Alex Broussard- Le Sud De La Louisiane

Alex Broussard was born August 19, 1926 in Maurice, La. Raised in the Acadian area, he started playing young.  Alex had a musical ear, playing banjo,dobro and upright bass. He was known as the "Barefoot Cajun", opting to sing and play barefoot. 

In the late 50's, Alex went to Carol Rachou to talk to him about recording.  Alex wanted to record a song called "Le Sud De La Louisiane" about the Cajun's exile to south Louisiana. Carol had built a studio out of his parents old grocery store and with Alex's first record, La Louisianne Records was born. The record was recorded in 1959 in Lafayette at Carol's first studio. "Le Sud De La Louisiane" was backed with "The Year 57" but some of the earlier versions featured a flip side by Ed Juneau. Alex made several recordings with Carol in the late 50's and early 60's. 



From 1959 till 1962 Alex recorded with his old friend Leroy "Happy Fats" LeBlanc on La Louisianne Records. Afterwards he joined The Bayou Buckeroo's with Happy Fats. With this group they discovered that older audiences still wanted Cajun and Country music. Together Happy and Alex played the dancehalls and clubs of Southwest, La. Both Happy and Alex had radio shows on KSIG out of Crowley. They performed at many festivals during this time as well. Their main outlet was "The Marine' Show which they hosted every Sunday morning on Channel 10, KLFY out of Lafayette.

"Le Sud De La Louisiane" was written by Alex for the Breaux Bridge Centennial. The Breaux Bridge Centennial evolved into what is today know as The Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival. The song describes the coming of the Acadians to south Louisiana with its frogs, alligators, crawfish and above all its unbelievable beauty. On this 1959 classic Alex is joined by Doc Guidry, Sleepy Hoffpauir and Leroy "Happy Fats" Leblanc.

On a flotté sur la grande mer
On a marché dedans le sable
On a passé dans les montagnes
Dans les cailloux de la Virginie,
On a trouvé les cocodris 
Les cocodris de la Louisiane
On donnerait pas nos cocodris
Pour tout le reste du pays.

Ici dans le sud de la Louisiane
Les poissons flottent dans le bayou Tèche
Les canards volent dedans les mèches
Les ouaouarons dans les platains,
Les écrevisses dans les clos de riz
Les écureuils dans les grands bois
On a trouvé notre paradis
Dedans le sud de la Louisiane.

Les petites Cadjines de la Louisiane
Les meilleures cuiseuses du pays,
Les sauces piquantes, les écrevisses,
Les patates douces dans la cheminée,
Ça chante les chansons de la Louisiane
Ça bat le linge dans le bayou Tèche,
On a trouvé les petites Cadjines
Dedans le sud de la Louisiane.

Les vieux Cadjins de la Louisiane
Les meilleurs citoyens du monde,
Ça brûle du bois pour la cheminée
Ça boit du moonshine tout l'hiver,
Ça danse les polkas du vieux temps,
Les mazurkas, les valses aussi,
On a trouvé le paradis
Dedans le sud de la Louisiane. 

In 1980, KADN-TV out of Lafayette started their program "Laissez Le Bon Temps Rouler" which Alex hosted. It was around this time Alex built Alex Broussard's Ranch, a dancehall in Judice. The dance hall was a favorite of many Cajun and country musicians, including Alex's friend, George Jones.

Alex was a pilot, a farmer and beloved member of Lafayete Parish. He was a frequent guest on The Grand Ol' Opry and hosted many Cajun music shows.

Alex Broussard-"Le Sud De La Louisiane"
La Louisianne 8016

Resources
John Broven-South To Louisiana
with thanks to Jodie Broussard

Lawrence Walker and His Wandering Aces- Reno Walz (La Valse De Reno)

                               

Lawrence Walker was born September 1, 1907 in Duson, La. At age 13 he began playing in a band with his father and brother. He and his brother first recorded with Brunswick in 1929 and then again in 1935 with Bluebird Records.

He returned to farming after the Bluebird recordings and later on, back to recording and playing after World War II. Lawrence and his Wandering Aces played the clubs and had a string of recordings from 1950-1962. By the 1950's Lawrence was known for developing a new style in Cajun music. He was known to be a perfectionist; he demanded higher standards of his band.

He first recorded "Reno Waltz" for George Khoury's label. Reno was named after the Reno Dance Hall located between the towns of Kaplan and Gueydan. It is based on a older tune, "La Valse de Grand Chenier". Lawrence had gotten into a argument with Reno's owner, "Dado" Seaux. In order to make amends and to keep performing there, he named the song after the Club. Lawrence's popularity in his live performances earned him the title "King of The Dancehalls". He was a big leader in the accordion revival in Cajun music. Johnnie Allan remembers:

            " Lawrence was a big factor in French music. His songs were all the sad, melodic type songs, he was a very good  accordion player, very well known in the area. I played steel guitar for him for 6 years and he crowds were tremendous almost everywhere we played."

From 1950 thru 1955 Lawrence and his Wondering Aces recorded for Khoury's. By the late 1950's, Khoury lost interest in recording Cajun music, Lawrence aproached Floyd Soileau to release his recordings. Two records were released on Swallow in 1956 and Lawrence didn't have a record come out until 1961. 

Carol Rachou built a studio in Lafayette out of his parent's old grocery store and started his label, La Louisianne. From 1961 thru 1962, Lawrence released seven titles on La Louisianne Records. Along with one of the first Cajun rock and roll numbers sung in English; "Allons Rock and Roll", he also recut his Khoury classic, "Reno Waltz". On this version, Lawrence used different lyrics than he used on the original and replaced the steel guitar with fiddling by "Doc" Guidry.

Oui, la place que moi, je voudrais mourir                      

c’est dans les bras de mon petit bébé.                          

Demander pardon pour ça j’ai fait,                             

là je serais d’accord de m’en aller dans Grand Gueydan.         

Quand je vas mourir, j’aimerais que tu viennes.                 

Fermer mes yeux, petit bébé, pour moi je m’en vas.              

Pour moi, je m’en vas dans la terre pour toujours.              

Comme tu connais, ça fait du mal juste à y jongler.

             

T’es si petite, si mignonne, si canaille, petit bébé,         

Mais je t’aime quand même.                                      

Moi je vois p’us dans le monde quoi moi je vas faire.           

J’ai p’us personne dedans le pays qui veut m’aimer.            

Yes, the place where I’d like to die

is in the arms of my little baby.

To ask forgiveness for what I’ve done,

then, I’d agree to go away to Big Gueydan.

When I die, I’d like for you to come.

Close my eyes, little baby, so that I can go away,

so that I can be buried in the ground forever.

As you know, it hurts just to think about it.

You’re so little, so cute, so mischievous, little baby,

but I love you anyway.

I don’t see anything left for me to do on this Earth.

I don’t have anyone left in this land who wants to love me.

After these recordings, Swamp Pop and Rock and Roll took over music like Lawrence's. Johnny Allan had joined the Wandering Aces a few years prior. After a couple years playing, he left the group due to his career taking off. Johnny convinced members of the Wandering Aces to join his band called the Krazy Kats. With this band set up they played a couple shows until Lawrence found out about the other group. By this time he had enough.

He stopped recording after these recordings and in 1968, he passed due to a heart attack. His legacy remains overlooked. His playing was bluesy and full of Cajun soul. His songs have been a influence on the next generation of Cajun musicians, but Lawrence has been mainly overshadowed by Nathan and Iry, sadly.

                                                     
                                        Lawrence Walker and His Wandering Aces
                                        Reno Walz (La Valse De Reno)
                                               LL 8030
                                         Recorded 1961-1962
                                           La Louisianne Studio, Lafayette, La,





                                                          Resources
                                                            Early Cajun Music Blog
                                                          John Broven-South To Louisiana
                                                          translation- Erin S.