Charles, La
1960                                                         

 Resources
 John Broven- South To Louisiana